From Pretoria to Trumpland: My Life's Journey

We left Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam close to noon on Saturday 23rd May blissfully unaware that it was the Memorial Holiday weekend. Joan had not been to the Grand Canyon before, while I had visited this outstanding natural wonder in Arizona back 2003. So to enable her to cross this attraction off her Bucket List, we headed south. Our calculations showed that we could get to Tusayan, a village at the south entrance to the park, where we could find accommodation before nightfall. The total distance was about 130 miles.  The Colorado River wa.a..ay down in the canyon  Wild flowers on the south rim of the canyon A large part of the route was through the Navajo Indian Reservation and the Painted Desert. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the most popular side. It has about 35 miles of paved roads, and there are many excellent observation points from where one can view the canyon.  While we were driving through the park a sudden rainstorm overtook us. But despite the rain and  

On Monday 18th May, after a night spent at the Holiday Inn Express in Hot Springs ($92.87 including breakfast, for the two of us) we headed for Mount Rushmore. The route took us along the western perimeter of Custer State Park, where there were herds of bison. Some Pronghorns were also seen as well as prairie dogs and wild turkeys. Here are some interesting facts about pronghorns: they are the sole descendent of an ancient deer-like family, and are the fastest mammals on foot in the Western Hemisphere, capable of sprints up to 97 kilometers (60 miles) per hour. They carry the only forked horns in the world, and the only horns that are shed annually. Pronghorn grazing   Bison grazing in South Dakota  This section of South Dakota forms part of an area called the Black Hills. The Black Hills National Forest covers more than 1.2 million acres, the drives are very scenic and there is much to see. Our scenic drive took us past Stockade Lake, and on to Custer. Crazy Horse Memorial About