2004 Cross-country Trip
29 days, 21 states, 8950 miles, 1 unforgettable summer.
Before we left, the (17-year) cicada season in the greater Washington D.C. area was just winding down ...
Sunday, 6/13: Herndon, VA -> Mishawaka, IN
From left to right: An Ohio Visitor's Center; Chapel on the Notre Dame campus; Interior of the chapel
Monday, 6/14: Mishawaka, IN -> Rockford, IL
From left to right: Chicago Skyline; Lighthouse on Lake Michigan; Chicago River; Bird's Eye View of Chicago taken from the Sears Tower
Tuesday, 6/15: Rockford, IL -> Mitchell, SD
Mississippi River from the Minnesota side
Wednesday, 6/16: Mitchell, SD -> Rapid City, SD
From left to right: Corn Palace in Mitchel, SD; Missouri River near Chamberlain, SD
Badlands National Park
Thursday, 6/17: Rapid City, SD -> Gillette, WY
From left to right: Mount Rushmore National Monument; Crazy Horse Memorial; Custer State Park, SD
From left to right: A Prairie Dog in Wind Cave National Park; A lone bison (buffalo) grazing on the open prairie in Wind Cave NP
The unique "boxwork" formation in the caves of Wind Cave NP
Friday, 6/18: Gillette, WY -> Yellowstone National Park, WY
From left to right: Devil's Tower National Monument; A Prairie Dog in Devil's Tower National Monument
Saturday, 6/19: Yellowstone National Park, WY
From left to right: Lower Fall of the Yellowstone Falls from Artist Point; Lower Fall of the Yellowstone Falls from Uncle Tom's Trail
From left to right: Grazing bisons on the banks of Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley; Bisons and their cub
Elks
At Morris Geysers Basin
Sunday, 6/20: Yellowstone National Park, WY
From left to right: A bison (buffalo); Yellowstone River from Calcite Spring Overlook
Mamoth Hotsprings
Old Faithful at eruption, notice the crescent moon in the second picture
Monday, 6/21: Yellowstone National Park, WY
From left to right: Morning Glory hotspring; Mirror hotspring; At the Continental Divide
A newborn elk that was probably born just hours ago, its legs were still wobbly
From left to right: Fishing Hole (a hotspring) in Yellowstone Lake; Hotsprings on the shore of Yellowstone Lake at West Thumb; Another bison
Tuesday, 6/22: Yellowstone NP -> Grand Teton NP, WY
From left to right: Old Faithful at sunrise (not at eruption); A violet-green swallow; The towering Teton Range in Grand Teton NP
A moose in Grand Teton (this picture is a bit noise because I took it at ISO 1000 probably 30 minutes after sunset)
Wednesday, 6/23: Grand Teton NP, WY -> Salt Lake City, UT
From left to right: A moose crossing the road in Grand Teton NP; Grand Teton with Snake River in the foreground
Grand Teton and Hidden Falls along the Cascades Trail
From left to right: A Golden Mantled Squirrel; A pika; Bear Lake on the border of Idaho and Utah
Thursday, 6/24: Salt Lake City, UT -> Reno, NV
From left to right: The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City; Utah Capitol building;
Along the shores of the Great (and greatly stinky) Salt Lake (We actually never made it to the lake because the stink drove us back)
The Great Salt Lake Desert (it's all salt on the ground)
From left to right: Driving on the freeway in the Nevada Desert; Statue with casinos in the background in the Reno Hilton Hotel
Friday, 6/25: Reno, NV -> San Francisco, CA
Nevada Capitol building in Carson City, the most unimpressive state capitol building in the U.S. I have seen (and I have seen quite a few of them)
From left to right: Lake Tahoe from a Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest view point in Nevada; Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe; Lake Tahoe shoreline in Sugar Pine Point State Park; A Canadian Goose on the shore of lake Tahoe
Saturday, 6/26: San Francisco, CA
From left to right: The famous pier 39 sealions (this time actually there were just a few of them, I have seen many more before); A seagull in Fisherman's Wharf
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From left to right: San Francisco city streets; Lombard Street, "the crookiest street in the world"
Musicians in the farmer's market near Fisherman's Wharf
From left to right: Alcatraz Island; Inside Alcatraz (in case you have not heard of it, it was a federal prison)
From left to right: The famous San Francisco cable car; Saint Peter-Paul's Cathedral
I believe this is a U.S. Coast Guard's helicopter. This image is not digially manipulated, the moon was there! I just happened to be in the right place at the right time (with the right camera equipment too).
