Travel Tips & Adventures

By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw
Photos by George Bradshaw

When we first arrived at Mt. Vernon, I didn’t realize it was going to be as extensive as it was. From the outside, the visitor center looks like any other visitor center, with its statues, gift shop and counters full of brochures and people to inform you of the wonders of the place you are about to see. Once you get through the visitor center, it is a whole other world outside. (more…)

When President Barack Obama chose to visit Arizona and, specifically, Phoenix, recently, there was a hubbub about some nutcases who were “expressing” their right to bear arms.

No, we are not all gun-toting nuts in Arizona! The people I know are all peaceful, friendly and, at least as far as I know, quite sane.

So, please come visit Arizona! There are a multitude of amazing sights to see – nature has been abundantly generous in making Arizona a vividly memorable land. From desert flowers blooming in spring to the Grand Canyon, volcanic cones to pine forests, Arizona has a wide array of climates and scenery.

Cereus Peruviana in bloom

(more…)

By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw

My favorite War Memorial in Washington, DC is the Korean War Veterans Memorial with its band of realistic bronze soldiers warily and wearily crossing a field headed into harm’s way. Dedicated on the 42nd anniversary of the armistice, July 27, 1995, the memorial honors the more than 54,000 who died there, and the thousands of veterans of this conflict.

Korean War Memorial - Photo by George Bradshaw

(more…)

In the last of my three-part journey north of Santa Fe, I am heading up to Taos, New Mexico. After spending the morning in Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos, I’m heading to a destination that is more known for its winter activities than summer.

Summer Skiing

Can you say SKIING? That’s what most people think of when they hear the words Taos, New Mexico. (more…)

Today, those who leave graffiti as a reminder of their existence might use paint.  

Centuries ago, scratching laboriously into stone surfaces with hand made tools, native people left designs we call petroglyphs.  Scratched into the surface, Native Americans left behind images that can be easily figured out and some that are mysterious. 

Human form

(more…)

Last week, I began a three part series on what to do when you’re not invited to the same seminar as your wife in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hopping in the car with a bag of chips and an assortment of “beverages of my choice,” I headed north out of the city on US 285/84 until reaching NM 502 and then west to NM 4.

The first stop was the cliffside dwellings of Bandelier National Monument. This week, I am leaving Bandelier for a short drive to Los Alamos. As you pull out of the park entrance, a left will put you west on NM 4, then north on NM 501 will put you at the west end of the town of Los Alamos.

(PARANOIA ALERT!) (more…)

By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw

The Native Heritage Center, located outside of Anchorage, Alaska, introduces you to native traditions and customs of both the past and the present. We stopped there on our way from Whittier to Anchorage. (more…)

Rose Big Horse was asked to demonstrate her weaving skills at the Wupatki National Monument in Arizona recently. Her efforts and designs are part of a long tradition in her Navajo Tribal family.

Rose shows traditional family "storm" pattern

Although her weaving time is confined to evenings and her spare time, the intricacy and proficiency of her work is exceptional. She learned the skill from her mother, who is a published author on weaving. Her mother’s special pattern is called the “storm” pattern. If you think that these works are easy, you would be wrong: it can take a year to produce one rug. (more…)

When we visited Walnut Canyon National Monument this past weekend, we were alerted that there were 240 steps down – and up – from the visitor center to the Loop Trail where we could see the homes of ancient people carved out of steep hillsides.

240 steps – each way, up and down – was quite a strenuous trip to reach the top! When Sinagua people inhabited the cliff dwellings of Walnut Canyon 800 years ago, they must have been part mountain goat – and they didn’t have paved steps and paths! Although I consider myself fairly physically fit, the altitude, 7,000 feet, coupled with the demanding climb of 185 feet, I reached the visitor center panting with my heart pounding.

(more…)

What to do when the wife is in a conference in Santa Fe?  Abscond with the rental car and take a little trip around northern New Mexico, that’s what! 

It was sort of a last minute idea, so I looked at a map to see what I could do in a day.  Two towns, and a national monument sounded feasible, so I dropped her off and I headed out.

First stop – Bandelier National Monument (more…)