Super-fantastic Journeys

 We have visited San Francisco a couple of times, but we had never been out to Alcatraz Island, so we wanted to prioritize this.  The island is part of the National Park Services, and its notorious history as a prison sitting in the middle of the San Francisco bay is legendary.  Alcatraz housed some of the nation's worst criminals, and "The Rock" has been the subject of many movies over the years.   To visit the island, you take a ferry from Pier 33 on the San Francisco harbor.  This requires advanced reservations that you want to make sure you schedule well before our trip.  The ferry is operated by Alcatraz City Cruises .  The ticket was running $41 for adults and $25 for children when we visited.  This is an inclusive ticket price, and there are no additional park service fees collected.  The ticket will ask you to arrive at Pier 33 early for your scheduled departure.  I recommend following this suggestion as there are many people on each boat and you do not want to mi

The New River Gorge became a National Park in December of 2020.  It is a spot that definitely deserves this designation and I am thankful to have had multiple opportunities to explore this area over the last two years on a number of occasions.  One of the many recreational opportunities in the New River Gorge is hiking.  There is a wide range of trails for you to choose from with varying levels of difficulty.  Hiking trails along the rim of the gorge tend to be fairly easy and provide you with great views of the river below.  If you are looking for something a little more difficult pick one of the trails that goes below the rim and you will quickly drop in elevation, knowing that you will soon be climbing back up to get back to your trailhead. I have hiked here in the winter and summer months, and I have to say that winter is actually my favorite.  The foliage here is so dense that in the summer months, the trees will block most of the view. So if you want big vistas try and pick a tim

Muir Woods National Monument is located just 16 miles Northwest of Fishermans Warf in San Francisco. Muir Woods is a stand of Coastal Redwoods protected over the years and allows visitors to walk amongst these giants.  Many of the trees in the area are 500 - 800 years old, and the tallest tree at the monument stands 258 feet tall.  The trees create their own climate below the canopy allowing many different plants and animals to live here that would not do well in the arid climate otherwise.  The Coastal Redwoods grow in Northern California, primarily between San Francisco and Oregon.  They thrive here because of the fog.  The fog will condense on the needles in the trees, then drip down into the forest below.  This process is how these giant trees get enough water to sustain the forest that they create. Being so close to San Francisco Bay area Muir Woods is a popular destination and requires you to make a paid reservation just to get parkin.  We made our reservations months in advance

 Tuzigoot National Monument is a 53-acre site managed by the National Park Service near Clarksdale, Arizona.  The site became protected as a national monument in 1939 and is an example of the culture and housing of the protects and honors the ruins of a Sinagua people from 1125 CE to 140 CE before they moved north and east to what is now part of the Hopi reservation. This is a fee site for the National Park Service and will require payment on most days.  We were very lucky and happened to hit it on a free park day. Normally the fee is $10 per adult, children under 16 are free.  The fee is good for seven days and will also allow you to enter Montezuma's Castle National Monument. When you arrive and park in the loop lot you can head up the steps to the visitor center.  The visitor center has some interesting displays about the people who inhabited Tuzigoot and some items that were found when the site was excavated.  There is also a nice gift shop located in the visitors center.  Ther