National Monuments

Cedar Breaks National Monument has a problem. It's a beautiful place, almost a mini-Bryce Canyon. But that's its problem. It's located about 60 miles North of Zion National Park, and 60 miles West of Bryce Canyon National Park. If you drove here (and you probably will if you visit), it is dwarfed by the majesty of either (or both) of the other parks.

So if you visit Cedar Breaks, try to see it first. :-)

I really don't think I've given Colorado National Monument a fair review. They're just a victim of circumstance.

If you're coming from the West, you have just seen the San Rafael Swell or Arches and Canyonlands. If you're coming from the South, you've just been on the Million Dollar Highway. If from the East, the Rocky Mountains.

At this point, Colorado National Monument... is just a nice scenic drive.

Congaree Swamp National Monument's initial impression on me was the tall thin trees that bend like crazy in the wind. The second thing that impressed me was they actually had a mosquito meter on the Ranger's Cabin.

I was there during the winter and the Mosquito Meter was on "Low", so I can't tell you what it's like during June when they attack in squadrons. If it's anything like the border lakes in Minnesota, you might want to bring that insect repellent.

Craters of the Moon National Monument is just a very cool place. Thousands of years ago, molten lava periodically erupted from the Earth, spreading a half dozen different lava fields over this entire area. It left a black, bleak landscape where desert scrub tries to get a foothold.

All sorts of different lava flows/structures are represented here, from caves to different kinds of cones to just a black, endless landscape.

Devils Tower National Monument is a very cool place, even if it doesn't have an airfield on the other side for a close encounter. Located about 90 minutes West of the Black Hills, it is a cross between a Native American sacred religious site and geologic wonder.

Just don't visit during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, unless you're there to attend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Dinosaur National Monument is really two parks, the original Dinosaur Quarry, and the 1938 addition of the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers.

The original Quarry is fascinating. If you ever wanted to see where Dinosaur fossil skeletons come from, this place will show you. There is also access to the Green River, showing some interesting bits of twisted and bent layers of rock...

I stopped in while I was touring the Colorado Springs area. Unfortunately, I was shooting film, so only have a few images.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is actually larger than the state of Delaware, but has a population close to the number of visitors in the park. Located in South Central Utah, it is an irregularly shaped piece of land that stretches from Capitol Reef National Park to the North, the Arizona State line to the South, Glen Canyon NRA to the East, and Bryce Canyon to the West.

The GSENM page starts with an overview of what the Grand Staircase actually is, a geologic wonderland stretching from the Aquaritus Plateau at Bryce Canyon to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. This 8,000 foot drop in elevation in almost discreet steps holds some of the most breathtaking scenery in America.

Great Sand Dunes National Monument is now a National Park, but it was a National Monument when I was there, so it's still referred to here as a Monument. It's also supposed to be haunted, but I can't attest to that.

These dunes exist because the sand blown into this pocket of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains can't make it over the peaks, and drop out into the dune field.

Natural Bridges National Monument is actually an impressive place, but it's another park that you have to want to go to, since it's not on the way to anything else. (That's not exactly true, but it's close enough.)

The monument preserves three natural stone bridges, which still exist mostly because there's little rain or other severe erosive forces here.

Pompeys Pillar National Monument holds the only physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark's trek across America. On July 25 in 1806, William Clark climbed this rock and scratched his name onto the side of the limestone formation.

I was there exactly 200 years to the day after the deed.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument is the largest (known) Natural Bridge in the world, at 290 feet high and 275 feet wide.

It is accessible by boat from Lake Powell, or you can get a permit from the Navajo, and do an arduous 14 mile hike across a sandstone desert.

Scotts Bluff National Monument was one of the landmarks along the Oregon Trail that pioneers used to use to mark how far they've traveled.

It was known as the Nebraska Gibraltar. Also included in this set are Courthouse and Jail Rocks and the Chimney Rock National Historic Site. All of these landmarks were well documented by those travelling the trail.

White Sands National Monument is wholly contained within the White Sand Air Force Base, one of those top secret bases where they don't even allow cameras.

It's called White Sands because of the specific conditions in the Tularosa Basin that allows Calcium Carbonate to concentrate and crystallize out into a blinding white sand dunes in the sun...

Mount St. Helens NVM is a US Forestry Site, and proof that the earth is still angry in this part of the world. All you need to see is the trees which still litter the land, all facing away from the volcano.

We got there as the visitors center was closing, having spent some time at the lookouts along the way. Had we known, we could have gone to the visitors center first, then the view points, but no...

I had actually stopped in Somerset for the night, and was looking through the hotel propaganda when I found I was very close to the Flight 93 National Memorial, so I took the drive in the morning before heading to my final destination near Philly.

When I was there, it was nothing more than a trailer with some makeshift memorials. The site where the plane crashed was a quarter mile away, and could only be visited by relatives of the people on the flight.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial represents a monument as big as the sculptor's ego. I admit, it's an impressive piece of art and national pride, and if you're in the Black Hills area, a definite must-see attraction. Just do it in the morning if you're planning on taking pictures.

Oh, and don't go there during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, unless you want to go to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.