Category Archives: State Park

State Park visited or camped here

May 8, 2015 Winslow, Arizona

Driving from the Grand Canyon to Winslow AZ turned out to be more of an adventure than we expected. As we were preparing to move from the park we were surprised to see an occasional snow flurry. As we drove towards Flagstaff at an elevation of 7,000 feet, what started as a steady rain quickly turned into snow with the temperature hovering just above freezing. The snow followed us to Flagstaff where we stopped for gas and lunch. The dark threatening clouds made us eager to eat fast and get back on the road. The snow eased up as we descended into Winslow with an elevation just under 5,000 feet. However the snow was replaced by winds averaging 35 mph at our campground at Homolovi Ruins State Park. Bill had to strain to push the door open against the wind while I got out. We checked in at the Visitors Center and proceeded to our site. Even with the jacks down the wind really buffeted us until the wind calmed down at sunset. At one point clothes hanging inside on a hook were swaying back and forth from the force of the wind hitting us.

At this campground we are truly in a desert environment with sand, scrub bushes and signs warning of venomous snakes and insects.

The tiny town of Winslow, surrounded by Navajo County, surprisingly had a Walmart Supercenter. Do you recognize the name Winslow? It was made famous in the Eagles song “Take It Easy” with the lyrics “Well I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see, It’s a girl, my Lord in a flatbed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me….”. In the middle of town is a statue of a guitar playing guy with the backdrop of a Ford flatbed truck with a girl inside. Parked on the curb near the statue is a real Ford flatbed truck. Across the street is a gift shop displaying souvenirs of the guy standing on the corner. Route 66 runs through this part of Arizona and Route 66 souvenirs are everywhere.

This model represents what it looked like in the 14th century

The Homolovi Ruins State Park has two archeological sites dedicated to preserving the homeland of the Anasazi and Hopi people who first came here between 1260-1400 A.D. The Hopi people today still consider this their homeland and make pilgrimages to these sites. This state park was established for the purpose of protecting these sites and the idea was supported by the Hopi people. The park opened in 1993.

We visited the largest of the two archaeological sites. Despite a nice paved walkway to the site, there is really not much left to see except some small remains and shards of pottery.

We drove to the Meteor Crater Discovery Center to see the best preserved meteorite impact site on Earth. 50,000 years ago a meteor which had been hurtling through space for 500 million years, crashed into the earth. The impact left a crater nearly a mile across and more than 550 feet deep. The crater is so large that a 60 story building would not reach the rim. It is large enough to hold 20 football games with two million fans watching on the crater walls. Because the terrain so closely resembles that of the moon and other planets it was once used as an official training site for NASA Apollo astronauts.

The Discovery Center had an interesting movie which simulated how the impact may have occurred when the crater was formed as well as many interactive displays and artifacts. We were able to see and touch the largest meteorite fragment found at the crater. In the beginning geologists and scientists determined that the crater was formed by a volcano. After many years new scientists proved the crater was formed by a meteorite and not a volcano. It was interesting to read that scientists think a meteorite crashing into the earth millions of years ago was the probable cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. It is believed the impact in Mexico caused an “impact winter” which eliminated plant and animal life.

They had two outside viewing areas, an upper and lower deck. It was difficult to get a picture of the entire crater in one picture. The site has been designated as a “Natural Landmark” but is privately owned. As far as we could tell access to the crater is limited to the two observation decks and a paved trail around the rim.

You just never know what you will find in the Arizona desert!

February 1, 2015 Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Leave a reply

Disregard the previous email posting, this replaces that post of the same name.

We were eager to explore the area outside of Las Vegas and our first adventure was to make the short drive to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. This 200,000

acre area in the southern Mojave Desert gets its name from the fantastic red sand formations that can be found in the area. More than 500 million years ago this area was at the bottom of the ocean. For more than 250 million years limestone sediment accumulated and southern Nevada began to emerge from the sea. The great sandstone cliffs at Red Rock, thousands of feet high, are made of Aztec sandstone. The sandstone rocks were slowly uplifted thousands of feet to their current elevation where they have been exposed to weathering and erosion. The red color comes from deposits of iron oxide and calcium carbonate. Exposure to weather caused some of the iron minerals to “rust”, resulting in the beautiful red, orange and brown rocks.

