The Mingus Mountains tower over the Verde Valley in central Arizona. Through the Verde Valley runs the Verde River, which feeds the valley and helps supply communities with water in a mostly arid climate. Over 1000 years ago, the Verde Valley was home to many indigenous people. The river and mountains provided excellent opportunity for water access and for raising crops. The Sinagua people were one group of people that found a home in the valley and Tuzigoot National Monument is what is left of their community, long after the Sinagua people were gone. A Flourishing Trade Community The Verde…
Tabby has a goal of visiting all of the National Parks in the USA. One of those parks happens to be located near Terlingua Texas, on the boarder of the USA and Mexico. It's a very remote area, and as an example, the nearest Walmart isn't within any reasonable driving distance. It's even 50 miles to the closest Dollar General, and as we all know, Dollar Generals pop up any place. What Terlingua does offer is a small market to buy groceries, a couple of gas stations, several places to buy handmade items, very close access to the entrance to…
Old Ore Road, inside Big Bend National Park, is a spectacular back country road for off-road enthusiasts. The National Park service has a page dedicated to this 26 mile long road and gives details on the type of vehicle needed to traverse it. We were driving a 2024 Ford F350 4x4 and felt comfortable attempting the drive. However, once we began this journey, there were a couple of times that we wished we had a narrower and more agile vehicle, like a Jeep. That said, we made the trip and escaped with minor scratches from the bushes to our paint…