USA holiday 1981

Took this photo of Courthouse Towers on 31st July 1981 on a family holiday to Arches National Park, USA. It shows the Three Gossips and Sheep Rock. This bitterly cold, snowy weather we are having at the moment is making me reminisce about long ago holidays. Think I've only had maybe two holidays since then (anywhere), so I feel lucky to have memories to look back on.

Scanned from an old photo taken on 29th July 1981 on a family holiday. This spectacular view is of the Red Canyon (Flaming Gorge) on the way to Arches National Park. That is a beautiful Ponderosa Pine framing the view. There is so much breath-taking scenery down in the US!

Scan from an old photo taken on 31 July 1981on a family holiday to Arches National Park, USA. This shows Courthouse Towers, which includes the Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, Tower of Babel and The Organ. This view makes me think of one of my favourite places, Monument Valley.

This is known as the Double Arch, in Arches National Park, US. Scanned from a photo I took in July 1981. "Double Arch is famous for the close-set pair of arches-- one of the more impressive features of Arches National Park in Utah, USA. There are no guardrails or fences to prevent visitors from exploring directly beneath and through the arches. The area was used as a backdrop for the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which the arches are briefly visible. However, the cave shown in the movie does not exist. Double Arch was formed differently than most of the arches in Arches National Park. It is known as a Pothole Arch - it formed by water erosion from above rather than more typical erosion from the side." From Wikipedia.

Another scanned reminder of those old cowboy movies! This is one of my favourite places, Monument Valley, seen on 1st August 1981. You can see someone's vehicle down on the narrow road, which gives a better sense of the size of these gigantic buttes. These twin buttes are called The Mittens.

A very typical view looking down into the Grand Canyon, USA, scanned from a photo I took in August 1981.

Another scanned photo from August 1981, showing a view looking across the Grand Canyon.

I just loved this beautiful, old, twisted tree near the entrance of this tunnel in Zion, Utah. Scanned from an old print taken on 5th August 198. However, I definitely was not looking forward to having to travel through this tunnel, because I am claustrophobic!!

Bryce Canyon is such an amazing place with all its weathered rock pillars. Such beautiful colours, too. Scanned from an old photo that I took in August 1981.