There is a small Visitors Center there and a thirteen mile scenic loop drive with overlooks and places to hike and rock climb.

Paleontologists have confirmed that fossilized tracks made 180 to 190 million years ago in Red Rock Canyon are the first documented dinosaur tracks in Nevada.

There are many mammals which can be found in the area, including the kangaroo rat, blacktail jackrabbit and desert cottontail. We saw numerous road signs warning us to be on the lookout for wild burros and wild horses. These horses and burros originated from animals abandoned by settlers, ranchers, prospectors and Native Indian tribes.

The next day we decided to drive a further distance from our RV resort to Valley of Fire State Park, the oldest state park in Nevada. While we thought Red Rock Canyon was

beautiful, it didn’t begin to compare with the magnificent beauty of Valley of Fire. The red sandstone formations were formed from great shifting sand dunes during the ago of the dinosaurs. The uplifting of the region through faulting followed by extensive erosion created the present landscape. Native Americans such as the Basket People and later the Anasazi Pueblo farmers lived in this region.

While in the park we stopped by the Visitors Center and watched an excellent film on the park. This state park also had a scenic drive with many stops along the way to see gorgeous scenery. Our first stop was Arch Rock followed by Atlatl Rock where we climbed stairs which took us to view some petroglyphs carved in the desert varnish. Here we saw depictions of an “atlatl” which is a notched stick used to throw primitive spears. We stopped several times to hike back into the canyon to view more petroglyphs and magnificent views. The day went by quickly and before long the sun was starting to set in the canyon.

We were so glad we visited these two beautiful areas and had a chance to see the area outside of all the lights and casinos in Las Vegas!

Native people lived in this area for thousands of years and evidence of their existence can be found in petroglyphs and pictographs throughout the park. A petroglyph is made by scratching into a rock, revealing the lighter colored rock underneath. The designs are often carved or scratched into the dark coating of “desert varnish” on the surface of the rocks. A pictograph is made by painting designs onto the surface of rocks.

Red Rock Canyon’s petroglyphs (scratched)

Red Rock Canyon’s pictographs (painted)

Valley of Fire ‘s petroglyphs (scratched) “atlatl” which is a notched stick is at the top

Valley of Fire ‘s petroglyphs (scratched)

Closer view Valley of Fire ‘s petroglyphs (scratched)

December 3, 2014 Oahu, Hawaii Part 1

1 Reply

Hello, Oahu! The last island on our Hawaiian adventure. We picked up our rental car and headed to Waikiki Beach where we had rented a condo for our seven day stay. We immediately noticed that compared with the other islands there was lots more traffic and people. And we do mean lots! We had a nice view from our balcony on the 17th floor, but it was noisier than the other islands with city noise.

Can you find Bill?

Having onion rings with a pretend flower behind my ear

We spent most of our time exploring the island by car, dividing Oahu into four sections. Like on Kauai, Bill was able to purchase and download to his phone an app that gave us an audio driving tour of the island.

The first day we explored the Waikiki and east side of Oahu. If you love to shop, love beautiful beaches, and don’t mind hordes of people, you will love Waikiki. We were able to walk to eveything from our condo, and it was especially nice to have a wide selection of restaurants to choose from each evening within a short stroll.

Houses are built everywhere

Getting ready for sunset on Waikiki beach with Diamond Head Crater in background

Asian tourists have their own bus

We followed our audio tour as it took us to Diamond Head, the most recognized landmark in Oahu. The actual name of the volcano is Le’ahi. It is believed to have been formed about 300,000 years ago during a single brief eruption. The broad crater covers 350 acres with its width being greater than its height. The southwestern rim is highest because winds were blowing ash in this direction during the eruption. Since the eruption the slopes of the crater have been eroded and weathered by wind, rain, and the pounding sea.

