The US NP system contains about 390 sites. In 2011 we visited about more than 30 sites, including National Wildlife Refuges, Tribal Parks and State Parks. The purpose of our visits were to see the natural wonders; see and try to imagine life in the "Ancestral Puebloans" ruins, some more than 1000 years old; and, learn about the history associated with each site.

Our photos, no matter how hard we try, do not convey the sense of awe and grandeur one sees and feels when standing at the bottom of 500+ foot cliffs. Or, standing outside a ruin where 500+ people lived. In either case, something spiritual happened to both Joy and me at different sites and at different times

We apologize in advance for our photographic shortcomings. However, if the photos in some way awaken a desire to go to the plases we have visited or to your nearby NP, then we consider the photos adequate.

As I write this, I imagine I can hear the native women talking and perhaps even laughing as they make adobe bricks and build the church at Quari, in the Salinas Missions National Monument.

Our trip was enjoyed further by the fact that we were camping at most all the NP's.

Joyce and Dick Wood - September & October 2011