Show & Tell
What began as plans for a trip to visit my Uncle in Arkansas became a 15 day road trip that was one of the best experiences our family has ever had. We drove from Southern California to Bull Shoals, Arkansas, to Omaha, Nebraska and then back to Southern California. This post is a mostly photos with short descriptions of the beautiful places we visited. Each title is a link to the website for that location. (All photos are Copyright Forrest Vess 2018. For prints or permission for use contact forrestvess@me.com)
Carlsbad Caverns, Carlsbad, NM
Deep under the hills of New Mexico is a place of unique beauty, created by an inland sea washing away limestone over the ages. The wide open cathedral space known as the “Big Room” is the largest single cave chamber in North America. We went on a Ranger led tour of part of the caverns called the “Kings Palace.” Our Ranger guide told us some great stories about the first explorers to find the caves and shared with us some of the names of various formations. The tour culminated with a few minutes of complete darkness with all the lights extinguished. It was an incredible experience and I only wish we’d had more time to explore.
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX
We exited I-40 onto a long, narrow frontage road that appeared to go nowhere. By the time we reached the spot there were already a dozen other cars parked along the shoulder. The field is surrounded by barb wire fencing with a single narrow gate entrance. About 100 yds into the field is a row of 10 Cadillacs buried nose down, supposedly at the same angle as the Pyramids of Giza. They were first set up by the art collective known as Ant Farm in 1974 as a kind of homage to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fins. Spray cans in hand, we had a great time making our own art on the cars. The boys especially loved this. If you’re ever out near Amarillo, TX I recommend a stop at this unique place.
Blanchard Springs Caverns, AR
My Uncle lives in Northern Arkansas in a little town called Bull Shoals. One of his favorite places to take visitors is the Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Ozark National Forest just south of where he lives. You might be wondering what more we could see there after having visited Carlsbad Caverns, but the two caverns couldn’t be more different. Blanchard Springs Caverns have a completely different look and atmosphere. In the early summer the trees were lush and the humidity very high compared to the dryer climate in Carlsbad. The caverns are believed to have been formed over time by the Springs which still continually run through portions of the caverns. The cave formations themselves while similar were very different. One of the funnest parts was the Ranger led tour where we learned the names of many of the formations. Of course our boys’ favorite part was getting to see giant piles of 900 year old bat guano.
Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha NE
When we visited my sister-in-law in Omaha she took us to one of the most beautiful Botanical Gardens I’ve ever seen. 100 acres tucked away in South Omaha, with rain forest enclosed in a beautiful conservatory, it’s truly an oasis in the city. They run an hour long tram tour that goes through the gardens and then up to Kenefick Park where two of the largest train engines are parked, also visible from the freeway welcoming everyone to Omaha. If you are ever in the Omaha area I highly recommend touring the gardens. We saw the gardens in mid-summer but they are open year round and every season changes the experience.
Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
There just aren’t good enough words to describe the breathtaking beauty of this place. The formations of the ridges and valleys were created by thousands of years of water freezing between layers of rock then those layers breaking off when the ice melted in spring. As we planned our trip I was excited to find out that Cedar Breaks has an annual Wildflower Festival. The ranger led hike through the wildflowers was delightful. Over 300 species of wildflowers bloom in the subalpine forest and surrounding fields every summer. Some of them are unique to Cedar Breaks, and a few are found only on the canyon rim itself.
Zion National Park, Utah
Zion is one of those places that if you’ve been you’ll never forget, and if you haven’t been you really don’t know what you’re missing. Again we were overwhelmed by the incredible beauty of God’s creation. Every step changes the view and every view was spectacular. We hiked a couple of the very short trails and saw most of the park by tram ride. Looking up to the sky beyond the sheer rock faces inspired awe and wonder. Due to some thunderstorms and flash flooding two days before we arrived a section of the park was closed but I’m so glad we didn’t let that deter us. It really is a natural wonder worth seeing up close and personal.
I have one last link to share with you. We drove 4500 miles on this trip and spent hours and hours together in the truck. One of the things that made this trip really delightful was the fully dramatized Chronicles of Narnia audio CDs. We had so much time on our drive we listened to all 7 books. The emotion in the dramatization brought the story to life and all the interactions with Aslan the Lion were great reminders of our Heavenly Father’s care and love for us.
I hope you’ve been having a great summer. Thanks for following along on our journey and I hope you’ve been inspired to get out and see more of this beautiful world.
Chelle V
Chelle Vess is a Christian author, wife, and mom of three kids. Over the past 20 years she's served in children’s, women’s, and prayer team ministries and started blogging the Bible in 2014. She's worked in Southern California as a professional seamstress in the home interiors industry for 24 years, loves fiber crafts, cooking, gardening, tattoos, and Crossfit.
One Comment
william zeimet
Loved it, miss you already !