The Journal of
Laura & Fred Jolly
It all started with a Ken Burns documentary, a couple of National Parks books, an Atlas, and a Dream. The rest is documented in this travel journal.
Hawaii-Haleakala NP 2
April 1 — The second area we visited in Haleakala: Pu’u’ula’ula Summit. We drove the long and winding road (literally!) in the late afternoon, arriving here to watch the sunset. We checked through the Park Headquarters Visitor Center but were told the “House of the Sun” Visitor Center at the top was closed — crushing because Laura was looking to
USS Arizona Memorial / Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 – “a date which will live in infamy…” declared then president Franklin D. Roosevelt, one day after Japan’s attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. An hour after this famous speech, the United States was officially brought into World War II. The USS Arizona was one of 20 battleships and other large vessels that were sunk that
Mammoth Cave NP
Fred & I met daughter Claire at her school in Kentucky for a nice fall weekend, and combined that visit with a couple of days at Mammoth Cave NP. “Mammoth” is a fitting description for the system of underground caves. The full extent of this water-formed labyrinth remains unknown, but nearly 400 miles of these underground passages are surveyed, and geologists believe
2012
We married in January of 2012, got retirement buyouts from our respective employers in August 2012 and went to Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks to celebrate marriage and retirement. And then we began earnestly planning a two-year road trip to see the rest of the National Parks — 10 down; 49 to go. Previous Next
Grand Staircase-Escalante NM / Kodachrome Basin SP / Red Canyon
Outside of Bryce and on the way to Zion, we followed along State Route 12, recently named an “All-American Highway” in this area. Kodachrome Basin features towering sandstone chimneys, monolithic spires, and sedimentary pipes. The colors in the sandstone change with the day’s mood, and this color and contrast prompted the National Geographic Society, with consent from the Kodak Film
Bryce Canyon NP
August 5th – 8th — the first leg of our two-week honeymoon trip was spent in Bryce Canyon NP in southern Utah. What struck us first as we left the interstate and got on the back roads were the rocks. Here on the Colorado Plateau, the rocks are very colorful, and the patterns, as they erode, make for some of
Zion NP
August 8-11 — the second leg of our three-NP honeymoon trip was spent in Zion NP, another fabulous national park in Utah. [Trivia for Mom: There are five NPs in Utah.] When you visit Zion NP, you spend a lot of time looking up, for you are at the bottom of a cottonwood tree-lined canyon that was carved out by
Pipe Springs NM
August 11 — Seeing this National Monument on our map, we decided to take a slight detour on our way to Grand Canyon NP and stop in for a visit. In this place we were reminded of one of the uglier and more tragic periods in the history of the United States – the running out and killing off of our country’s Native Americans. For
Cedar Breaks NM
August 15 — Cedar Breaks National Monument is another canyon / amphitheater that has been eroded out of pink cliffs through years of sedimentation, uplifts, freezes and thaws. We made a quick stop here in Cedar City, Utah, as it was on the way back up to the SLC airport and our journey home. A lot like Bryce Canyon in