Tag: summer

Florida IV – Disney’s Animal Kingdom

At the Animal Kingdom, the first thing we did was go on an African Safari – by which Disney meant that we would be driven on a bus through a rather well designed zoo with some very well fed and healthy looking animals.

 

The park also has a tremendous gorilla area that we enjoyed.

Gorilla at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando

 

I guess its true that everybody loves a parade, because if it were just me, Disney would have parades every day at every park.  Well, they do and, get this, each park does it differently!

 

 

Florida III – Disney’s Epcot Center

19-Bucky BallWe enjoyed Epcot Center  most of the Disney parks we visited. We really enjoyed the feeling of being able to step from one country to another. There are little corners tucked into each country that just quietly say “This is us.”  It was cool riding around inside the big bucky ball that has been the signature of this park since its beginning in 1982. (OK, its not really a bucky ball because Spaceship Earth is made out of triangles, and bucky balls are made from pentagons and hexagons, but  still!) These photos show some of the other great things. 

 

Florida II – Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Jay and Kay and the Happiest Place on Earth
Jay and Kay and the Happiest Place on Earth

In Orlando, we understood that we had to visit Disney theme parks. So we did! Day Two was The Magic Kingdom. This is before we got drawn into the magic when we were still thinking of managing people and expectations,. This is getting started, what we saw in little corners and finally, how empty the entrance was in the afternoon.

Then there were a few attractions: I liked the Paddle Wheeler  and the view as we were cruising the circular lagoon. May-be I just liked sitting down.

There were a couple rides that I enjoyed like “Small, Small World” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”

And then, the parade …

 

 

Great Sand Dunes National Park

photo of the Great Sand Dunes
Great Sand Dune

The first person to wonder why huge piles of sand were in the mountains of Colorado didn’t get credit for the question. It’s easier to wonder about these great sand dunes now, with roads and all, but I’m not sure the answer is any more clear. I think it looks cooler when you’re standing there, because the sand all looks the same in my pictures. It was fun to dig into the river bed and find that the river was still there under the sand. It’s hard to resist walking up the dunes, and why would you?

The river under the sand
Go and see

When we had our fill of sand, we went to Zapata Falls, a couple miles south of the dunes. It’s an oasis in the desert. After walking forever in the heat (probably 15 minutes, because it’s only a half mile trail from the parking lot) you find yourself in this crack in the rock with a tiny water fall and it’s is positively chilly even on hot days. It was a treat.

Crack in the rock
Zapata Falls
The Crew

Hiking the Back of the Great Sand Dunes

10-DSCN0363It’s  less than 15 miles from Crestone, CO to the Great Sand Dunes National Park – on the map. It takes a little over an hour to drive there  because its more miles by car. It seemed reasonable to see how close we could get to the north side of the dunes by car and then walk around that area a little bit. It’s rugged. It’s not hospitable. And, even after driving to get close, its a long walk, we did not walk to the Sand Dunes.