Diamond Head got its nickname because in the late 1700’s, Western explorers and traders visited Le’ahi and mistook the calcite crystals in the rocks on the slope of the crater for diamonds. Imagine their disappointment when they discovered it was not diamonds! Because of its panoramic view, Diamond Head has been used over the years as a site for coastal defense. Most pictures of Waikiki will have Diamond Head in the background.

We stopped at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve to do some snorkeling. We had high hopes for this location because it was advertised as the best snorkeling in Oahu. It is the only place during our month in Hawaii where we had to pay to park and snorkel. We were required to watch a short video on protecting the coral and sea life before we were allowed to ride a trolley down to the beach. It was low tide and the coral in that area is very tall, so in some places we had to be very careful not to touch the coral or scrape ourselves. While we saw some fish, the experience was not nearly as good as the wonderful snorkeling we did in Kona on the Big Island.

Hanauma Bay has a big reef to snorkel over

After changing clothes and eating a picnic lunch, we continued driving along the coast and came to the Halona Blowhole. Since it was not high tide the spouting was not magnificent, but we still got a picture.

Kalaniana’Ole Highway

Halona Blowhole

Eastern shore

We stopped by the Puu Ualakaa State Wayside Park which is on a cinder cone with a breathtaking sweeping view of downtown Honolulu and Diamond Head. We reached the park by driving on Tantalus Drive, a narrow winding canopy-covered road that steadily climbed to the park. We were rewarded not only with a great view but also with a lovely rainbow!

Overlook of Diamond Head Crater and Waikiki Beach hotels

Houses are built everywhere

We ended the busy day by visiting The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, otherwise known as the Punchbowl. The cemetery is located in Punchbowl Crater, an extinct volcanic tuff cone that was formed 75,000 to 100,000 years ago. The Hawaiian name is Puowaina which means “Hill of Sacrifice” because the area was first used as an altar where Hawaiians offered human sacrifices to pagan gods. In 1948 Congress approved funding to make it a national cemetery as a permanent burial site for the remains of thousands of World War II servicemen.

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

It is a very lovely, peaceful setting with beautiful views of Honolulu and Diamond Head.

Beautiful end to a perfect day.

Sunset on Waikiki beach

Night view from our hotel balcony

November 30, 2014 Big Island, Hawaii Part 3

1 Reply

Hawai’i, the Big Island, has ten different climate zones and we experienced them while in Kona and Hilo. We left the warm 85+ sunny weather in Kona and headed to Hilo where the weather was cool, overcast and it often drizzled rain. Quite a contrast for us and I really didn’t have enough warm clothes for that side of the island to be comfortable.

We drove north from Kona taking the slow route to Hilo, stopping at points of interest along the way. One particularly beautiful spot was this overlook of the Waipi’o Valley with a waterfall nestled near the ocean cliffs. It is a difficult trip down the road into the valley and since we did not have a four wheel drive vehicle, we didn’t even consider attempting it. We were told the people in the valley do not have electricity or any modern conveniences and are very content with their isolated lifestyle. Even with the heavy mist, it was a beautiful sight.

The Waipio valley is to the left

The Waipio valley requires some serious vehicle and driving experience

North Shore

Later we stopped at Akaka Falls State Park where we took a beautiful circular walk amid a lush tropical setting to see the falls. The falls plummet 442 feet into a stream eroded gorge. It is said that this is the Big Island’s most famous waterfall.

Looking up where we came from in Akaka Falls State Park

Widescreen view of Akaka Falls, 422 feet tall

We arrived at Volcano Village next to the entrance to Volcanoes National Park. Here we stayed in a sweet little cottage in a rainforest setting. This park was our main reason for coming to this side of the Big Island. We will tell you all about the park in our next blog entry. For now I will tell you more about other adventures on this side of the Big Island.

