In July of 2003 my husband, Karl, and I visited four states on our way to the Grand Canyon. What a wonderful, relaxing trip we had. Just the two of us. Our favorite word became, "Wow" as we stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon, and yet again when we visited Bryce and Zion. We marveled at the Painted Desert and fell in love  with Southern Utah. So, I'm sharing our experience with you little by little.  I hope you enjoy these digital pictures. If there is one picture you like in particular, and it's not on the Books and Things page, shoot me an email to let me know which picture you are interested in having matted and framed, and I will get back to you with instructions on how to order. You may choose the type of wood you want for your frame and whether you want it simple or antique. All pictures are $39.95 plus shipping.

July of 2005 my husband, Karl, and I, along with my mother who is visiting us from Minnesota, spent five days in Yosemite. Every fall flowed with abundance. The Merced River ran furiously, to the delight of rafters. See Yosemite. It's one of God's most beautiful creations. For your viewing pleasure I've added Yosemite to the slide show below. Oh let us worship the Lord who created this beautiful place.

November 2006, Karl and I took our first motor home vacation. We spent two weeks on the road visiting Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and a short stop in Las Vegas. What fun we had. There are no words to describe Carlsbad Cavern. Awesome doesn't cover it. The immense size of the cavern (15 football fields) 750 feet below the earth's surface gives you an idea of the enormity of the cavern. The Painted Desert takes your breath away. And we were amazed at the Petrified Forest. I've included a picture of me standing near one of the petrified logs. The patterns in the word are beautiful and feel a bit like marble. These are but a few of the pictures we took. I have our entire trip on disk so we can revisit these places time and again.

This year, July-August of 2007 Karl and I took a motor home trip to Minnesota via Yellowstone National Park. Montana was everything we pictured it would be: clear skies, green valleys, colorful wildflowers and majestic mountains. Karl was envious when we drove through Yellowstone and saw fishermen fly fishing in the river. Yellowstone is a must see for everyone. Old Faithful did not disappoint. The hot, oozing mud pits and steam coming out of the ground fascinated us and the thousands of other visitors. We got up close and personal with bison, elk and deer.

On our way home we detoured a bit and drove through South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore. What a beautiful tribute to our presidents and what vision to turn a mountain into a monument. I've put a few pictures beneath the others.

Thanks for visiting my site.

Grand Canyon - 2003

Yosemite - 2005

2006 Arizona and New Mexico (Ghost Town, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, Superstition Mountain)

Minnesota via Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore 2007

Yellowstone	Yellowstone	Yellowstone
Yellowstone	Old Faithful	Yellowstone
Yellowstone		Yellowstone
Declo, Idaho Camp of the Trees	Camp of the Trees Fishing Hole	Mount Rushmore National Monument
South Dakota	Mount Rushmore	Mount Rushmore National Monument
Me and Mom at Como Park	Hiawatha Falls - Como Park	Mom relaxing with the dogs
Como Park Botanical Gardens	Como Park Botanical Gardens	Como Park Botanical Gardens
Flowers inside the gardens	Flowers inside the gardens	Flowers inside the gardens
Inside gardens	Flowers inside the gardens	Flowers inside the gardens
Flowers inside the gardens	Flowers inside the gardens	e Flowers inside the gardens