Friday Five- 5 US places...

A day late on the Friday Five... ooops.

Since K, J, and I are traveling in the week ahead, to CHINA! China?!?! wow. go figure. On Tuesday, which might be Monday for those of you in US time zones, I can't really get my head around that time exchange..., we'll visit the Great Wall of China. Stand on it. Our 6 little ol' feet. wow. (that is not a "eh, no big deal" little w wow. It is a "we sit here in awe and don't know what else to say" little w wow.)

So in anticipation of that event, I've been thinking of some of the really cool places, this time, all in the National Park system, that I've been able to visit right here in the USA. If I had done this earlier, I'd have photos of all these places. Alas. This time, all credit goes to the National Park Service.

So, this week's Friday Five, in no particular order, I think...

5. Muir Woods National Monument: My favorite spot of serenity in the Bay Area. A hidden jewel. You can't help but whisper standing under those giants. I immediately realized how small I am in this Creation.





4. Devil's Tower National Monument: This is a place that we would have never gone if we didn't just happen to be driving by. (well, "driving by" as in it was less than 100 miles, maybe less?, off the path of the highway we were on) But it is cool. And, the first National Monument, from back in 1906. I am not putting on it's photo because blogger isn't cooperating. But you know Devil's Tower. Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind...

3. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: Truth, we spooked ourselves in the DARKEST night we have ever before or since seen, and we never made it even close to flowing lava. But we picked up lava rocks. (some of us might have done more than pick up rocks, but that can be a confession for him, not me... :-) ) The very good restaurant looks over the edge of a crater. How many places can you dine at and say that?


2. Bandelier National Monument: Maybe the first national park I ever knew. (hmmm... that or Carlsbad Caverns...). This picture with the ladder is exactly how I think of Bandelier. Climbing ladders! I remember wondering how real families lived in those little apartments...








1. Mount Rushmore: I adore Mount Rushmore. Most spectacular, when you round that one curve in the road and there is Mr. Washington's profile, staring down at you! In my mind's map, Mount Rushmore is on the way anywhere from east to west. Ask my husband about that... At any rate, never ever pass an opportunity to stop at Mount Rushmore. Never.