I have posted up some photographs from family trips abroad mainly to the USA, mostly family holiday stuff where we did some day walks. I hope you enjoy the scenery !
Colorado,Utah,Arizona – USA – July 2008
Mesa Verde National Park – Colorado
Our home during our stay in USA
Photograph taken at Mesa Verde National Park , one of our highest camp sites on the trip – around 7,000 feet (2135 metres).
Deer were always around the campground
William my youngest on a short hike - he is about double the size now !
Mesa Verde is on top of a large plateau
Cliff Palace, once the home to the ancestral Puebloans
Looking out from the Cliff Palace
Mary, William & me
Monument Valley – Utah
On the border of Utah and Arizona and located in the Navajo Nation is known the world over and the set for hundreds of “Westerns”.
archetypal road trip shot
On the open road
The desert heat gets to my children !
Monument Valley
Lake Powell – Utah/Arizona border
A huge man made lake, created by damming the Colorado River Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in North America, is 186 miles/299 kilometers long and has 1,960 miles/3058 kilometers of shoreline. We stopped for a couple of days on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Very hot here, temperature touched 100F (43C)
Lake Powell - early evening
Outdoor shower on the motorhome - Americans think of everything - good when it was hot !
Glen Canyon Dam
Looking out from top of the dam
North Rim of the Grand Canyon Part 1
If there is one place, that everyone should try and visit, it is the Grand Canyon, words cannot adequately describe the spectacle and photographs fail to capture probably the greatest natural wonder in the world. We stayed at a campsite right alongside the North Rim. It was literally 100 metres from the door of the motorhome.
The North Rim is much higher than the more popular South Rim and at 8000 feet (2440 metres), our campsite was 10 degrees cooler than temperatures on the South Rim. At this altitude, despite being located in Arizona, there are alpine meadows and forests of Ponderosa Pines. The area was quiet and few tourists were about despite being in school holidays. A magical place to hike and spend evenings around a camp fire.
The view from our campsite
Hiking along the many trails around the North Rim
Alpine meadows
Mark's walking blog 
Wonderful photos Mark – I just can’t resist anything from the USA! One particular summer we spent nearly 5 weeks there, starting with an assault on Mt Whitney (only got as far as camping at 12,000ft due to bad weather), then drove through Death Valley and on to the Grand Canyon – where we spent 2 days hiking down to the river and back. Then went on through Monument Valley, visited Mesa Verde and finally ended up in Denver to meet up with my parents. (They used to live over in the States.) Have to say I’ve also been to Lake Powell, but that was with husband no. 1……
Looking forward to your next lot of photos!
Thanks Chrissie. Sounds like a great trip you had!
Fabulous Mark, I’m looking at a whole bunch of ideas for a “special” family holiday in a couple of years and a Motorhome tour around the west US is one of the options. I might have to ask you a few questions at some point about how you organised things and how you got on.
That motorhome pitch near the edge of the canyon must have been really something
Thanks Andy. Please do drop me a line and I will try and help. It is a great holiday, with as you know some of the best landscapes in the world. The pitch near to the North Rim was truly fabulous.
Great photos, Mark Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon are on our list of national parks to visit in the USA.
Be sure to try the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail next time …
Ron,if I get a chance again – I will look at it.
Ron – if I get to that area again,I will certainly try it!