We drove thirty minutes back into Hilo, known as Hawaii’s Little Big City, to explore more of that area. We had hoped to get a view of the current lava flow, but streets were blocked off for blocks near the flow with guards stopping anyone but residents. We did see where they have taken precautions around electrical poles in the little town of Pahoa which is the town being

The electric company has wrapped 20 foot of the power poles with lava rock

threatened by the approaching lava. We saw on TV that a new shopping center in Pahoa is expected to be destroyed by lava if the current rate and direction of flow continues. The island continues to grow due to volcanic activity, but sometimes at a great expense to its citizens.

Like Kona, Hilo is a port city and we saw a cruise ship docked. Hilo is nestled on the slopes of three volcanoes and has a population of around 41,000. It is one of the wettest towns in the United States. The University of Hawaii has a campus there as well as on other islands. Hilo was hit by tsunamis in 1946 and 1960. A couple months ago a hurricane hit Hilo and we saw evidence of the damage, especially to trees.

Bill was especially fond of some huge, lovely trees called Monkeypod we noticed around the town of Hilo.

The Monkeypod trees look like large umbrellas

We drove to Rainbow Falls, an 80 foot tall falls located in Hilo, where it is said you can often see a rainbow when the morning sun shines through the mist. Since it was late afternoon we didn’t see a rainbow but it was still beautiful!

Rainbow Falls usually make rainbows in the morning hours

Also we drove to a lighthouse on the easternmost point of the state of Hawaii called Cape Kumukahi. Since this is where the sun first shines in Hawaii every day of every year, it is of spiritual importance to native Hawaiians. In 1960 Kilauea erupted, destroying a town near the lighthouse and crops nearby. Just as it appeared the lighthouse would be engulfed by the lava, it split into two streams and flowed into the sea on either side, sparing the structure. People were amazed by this phenomenon and felt it was a message from the god Pele telling them of the lighthouse’s importance to the people.

This Cape Kumukahi lighhouse was saved in 1960 when the lava flow split and went around the lighhouse fence

This Cape Kumukahi lighhouse was saved on 1960 when the lava flow split and went around the lighhouse fence

This is the East tip of Hawaii Island, Cape Kumukahi

Here is the height of the 1960 lava flow next to the Cape Kumukahi lighthouse

November 21, 2014 Maui, Hawaii Part 2

Leave a reply

Our adventures in Maui continued with a drive on the “Road to Hana”. This drive was definitely more about the journey than the destination. When we first arrived in Maui, Bill purchased and downloaded to his phone an audio tour of Maui which came in very handy, especially on the drive to Haleakala National Park which I described in the previous blog, as well as during the Road to Hana. This 64 mile drive takes almost three hours if you don’t make any stops. Why so long? In those 64 miles there are 59 one way bridges and approximately 620 hairpin turns. Most of the bridges date back to 1910. The road was originally built for sugar plantation

The road to Hana

Maliko Bay

workers traveling to and from work. And keep in mind, once you drive those 64 miles of one lane bridges and hairpin turns, you have to turn around and do it again on the way back since rental car agreements forbid you to continue any further than 15 miles past Hana due to unpaved and hazardous road conditions. So why do it you must be asking. Because the scenery of unspoiled beaches, waterfalls, caves, and lush tropical scenery is breathtaking.

Wailua falls

At one point our audio tour guide suggested we take a small, safe detour which took us down to one of the beautiful beaches in Keanae. The water here was too rough for swimming and

Coconut tree

In 1946 the Keanae area was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami. The only building said to have been left standing was the ‘Ihi’ihi o Iehowa Ona Kaua Church

Keanae area

there was no easy access to the water, but we enjoyed watching the waves crash against the shore. We stopped at a small vegetable stand near the beach and bought a loaf of delicious banana bread, still warm.

