Entries about park

Today was another beach day as we anchored off of Tobago Cays Marine Park. It is a spectacular setting the the crew prepared a wonderful BBQ lunch for us on the beach.

The Tobago Cays are an archipelago located in the Southern Grenadines of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines comprising five small islands and extensive coral reefs. The cays - Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tabac and Jamesby - are a popular tourism destination.

The Tobago Cays are now the key element of the Tobago Cays Marine Park run and owned by the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines government. The marine park consists of a 1,400-acre (5.7 km2) sand-bottom lagoon which encompasses the five cays, the inhabited island of Mayreau and the 4 km Horseshoe Reef. The marine park was listed as a regionally significant ecosystem under the SPAW Protocol in December 2014. The most extensive and well-developed coral reef complexes in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines occur on shallow shelves around the windward sides of Mayreau and Union islands and the cays themselves. In addition, principal vegetation types include beach vegetation and dry forest. With the exception of a small mangrove in Petit Rameau and salt pond in Mayreau, there are no wetlands in the cays.

After a quiet morning and lunch our group headed out to the Angkor Archaeological Park to start out temple visits. Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations. UNESCO has set up a wide-ranging programme to safeguard this symbolic site and its surroundings.

The first stop was the Beyon Temple. Bayon is in the heart of the ancient city of Angkor Thom, which was the symbolic center of the Khmer empire. Dedicated to Buddha by King Jayavarman VII, this state temple was originally called “Jayagiri” (which means “Victory Mountain”) but was renamed “Banyan Temple” sometime after the period of French occupancy. The Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment after a long period of meditation beneath a banyan tree. The religious significance of the banyan tree and the many banyan trees growing around the site made it an appropriate name. However, the local Khmer who worked on the restoration of the temple were responsible for its final name change. The workers mispronounced the name as “Bayon” instead of “Banyan” and the name stuck.

After this exploration we headed for Ta Prohm Temple. it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).

Before dinner tonight we were treated to some traditional Cambodian music and dancing. The selections were the Peacock of Pailin Dance, The Fisher's Dance, The Mekala Dance and the Aspara Dance. The dancers were superb.

Today featured our adventure into Zion National Park, the last stop on this trip. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to 2,640 ft (800 m) deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The lowest point in the park is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans, one of which was the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Anasazi (c. 300 CE). Subsequently, the Virgin Anasazi culture (c. 500) and the Parowan Fremont group developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities. Both groups moved away by 1300 and were replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes.

Zion is unique in the Utah parks in that you have to use their shuttle system as parking within the park is very limited and the scenic drive can only be accessed by shuttle. If you stay in Springdale, which is ideal, you can take the town shuttle directly from your hotel to the Park Visitors Center, and from there, board the Park Shuttles to the nine stops within the park. This is what we did and it worked well. You end up talking to some very interesting people both on the bus and on the trail. Unless you intend on doing some intense hiking, you can cover the park in one day and thoroughly enjoy it! We boarded the town bus about 9:15am, which allows you to watch the sun penetrate the canyon,

The Utah National Parks are truly spectacular - worth every minute. Our country is geographically spectacular. These parks are a testament to that.

Today we traveled the 210 miles from Kayenta, Arizona to Capital Reef National Park. We chose some back roads which provided some superb views and crossed the Colorado at the back waters of Lake Powell.

We then entered Capital Reef National Park. Partially in Wayne County, Utah, the area was originally named "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman. Capitol Reef National Park was designated a national monument on August 2, 1937, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the area's colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths; however, it was not until 1950 that the area officially opened to the public. Road access was improved in 1962 with the construction of State Route 24 through the Fremont River Canyon. After a sandwich, we took a nice 2 mile hike through Capital Canyon, which is at the end of the "Scenic Drive".

Today's sojourn was to Canyonlands National Park, about 40 minutes away from Moab. There are two entrances, one at Needles and one at Island in the Sky, which is where we went. It's a wonderful mesa at 6000 feet elevation.

The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 12, 1964. The park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers—the Green and Colorado—which carved two large canyons into the Colorado Plateau. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character. Author Edward Abbey, a frequent visitor, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere."

Unfortunately pictures can't come close to capturing its magnificence. You really do have to visit!