October 29, 2010 - White Sands, New Mexico

 

At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain-ringed valley, the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world`|s great wonders-the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Slowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong southwest winds, covers everything in its path. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals adapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only  a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by the moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved white colorations to camouflafe them in the gypsum sand. 

October 25, 2010 - Mount Rushmore - Black Hills, South Dakota



Mount Rushmore is a National Memorial created by sculptor Gutzom Borglum and his crew. Borglum carefully selected four presidents which are said to symbolize American Freedom and Democracy. Work began on the gigantic sculpture in the Black Hills on Aug. 10, 1927 and took 14 years in total, as he worked on the piece gradually finishing in 1941. George Washington signifies the fight for independence. Thomas Jefferson stands for the notion of a people’s government. Abraham Lincoln symbolizes the concept of equality and the union of the states. Theodore Roosevelt represents the international importance of the United States in the twentieth century.





October 25, 2010 - Crazy Horse - Black Hills, South Dakota

Today we visited Crazy Horse, near Hill City in the Black Hills of South  Dakota.

At Crazy Horse the world’s largest sculpture is in progress as the focal point of a non-profit, educational and cultural Memorial honouring the North American Indian. It began in 1947 when sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-1982) arrived in the Black Hills to accept the Indian’s invitation to carve the mountain. Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear’s invitation said “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has heroes too. “ When he started work on the mountain he was almost 40 and had only $174 left to his name. Over the years he battled financial hardship, racial prejudice, injuries and advancing age. A strong believer in the free enterprise system, he felt Crazy Horse should be built by the interested public and not the taxpayer, twice he turned down offers for federal funding, the Memorial is not a federal or state project. Since his death in 1982, the project is being continued by his wife Ruth and their large family.


"My lands are where my dead lie buried" - Crazy Horse


 











October 1, 2010 Okotoks, Alberta

Our home town, Okotoks, Alberta. Situated 20 miles south of Calgary and 60 miles east of the Rocky Mountains. We are enjoying the beautiful fall colors and finally getting our indian summer. 

We have had a fun and busy summer, working at a golf course and enjoying the golf privelages that this scenic course has to offer. This is a view from the fouth hole looking towards the Rocky Mountains. You can see little or no snow yet even though it is the beginning of October.

As we get ready to start our winter travels, our plans are to travel to South Dakota to visit Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse monument. From there we will be travelling south to New Mexico to spend some time exploring this state. From there we will travel to Arizona to visit relatives in Bullhead City and the Cottonwood and Sedona area. We then will settle down in Apache Junction for some winter nesting.