Paul in Arches National Park, Utah - July 2000

The sandstone arches have developed in several different shapes

It is hard to believe  sometimes just how the delicate structure of the arches can stand over time.  In fact, you do see some collapsed, and eventually all will go this way

And the magnificent pillars and formations create interesting skylines as you walk through the hot desert.  Most have been given names reflecting their shapes -

- Like the "Three Gossips" in this photograph

And "Double Arch" which has it's name for obvious reasons

This is Paul, trying to fly from one of the spectacular ridges in Arches National Park - on the way to Double Arch

Another super national park is Canyonlands, which is not so very far from Arches in south eastern Utah

There are superb views across the desert and canyons -

- and fascinating chasms through which you can drive

At night we would set up the telescope in the desert near our camp outside Moab

Where some of the strangest people would stop by to look

The scenery is very thought provoking.  This is Lizzie, standing under a tree and looking out over the wilderness

Another place we visited this vacation was the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, ancient home to the Anasazi Indians, who built their homes in the cliffs

It was interesting to be allowed to risk your life on the vertical ladders

Especially in America - home of litigation and lawyers!

This park also gave us super dark skies - perhaps the best we saw all summer

A green and pleasant place compared to this Utah scene

With lots of rocks and places to investigate.  It's easy to see why the Anasazi liked it here

Compared to the bare grandeur of Utah and Arches

A final interesting object at Mesa Verde is "newspaper rock"

Another place we visited was Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona

But as always our evenings centered on the telescope and our astronomy.  This was a great vacation!