Visit? Around the 4 Corners

In a recent newspaper, there was an Associate Press feature by Karen Matthews titled "Around the 4 Corners:  Modern Life, Ancient Ruins Coexist in Southwest."  This struck home a little bit because we have been planning to visit Mesa Verde National Park at some point and had recently visited the Wupatki National Monument and visited some of the ruins there and at the Grand Canyon National Park.

You can view the entries on my photoblog that are tagged with "Arizona" by clicking here.

The highlights Karen Matthews lists include visits to:

• The Hopi Mesas. This included a visit to a village that dates back to 1150 A.D.  The Hopi do not allow pictures to be taken in the villages.
• Chaco Canyon.  This is located in northwestern New Mexico and is accessible by dirt road.  It is an area that flourished from the 800s to 1100s A.D. and is run by the National Park service.
• Mesa Verde National Park. Yes, we want to eventually get to this place with the cliff dwellings which were mysteriously abandoned somewhere around 1300 A.D.
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument.  This is located in Arizona and includes the White House Ruins trail which is a 2 1/2-mile hike.

Other locations include:

• Grand Canyon National Park.
• Monument Valley.
• Petrified Forest.
• The Painted Desert.

Related websites:

• The original article is posted on-line on multiple sites but here is the Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_21472293/modern-life-ancient-ruins-coexist-southwest
• Hope Cultural Center: http://www.hopiculturalcenter.com/
• Cacho Canyon: http://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm
• Mesa Verde National Park: http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument: http://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm
• Grand Canyon National Park: http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
• Monument Valley: http://navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm
• Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert: http://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm

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Having "the talk" with your senior driver...

It has been a while since I posted to this blog. Most of my attention lately has been with my photoblog. I did come across this interesting article about when to have the "talk" with your parents and when they should stop driving.

Some of the things to watch out for include:

• Unexplained dents and scrapes
• Poor judgment
• Getting lost or confused
• Feeling uncomfortable or anxious while driving
• Delayed responses
• Difficulty staying in own lane
• Close calls or near misses
• Poor attention to signals, signs, and pavement markings

Related websites in the article:

• American Occupational Therapy Association: http://aota.org/older-driver/consumer.aspx
• Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists: http://www.driver-ed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
• California DMV Senior Ombudsman Program: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/senior/senior_ombudsman.htm
• Eldercare Locator:  http://eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Index.aspx
• AAA's senior driving site: http://seniordriving.aaa.com/

5 Key Talking Points:

• Have an ongoing conversations, not The Talk
• Sharpen skills and seek solutions
• Recruit support
• Plan for driving retirement
• Take your time selling the car

For the on-line article and more details: http://www.calif.aaa.com/westways/2012/09/Pages/retiring-the-keys.aspx