The Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, AZ, is a majestic place to hike around. The tall – and very old – Sagauro cacti reach for the sky and you feel so very small – and young – in comparison! So many outdoor activities are available to do: hiking, biking, camping, birding, horseback riding, and wild flower seeking ( in the spring ). Grandpa Ron and I really enjoyed the park.
Saguaro National Park
April 29, 2009
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Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: biking, birding, camping, child, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, Green Hour, hiking, hiking trails, horseback riding, kids, nature, Places to Go, Saguaros, Saguauro National Park, Tucson, wild flowers | 
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Activities in the Sierra Nevada
April 28, 2009There are all sorts of activities to do in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Virtual Sierra Nevada website is quite exhaustive: gold panning, hiking, skiing, biking, horseback riding, backpacking, kayaking, river rafting and more. Then there is lots of sightseeing as well – Yes, there are LOTS of little towns: Reno (biggest little), Truckee, Virginia City, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth, Bishop, … and beautiful parks like Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, oh, I’ll get myself in trouble by trying to list them all and forgetting some so I’ll stop while I’m ahead…..check out the linked websites!!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Verde Valley near Sedona, AZ
April 27, 2009Montezuma Castle — many years ago I passed the road sign several times before I knew Grandpa Ron but I never took the road to find out what it was. Then one weekend Grandpa Ron took me to Sedona, AZ, for my birthday so we could explore the luring area. We did follow the sign to Montezuma Castle and began a whole new journey of Native American Indian studies. It wasn’t a castle. It wasn’t built by Montezuma. We explored the Sinaqua ruins that had been abandoned in the early 1300s that afternoon and talked about our impressions all night long.
The next day we explored the nearby Tuzigoot Monument and added to our newfound interest. Since then we have explored many Southwest Indian National Monuments but there are still a lot left to see.
We also enjoyed the Verde Canyon Railroad trip. The station isn’t far from Tuzigoot. The scenery is fantastic. We pointed out many cliffs and caves where the Sinaqua may have lived so many years before us. It was a very spiritual experience.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Plumas-Eureka (CA) State Park
April 27, 2009Lots of summer activities go on in the Plumas-Eureka State Park besides the usual hiking and fishing and exploring. This year is the 50th anniversary of the park’s opening so there will be special events including “Gold Discovery Days” (July 18-19) planned for visitors this summer. It is part of the California State Park system. Last summer Grandpa Ron and I caught the Living History Day
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Columbia River Gorge
April 26, 2009The Columbia River Gorge is beautiful any time that you visit! Multnomah Falls is probably the most famous of all the waterfalls on the route and the second highest (620 ft) year-round running waterfall in the US, but Grandpa Ron and I enjoyed finding them all. I took lots of pictures. We even brought Gigi, Cyndi, Bella and Austin to see some of them. It is well worth doing!
Quoted from www.bestgorge.com:
“The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range. The Gorge is 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.”
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Tahoe Rim Trail: Biking, Hiking and Horseback Riding!
April 17, 2009Grandpa Ron and I are members of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association which maintains and enhances the trail around all of Lake Tahoe! As of April 17, 2009, the trail is still snowed in! See the Tahoe Rim Trail website for lots more interesting information about hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding on the trail.
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Ice House Trail and Mountain Bike Riding: Hiking and Biking!
April 16, 2009OK, Michele told me about the Ice House Trail on Mt. Baldy and how great it was for hiking with little kids. I found this great write-up of the trail. There is also a link to Bob and Nancy Ulrich’s Hiking pages. Unfortunately, not all of their photos come up on my machine, but for hikers there are lots of ideas available!
BUT then I clicked on MountainBikeBill.com who also rode the Ice House Trail – only this one is in Utah. BUT, he has an AWESOME site with totally awesome pictures in his blog and on his trail descriptions. You do not have to be a mountain biker to enjoy his site. Check it out!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
MyGrandmaSue 