We visited Waianapanap State Park where we saw a black sand beach, caves, blowholes and a natural arch. We also stopped by Haleakala National Park to see Ohe’o Gulch also known as Seven Sacred Pools which stretches down from the same volcano summit we mentioned in our

The Kipahulu visitor center has pools that were off limits to swimming because of the high water levels

Banyan Tree

last post. If the water is high there are as many as 7 pools formed from falling water which can be a delightful place to swim. When we were there the weather was very overcast and water rough so the swimming areas were closed.

At the end of the road before we turned around, we visited the grave of Charles Lindbergh. Located on a remote section of Hana Road behind a small church, the graveside is relatively

Palapala Hoʻomau Congregational Church located in Kipahulu

Following his death in 1974, Lindbergh was buried in the graveyard of Palapala Hoʻomau Congregational Church

simple with no signs leading to his grave. Lindbergh was introduced to Maui by a friend and thought it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. He and his wife built a home on Maui. In 1974, suffering from incurable cancer Lindbergh flew from New York to Maui to live out his remaining days saying he would rather live for 2 days in Maui than prolong his life in New York. His simple coffin was made of eucalyptus and was taken to the church in the back of a pickup truck.

Jagged Kipahulu coast

On one of our last days in Maui we celebrated Bill’s birthday. We decided to go to a recommended Italian restaurant since Bill had already had several seafood meals. Upon learning it was his birthday, the owner brought out a huge slice of tiramisu on the house with a candle burning and sang Happy Birthday.

Sadly our time on Maui came to an end and it was time for the next adventure.

November 15, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 2

Leave a reply

Wow, Kauai is a beautiful place! One of the highlights of our time there was driving to Waimea Canyon State Park. The Waimea Canyon, located on the west side of Kauai, is also known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. While it is not as big or as old as the Arizona one, we were awestruck by its beauty. It is 14 miles long, one mile wide and 3,600 feet deep. The canyon was

The canyon was full of mist

Waipoo Falls

Closer view of Waipoo Falls

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon with helicopter

Waimea Canyon with Waipoo Falls on the right

Waimea Canyon

formed by the collapse of the volcano that created Kauai, as well as erosion caused by the Waimea River arising from extreme rainfall from Mount Wai’ale’ale, one of the wettest places on earth.

This sign point to a nearby peak

Kalalau lookout

Kalepa Ridge from Kalalau Lookout

While viewing the canyon we heard the faint bleating of a mountain goat. We had to wait awhile but eventually caught a brief glimpse of him before he disappeared. Amazing how they can keep their footing on the canyon walls!

Another day we drove to Wailua Falls a popular tourist attraction, the falls drop 80 feet into a pool of water. The falls was used in the opening credits of “Fantasy Island”.

Wailua falls of Kauai

We loved going to restaurants with tropical settings.

Duke’s Restaurant with a tropical interior

Captain Cook landed two ships in Kauai in 1778 and called the islands “Sandwich Islands”.

Replica of statue in Whitby, England of Captain James Cook 1728 – 1779

Our five nights in Kauai came to an end much too soon. We packed our bags and headed to the airport, but we weren’t ready to fly back to San Diego just yet. Stay tuned!

November 12, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 1

Leave a reply

Aloha from Hawaii! Yes you read that right. We are on the island of Kauai. After a six hour flight from San Diego, and a short flight from Honolulu, we arrived on Kauai also known as the

Our first view from the aircraft of Oahu Island and Waikiki Beach

Garden Isle. Like the other Hawaiian Islands, Kauai is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor. Kauai is the fourth largest island, the northernmost island, the oldest and the first to be free of volcanic activity. It is 33 miles long and 25 miles wide with a population of around 63,000. It is believed that this island was the first inhabited. While we were able to drive around most of the perimeter of the island, the interior is mostly inaccessible. The temperature averages between 69 and 84 degrees year round. One of the first things we noticed when stepping off the plane was the humidity the likes of which we hadn’t felt since leaving Florida eighteen months ago. The Hawaiian trade winds help somewhat with making the humidity more tolerable.

