| South Park Loop on the Green Tortoise, '98 (by rand knapp) Credit the drivers for this one. They really had it together. Bill W. and Jim P. blazed a manic trail throughout the 15 day trip, and in all, we experienced 27 memorable stops. Incredibly fun! See my Baja site for a description of the 'Green Tortoise way' of travel. Here, I'll speak of South Park Loop. This trip pulsed with a youthful, international energy. Britain, Scotland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and USA were all represented in this inquisitive crowd. We enjoyed 5 hotsprings, soulful cooking, remote camping, exotic hiking areas, cactus, Mexico, a Texas bar, spring feed pools, caverns, parties, rafting, sand, South-West art and ruins, steam engines, geological monoliths that left our heads spinning, balancing rocks, 3 riverside swimming holes, deep canyons, painted hills, the feeling of insignificance, the feeling of revelation, and finally, yes, Las Vegas. Would we go again? You bet!! The photos below are laid out in order, so they act as the trip itinerary. About 50% of the nights, we slept on the bus as it drove. The photo descriptions below indicate the places that we did camp. Almost all the places we went were superb, and I find it difficult to pick personal favorites. Here are a few that come to mind... +++ All 5 hotsprings (Bill the driver was a hotsprings afficiando which suited me fine!!). +++ All of the swimming holes, with the Rio Grande the best (2 of the hotsprings were very close to this excellent swimming hole.) +++ White Sands because of it's vastness. Superb sunset. +++ Valley of the Gods. Beyond words. The highlight of the trip for me. Could easily of camped 4 nights there instead of 1. There were a few places we visited that are not covered by the following photo intinerary. They are the 2 Mexican border crossings (Paloma, Juarez), Taos, Durango, Las Vegas, and the spontaneous wine-tasting stop. |
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(Background photo: Monument Valley) |
| Click on photos to see description, more photos, and option to see full screen view of photos. |
 Anzabarrego Park; hiking. |  Saguaro Park; hiking. |
 Faywood Hotsprings Resort; camping and soaking. |  Big Bend, Window Trail; hiking. |
 La Kiva; washing clothes at a Texan Bar, camping. |  Big Bend, swimming in the Rio Grande with two hotsprings. We were all kids again. |
 Balmorea, largest Spring fed pool in the U.S.; swimming with a HIGH diving board!; camping. |  Carlsbad; bat watching. |
 Bottomless Lake Park; camping and hiking. |  Roswell; zaniness. |
 White Sands, exhilerating. |  Pilar, N.M. rafting in Rio Grande. |
 Mesa Verde Ruins. |  Valley of the Gods; camping and feelings of insignificance. |
 Mexican Hat; Balancing Rock and swimming in San Juan. |  Monument Valley; inspiring and vast. Camping and hiking. |
 Lake Powell; superb swimming. |  Grand Canyon; hiking. |
 Bryce Canyon; fast paced hike-a-thon. |  Kodachrome Basin; camping at it's finest. |
 Mystic Hotsprings; refreshing soak. |  Zion; hiking amidst a crush of humanity. Still very striking. |
 Lake Mead; fun swimming. The drivers really know how to find swimming spots! |
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