In March we drove to Las Vegas to visit Abby, Kate, and Jeff. On the way we stopped at Chaco Canyon, Monument Valley, and Zion National Park.

In March we drove to Las Vegas to visit Abby, Kate, and Jeff. On the way we stopped at Chaco Canyon, Monument Valley, and Zion National Park.

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Shiprock, from the north, along highway 64 on the way to Monument Valley

There was a little haze today

We do not usually see Shiprock from this angle

We stopped for lunch in Bluff, Utah. We ate at a restaurant underneath "Twin Rocks"

Twin Rocks was the site of the San Juan Mission

The next several pictures will show why the town is called "Bluff"

This is a picture of the formation called Mexican Hat. I do not see the resemblance myself.

After leaving Monument Valley, we passed through some wide open country on the way to Zion National Park

That is Navaho Mountain in the background

Checkerboard Mesa in Zion

The termperature was very nice in the park but there was still some snow

Colorful, wind- and water-carved formations were everywhere we looked

Looking to the west after passing through the long tunnel in the park

In January we took quick trips to visit our families in West Linn and Las Vegas.
We also took a brief trip to one of the Salinas Pueblo Missions at Quarai. In February, Patricia took a trip to Arizona.
You can see more pictures of the grandchildren at Grandchildren.

In mid-April we visited 2 more Salinas Pueblo missions at Abó and Gran Quivira. We also visited the White Sands National Monument. We finished our trip with a 2-day exploration of Cañada Alamosa with the School for Advanced Research