With ocean temperatures of between 72 and 80 degrees year round we enjoyed snorkeling at two beaches while on the island. Kauai is known for roosters and chickens roaming free, so it is common to see them everywhere you go on the island, even sunbathing with Bill on the beach.

These roosters where everywhere

We were also awakened every morning by the sound of roosters crowing. While driving to one beach we came upon a blowhole.

Spouting Horn

We stayed at a beautiful condo we booked through Vacation Rentals By Owner. We enjoyed watching cruise ships coming in from our balcony. Electricity is very expensive on the island and it is very common to see solar panels on most of the roofs of buildings including our condo.

View from our balcony

We rented a jeep and set off to explore the island during our five night stay.

One day we drove to the North Shore of the island on Highway 50 to the “End of the Road”. This part of the island is known for its gorgeous scenery, amazing beaches, dry and wet caves, waterfalls and many one lane bridges where you had to stop and wait your turn to cross. The movie ” South Pacific ” was filmed here as well as Elvis Presley’s “Blue Hawaii”. We also

Left view of Lumahai Beach part of South Pacific movie

Right view of Lumahai Beach part of South Pacific movie

stopped at an overlook with taro fields, which is widely grown in Hawaii. This valley was used during the filming of the movie “Uncommon Valor” starring Gene Hackman.

Hanalei Wildlife Refuse

Haena park

October 27, 2014 San Clemente, California

Leave a reply

We left San Juan Capistrano and the coyotes behind and headed back to the beach for a five night stay at San Clemente Beach State Park. We didn’t know what to expect after our stay at Huntington Beach in the cramped and noisy state park there. We were pleasantly surprised to find a nice park with fairly spacious sites and best of all, the park was practically empty. The campground is located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with train tracks at the bottom of the cliff running right along the beach, and I-5, the busy freeway on the other side. To our relief, neither the train noise or freeway noise was a problem. There was a nice buffer of trees and the freeway was far enough away to not be a problem, and since the trains did not blow their whistles, we could sleep at night with the windows open with no problems.

It was a bit of a hike down to the beach from the campground, but there was a nice paved trail and we saw some beautiful sunsets from the bluffs.

Sunset from San Clemente

While here in San Clemente we made the jaunt two hours north to Castaic to see Bill’s Aunt Emily. She flew from her home in Illinois to spend the winter with her son in California. We saw Aunt Emily last year when we traveled through Illinois and we so happy to have another chance to see her.

Aunt Emily, Bill and George Selph

October 20, 2014 Huntington Beach, California Part 2

1 Reply

While staying at the Bolsa Chica State Beach campground in Huntington Beach, we decided to make the forty minute drive over to Yorba Linda to tour the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Museum and Birthplace.

The library is located on the former site of the Nixon family nine acre citrus farm and includes the birthplace our 37th president. We were able to tour the house where Nixon was born and lived as a small child.

Nixon was born and lived as a child in this very house on this very location

The library and museum had many exhibits beginning with his birth and childhood to his years as a lawyer and naval officer as well as his early years in politics. There were large exhibits on his years in the White House, including his foreign travels and diplomacy with China and the Middle East, as well as space travel including the moon landing. And yes, there was a large exhibit on Watergate. Other presidential libraries had replicas of the Oval Office and how it was decorated during each presidency, but Nixon chose to have a replica of the Lincoln Sitting Room which is where he enjoyed working and spent a lot of his time.

This is the Lincoln sitting room, Nixon’s favorite place to work on the second floor of the White House

We were also able to climb aboard the Marine helicopter used by Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford and was the helicopter Nixon boarded when he departed the White House for the last time.

This is the helicopter that Nixon used when he left the White House for the last time

On display was also the armored limousine used during the Nixon presidency. The grave markers for President and Mrs. Nixon are located near his birthplace.

