Grand Junction, Colorado

A beautiful drive through the Colorado National Monument.

An unexpected and interesting tour of the Dinosaur Museum.

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A comparison of the human heart to the Brachiosaur heart. (See the tiny white human heart inside.)

Paleontologist hard at work within the museum.

Paleo Lab

Pioche, Nevada

In the 1860's Pioche, Nevada was known as the baddest town in the west; badder than Tombstone, badder than Dodge City and all the rest.  A most notorious mining camp, where the only law was the gun. Today, Pioche is a living ghost town of about 900 people, although it had 8,000 people in it's mining boom town days.

Historic mining relics

Ore buckets still hang on the tram line that runs over
the graves in Murderer's Row.

Sarge, checking out the mining equipment.

Main Street Pioche, today.

Cathedral Gorge State Park

Cathedral Gorge State Park - Panaca, Nevada 

Located 165 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Cathedral State Park is a perfect example of erosion. Unique cathedral like spires and intricate cave formations in the soft bentonite clay are an explorer's paradise.

Crossroads

Cave entrance

Sergeant, learning to be a "good dog"

Valley of Fire State Park

Hiking Valley of Fire State Park near Overton, Nevada was the inspiration of this trip. As one can imagine, Valley of Fire derives it's name from  red sandstone formations formed from great shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago.

Striking color variations.

Evening primrose

Beaver Tail Prickly Pear

The Wave

The Beehives

This 1965 movie set ruin was constructed for "The Professionals". Over 45 commercial photo shoots are made every year. Other popular movies filmed here include "Electric Horseman" and
"Star Trek Generations".

 Shelters constructed by the Civilian Conservation
Corps during the 1930's.

Elephant Rock

Sergeant is proving to be an excellent travel companion. Golf Frisbee anyone?