Golden Gate Bridge at sunset from Marin Headlands
Sunday, 6/27: San Francisco, CA -> Carmel-by-the-sea, CA
From left to right: San Francisco Palace of the Museum of Arts; Such fertile grounds near John Steinbeck's hometown Salinas; Monterey Fisherman's Wharf
From left to right: Rocky Pacific seashore along the 17-mile drive near Monterey; A Carlifornia ground squirrel (a fat one); Seals on the seashore along the 17-mile drive; The famous Lone Cypress
Monday, 6/28: Carmel-by-the-sea, CA -> Los Angeles, CA
From left to right: Rocky Pacific coast in Big Sur; Crashing waves in Big Sur
Elephant seals in Big Sur
Tuesday, 6/29: Los Angeles, CA
From left to right: L.A. in its legendary haze, taken from Mulholland Drive; You can see the plywood signs of "Hollywood", There are really no landmarks in L.A.
The B.E.T. award ceremony was being held here, screaming crowds watching on. It was maddening.
Bruce Lee's star on the "Walk of Fame"; Spiderman and Wonderwoman posing for me (I had to tip them each a dollar for this, What the f$%@, you say -- I hear ya!).
Santa Monica Beach
Wednesday, 6/30: L.A. -> San Diego and back
From left to right: La Jolla Beach, where I got the worst sunburn in my life; Balboa Park in San Diego (2 pictures)
From left to right: Immaculate Conception Church in Old Town San Diego, Amigos playing music in a restaurant in Old Town San Diego
Thursday, 7/1: L.A. -> Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP
From left to right: Kaweah River, Giant Forest and the Sentinel Sequoia outside the Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park
Friday, 7/2: Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP -> Yosemite National Park
From left to right: Grizzly Falls in Giant Sequoia National Monument; Kings Canyon; Roaring River in Kings Canyon National Park
General Grant's Tree, note the two people at the bottom.
Saturday, 7/3: Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Falls
The Merced River, notice the two mule deer grazing by the river.
Close-ups of the two mule deer
From lef to right: A blue jay; Yosemite at sunset with Half Dome and two water falls; Half Dome at sunset
Sunday, 7/4: Yosemite National Park -> 29 Palms, CA
From lef to right: Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree National Park; A Joshua Tree
Sunset in the High Desert, you can see the Salton Sea (elevation: 633 feet below sea level) in the distance in the first picture
Joshua Trees at sunset
Monday, 7/5: 29 Palms, CA -> Tucson, AZ
From left to right: Cholla Cactus Garden and Palm trees in Cottonwood Spring Oasis in Joshua Tree National Park
Giant Saguaro cactus in Saguaro National Park
Saguaro at sunset
Tuesday, 7/6: Tucson, AZ -> Holbrook, AZ
The interior and exterior of Mission San Xavier Del Bac in Tucson
From left to right: A carpenter bird perched on a tree (this bird can dig its nest in a saguaro); A morning dove
From left to right: Casa Grande National Monument; Montezuma Castle National Monument; A wildfire in Cononino National Forest
Wednesday, 7/7: Holbrook, AZ -> Alburquerque, NM
Petrified woods in Petrified Forest National Park
From left to right: The Tepees and Painted Desert (2 pictures) in Petrified Forest National Park
A colorful lizard in Petrified Forest National Park
Old Town Albuquerque and San Felipe De Neri Church
Thursday, 7/8: Alburquerque, NM -> Elk City, OK
From left to right: A granite peak taken from Sandia Peak in Albuquerque (not Sandia Peak itself); Sandia Peak Tram the longest single stage cable car in the world.
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From left to right: Cadilac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas; The Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo, where you can eat the 72 oz. steak (plus sides) for free if you can finish it in an hour; A dude taking a stab at the 72-oz. steak; A cowboy musician
Friday, 7/9: Elk City, OK -> Eureka, MO
From left to right: The National Memorial in Oklahoma City; Tiles (donated by kids) and flowers at the memorial
Saturday, 7/10: Eureka, MO -> Lexington, KY
From left to right: St. Louis taken from atop the arch; St. Louis downtown
My rendition of the arch
A more regular rendition of the arch, "Gateway to the West" (for us it is the gateway to the east).
Sunday, 7/11: Lexington, KY -> Herndon, VA
From left to right: Horse statues in the Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky; Real horses in the park
From left to right: West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston; Cathedral Falls; New River Gorge and New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia
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