It was very interesting to see the library and museum of this complex man during such a tumultuous time in history.

October 18, 2014 Huntington Beach, California

1 Reply

We left our beautiful campsite in Ventura, California after ten wonderful days overlooking the ocean where we could hear the waves crashing against the rocks and watch surfers riding the waves. We drove south to Bolsa Chica State Beach Park in Huntington Beach. While we could see the ocean, this campground was not nearly as nice as the county park at Ventura. The camping sites were similar to a parking lot with sites very close together. The worst part of this campground was its very close proximity to Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. Traffic noise was constant with only some relief in the early morning hours. We have found that while the beach campgrounds offer beautiful views of the ocean, they are also located close to the Pacific Coast Highway and therefore have traffic noise. The breathtaking views we enjoyed while driving along the coast earlier this year come at a cost to beach campers. We did enjoy a few beautiful sunsets while we were there.

Sunset from the shores of Huntington Beach

While in the area we decided to drive to Long Beach to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was the USS Iowa battleship. It is known as the Battleship of Presidents and is the only battleship on the West Coast. She was the lead ship in her class of battleship and the fourth in the US Navy. She is the last lead ship of any class of the U.S. battleships and was the only ship of her class to have served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. During World War II she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Algeria for an important meeting in 1943 in Tehran with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin.

President Roosevelt used the USS Iowa in 1943

They installed a bathtub and elevator on the ship to accommodate Roosevelt. In 1944 she was sent to the Pacific Fleet where she shelled beachheads in advance of Allied amphibious landings. She also served during the Korean War and was reactivated in 1984 in response to an expanded Soviet Navy. The Iowa was decommissioned for the last time in 1990 and was moved to her current location in 2012.

This is a 2,000 pound 16 inch shell

The USS Iowa guns shot 16 inch shells with six bag of powder

The USS Iowa guns shot 16 inch shells and six bag of powder

Phalanx system protects the ship with firing 3,000 22 mm rounds per minute

The protected bridge area of the ship is a vault with 16 inch walls

The bridge is enclosed by 16 inch walls

Next we drove seven miles to the RMS Queen Mary where we took a guided tour of the transatlantic ocean liner.

She primarily sailed on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967. She was officially retired in 1967 and has been moored in Long Beach since October 31, 1967. The ship now serves as a tourist attraction with a hotel, museum and restaurants. The ship is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also listed as a part of the Historic Hotels in America. In 2008 the ship was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 10 most haunted places in America. The Queen Mary’s original professionally manned wireless radio room was removed and later an amateur radio room was created and is manned today by volunteers from a local amateur radio club.

Established in 1979, W6RO was the first permanent amateur radio station to be installed aboard a museum ship and is manned most days by volunteers

Bill particularly enjoyed touring this room. We learned during the ship’s tour that legend has it originally the ship was to be named the Queen Victoria but when ship representatives asked King George V if they could name the ship after Britain’s greatest queen, he assumed they were talking about his wife, Queen Mary, and no one had the nerve to tell him otherwise.

The one and only Queen Victoria – SORRY – Queen Mary cruiseliner

It was interesting to hear how the ship had first class sections of the ship that were off limits to non-first class passengers. Each afternoon, while the first class passengers were enjoying high tea, the other passengers were allowed access to one of the ships two swimming pools. Of course each day the water had to be drained and refilled since the first class passengers could never swim in water where other passengers had been swimming!

We enjoyed our time in Long Beach touring these two historic and very different ships.

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Category Archives: State Park

May 8, 2015 Winslow, Arizona

February 1, 2015 Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

December 3, 2014 Oahu, Hawaii Part 1

November 30, 2014 Big Island, Hawaii Part 3

November 21, 2014 Maui, Hawaii Part 2

November 15, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 2

November 12, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 1

October 27, 2014 San Clemente, California

October 20, 2014 Huntington Beach, California Part 2

October 18, 2014 Huntington Beach, California