Road Trip Chronicles II (Banff National Park)

This post is a continuation of a previous post . I am gradually putting together photos from road trips I made with my family . 

So,On the 3rd day of our trip, we left our friends in Regina, Saskatchewan , and drove  westward to Calgary, Alberta, to visit another friend. 

After 2 days in Calgary, we visited Banff National park.

Banff National park is about 2 hours drive west from Calgary. It is in the Rocky mountains, very picturesque all year round. The park was established in 1885.

It is a beautiful park, with mountainous terrain and glaciers. We hope to visit next time and spend at least 2 nights in Banff,  because there is no way one can explore the 6,641 square kilometers the park encompasses in one day.☺

It was a surprise to see wildlife(Elk, Bison) roaming free at the park. We were told we  might run into Grizzly bears, Cougars, Lynx, further up in the mountains.

One of the entrances leading to the park.

One of the Rocky Mountains peaks.

Mountain view from the Sally Borden Fitness center located at the Banff Center.

The Banff National museum is full of Canadian history like the Royal visit to Banff in the early 1900s.

Road-trip Chronicles I (Mount Rushmore)

Hey people, hope you are all well.

The holiday season is upon us, and the year is running (literally) to an end.

So, as part of reflecting and taking into stock the past year(s) and events, I have decided to share photos of some my family's road trips.

Road trips have somewhat become my family's annual tradition . We travel by road to different places in the United States either for a family event or to just sight-see and visit friends.

The trip to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, in Keystone SD, was part of our road trip during Spring-break 2016.

We drove up from Missouri to Minnesota, spent the night at a friend's place, then drove into Canada through North Dakota, stopped briefly in Fargo to sight-see, then drove to Regina, a city in Saskatchewan, Canada, to see some friends. In case you are wondering, the drive took more than 15 hours from MN to Regina.☺

Our stop at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, was on our way back home. It was a rather short visit because of the inclement weather the day we arrived there (last week of March), so we did not get to explore as much as we wanted.

Anyway, here are some photos from the visit:

A  wall with the names of individuals and organizations that contributed towards Mount Rushmore Memorial National Park project.

The sculptor who designed and created the sculptures of the heads of 4 US presidents. Gutzon Borglum oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941, with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum.

A wall listing the names of the workers that built the Mount Rushmore National Park.

Some items associated with the area and people (Lakota people)  the Mount Rushmore Memorial park is located.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,  Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln's heads carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore. The sculpture is about 60-foot tall.

A  line-up of flags representing the 50 states of the United States.

Pottery by the people of Lakota.

A view of the sculptures from the road leading to the National park.

Thanks for viewing!😘

Let's Go Cruisin' II

Hope your week has been going okay. This is the continuation of last week's post on the boat cruise I went on late last year. Below are some of the photos of the places we got the chance to visit.....Enjoy!

*The "Daydreamer". A sculpture behind the Key West Museum of  Art and History.

Sculpture in front of the Key West Museum of Arts and History

The famous Mallory Square, location of the Sunset Celebration.

The Conch tour train.

*The famous 0 mile road that marks the end of the  US Route 1 that runs from (North to South on the East coast)  Maine to Key West,FL

Information kiosk at the port in Cayman Islands.

Key West, FL, viewed from the ship.

A road sign in Corzumel. 

Painted ceramic skulls are popular home decor in Corzumel.

Entrance to the Turtle farm on Cayman Islands

Never seen so many turtles all in one place before!

Part of a unique rock formation in Cayman Islands. It is now a tourist attraction popularly known as "Hell".

*Description of the rock formation.

*Images copied from the internet.

Dubai Mall and Mall of Emirate

Hey y’all, This is a continuation of my earlier post here about my visit to Dubai..Because shopping is one of my hobbies,I made sure I visited the 2 most prominent malls in Dubai-The Mall of Emirates and The Dubai Mall.The latter has more to offer in terms of sight-seeing and size. There is so much to see..my goodness…I didn’t get to see half of both malls because of time constraint….However,Hasta la vista,baby! *wink*

One of the many sides of the Mall of Emirates.I got this view because it is close to the hotel my friend stayed.

This is the entrance to the Dubai Mall from the Metro Station….It’s a bit of a trek from when you get off the train to the Mall….We definitely got a good work out :)

A view of the Dubai Mall from the 3rd floor..

This is one of the attractions at the Dubai mall- The DubaiDino . We were told it’s called Diplodocus longs,dated back to 155-150 ill ion years ago, discovered in Wyoming USA in 2008.

The entrance to the Aquarium and Underwater zoo at the Dubai Mall.

The large fish tank (part of the aquarium ) that can be seen from the ground floor , the 1st and second of the mall . It is said to be the largest suspended aquarium in the world.

                                         

This is a part of  hallway on the lower ground floor of the mall that leads to the food court and the entrance to the Fountain and Burj Khalifa.The decor and setting is made to look  like a market place, with the lightings on the ceiling and kiosks in the hallway.

This is the Waterfall at the Dubai Mall.It runs through the entire height of the mall on the west side,I think. It is beauty to behold. It has art sculptures of human divers descending the waterfall. Below is better photo of the waterfall I got from the internet.

This is the singing/dancing fountain at the Dubai Mall…I first saw a video of it on YouTube and I was blown away…The fountain is on the Burj khalifa lake, shoots water up as high as 500ft, dances in sync to classical and Arabian music….It was Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partiro that was played while we were  there….It is a beautiful 3 minutes experience…(Please ignore the background comments and noise in the background :)

Places I Enjoyed Visiting In Atlanta…(Psst!..This is not an Ad)

So,my family went down to Atlanta this summer for a few days..This would be my second time visiting, but this visit was particularly more fun and the weather was perfect. Below are some of the photos of places we visited. The Coca-cola place was the most fun for me(had so much fun,I forgot to take more photos)-I got to taste almost all the 60 coca-cola flavors (some yummy, some yucky). 

Downtown Atlanta-where all the fun is :)

Water Fountain At The Centennial Olympic Park.

CNN Headquarters.

The Stone Mountain-(The Confederate Memorial Carving).
You get a good work-out hiking the trail and climbing the mountain.There are other attractions there.

Most of the fun places here are within walking distance .
(John Pemberton was the inventor of the Coca-cola Beverage)

Main Lobby of the Coca-cola Place.

The Aquarium 

The tasting center at the Coca-cola place
(Where my taste buds got “confused”  after tasting more than 50 flavors…lol!)

The  Center for Civil & Human Rights is located to the left.(We didn’t get to visit)
The famous Emory University is somewhere behind the Ferris wheel :)