Mingo Falls Originally uploaded by MisterBlue Today driving through the Smokey Mountain National Park. It looks a lot like home except for the humidity and that it is kudzu climbing the trees and not ivy.

We are finally moving westward. A lot of time was spent getting to the east coast so the trip back will be a lot quicker.

After New Orleans, we spent a few days in Walt Disney World. The place is special, amazing and expensive. I think I'm getting tired of the parks like Walt did. Not that he came to dislike them, but he was ready to move onto something new. I am starting to get that feeling about being there -- time to find something new. In that vein, the pictures I took are of some of the many flowers in bloom and the crowds -- things people don't usually take pictures of.

From WDW, it was to the far coast and the Kennedy Space Center. This has been duded up with rides, multi-media presentations and gift shops -- oh, and high entry fees -- to make it a Disney-like experience. There are some rockets also. The bus tour takes you between fenced off places to peer at the launch pads, old Saturn rockets and modules being assembled for the international space station. The simulated shuttle launch ride was disappointing. The best presentation was the one about landing on the moon. Some pictures.

Up the Florida coast to Palm Coast. Tonight we're in Byron, Georgia. On the way there, the Fountain of Youth beckoned. On the northern shores of Florida is where Ponce de Leon came ashore looking for the Fountain of Youth. The natives told him that an island existed up north (he was the governor of what is now Puerto Rico at the time) with such a mystical fountain. On that spot today is a tourist attraction and a well said to be the remains of the once bubbling fountain. I sampled but, sadly, I don't feel any younger. But we visited the planetarium (with the oldest, manually operated planetarium system in the nation) and wandered the grounds until exiting through the gift shop, of course. Pictures.

After a night in a funky little bed-and-breakfast in the town of Taos, New Mexico we visited the Taos Pueblo. Just outside the town of Taos are Indians living more or less (less actually) as they have for hundreds of years The century old pueblos are lived in an maintained with as few modern additions as possible. They, of course open their houses to sell jewelery and trinkets to the tourists.

From New Mexico, we drove across the south end of the rockies traveled through Colorado before making it to Texas. What better indication of Texas-ness than Cadallic Ranch outside Amarillo. From Amarillo, we drove through the traffic jams of Dallas and southward into the heat and humidity of Houston.

We just happened to be at the Johnson Space Center when the space shuttle Discovery launched. On the plus side we watched the launch on the IMAX screen with commentary from one of the astronaut team. On the minus side, the mission control tour was unavailable because they were busy. This place wasn't what I expected at all. There was the science side of the space program (the tram tour) but, when you walk into the building you are confronted with this gigantic jungle gym type of thing. We're talking kids climbing and bouncing all over a brightly colored structure that doesn't seem to have anything to do with space flight. The only connection I can see is it relates to astronaut training. Back in the back are some displays of space suits and a full sized mock up of the nose of the space shuttle.

We spent the night in Sulfur, Louisiana (it smelled of sulfer that night too -- I blame the oil refinery close by) and the next day drove across the state to the city of New Orleans. We took a walk through the French Quarter of that city and ate some Cajun food. The boys were unimpressed with the shops and bars. They thought that, since it was set up as a party town, you need your buddies and a buzz to enjoy the place. Can't argue with that. What did get their attention were the beignets from Cafe du Monde -- warm donut-like pastries smothered in powered sugar was worth a thumbs up.

Tonight we are in Pensacola, Florida before diving into the central area of that state and finally to Walt Disney World.

There are some more pictures up: Taos Pueblo, Cadillac Ranch, Houston Space Center and New Orleans .

We've gone over 4000 miles so far and we're about to start our third week. We'll need to get a move on if we're going to make it back in our alloted time.

We are in Taos, New Mexico tonight – an upscale artist’s town who’s central area is awash in galleries. Most of today was driving across Colorado from Durango. This meant some time in tree covered mountains as we crossed the continental divide. We got up to 10,000 feet before again dropping down into the desert.

I have some pictures from the last few days up -- that part takes a while to upload. I also have many, many panoramas to put together when I get back home. I have included some of the individual pictures for the panoramas some of the time because some of the views are amazing. There are now pictures up for Natural Bridges National Monument, Newspaper Rock, Monument Valley, Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park.

I'm missing everyone. Hope you are enjoying the progress and the pictures. Tomorrow, its off to Texas.

My last entry wasn’t very talkative. I’ll add a little more today.

The days in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park was a cool and cloudy day for this part of the world. That's one reason the pictures of Zion National Park don't do it justice -- the bright, gray sky didn't help my little digital camera. But try to imagine shear, red rock walls rising on each side of you for hundreds of feet. An amazing place even with the occasional rain.

Bryce Canyon National Park is mostly overlooks and hiking trails. The pictures are from the overlooks and show the unbelievable formations. Bryce is high enough that we enjoyed small snow flakes rather than rain drops. The temperature didn't get below freezing but the wind was mighty cold.

After Bryce Canyon, we stayed at a Rudy's Lodge and learned something about the tourists we were sharing the parks with. There are LOTS of Europeans here visiting the wild west. Bus loads (literally) as well as many cars of people speaking German and French and Italian and many other languages are everywhere. Those euros must be going a long way these days.

Today we drove from the national parks in the south west corner of Utah to the national parks in the south east corner of Utah. The weather is still being cool for this time of year so the temperature is in the 70s and the sky is full of clouds. We visited Arches National Park and took lots of pictures.