Sitting atop a rocky headland overlooking the ocean is the picturesque ruins of St. Andrews Castle, once the residence of Scotland’s bishops and archbishops.
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One of the most striking castles we visited on our road trip through the UK sits atop a dramatic headland with 160 foot cliffs on 3 sides.
Urquhart Castle was an unscheduled stop as we headed farther north into Scotland to Loch Ness. We saw the signs and thought, you know what is better than exploring a castle? Exploring TWO castles!
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Eileen Donan is probably one of the most picturesque castles we’ve visited on our UK road trip. It’s also one of the smaller ones. Built in the 13th century, it is rumored to have sheltered Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Having seen years of clan feuds and barely endured the Jacobite uprising, the castle today stands restored for us to enjoy.
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High on the rugged Cornwall coast perches Tintagel Castle, steeped in legend and mystery. It is said to be the site of conception of King Arthur and even boasts of Merlin’s Cave, right below the castle ruins.
Stonehenge actually wasn’t that high on our list of things to see on our 2-week UK roadtrip… but we were passing through that area anyway and so we thought ‘Why not?’ They built it right next to the freeway anyway…. J/K J/K.
After trekking to the top of Devil’s Bridge in Sedona, AZ on our short weekend roadtrip, we decided to cool off at Slide Rock State Park.
Part 6 of our Bryce Canyon Road Trip (View Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)
Tuzigoot (Apache for “crooked water”) National Monument is a 2 story pueblo built by the Sinagua people around 1125 AD and occupied until about 1400 AD. Artifacts & info on how these agricultural people lived are contained in the small museum next to the ruins.
Part 3 of our Bryce Canyon Road Trip (View Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6)
William Tecumseh Barbee was one of the earliest people to prospect for silver in southwest Utah and made one of the most significant discoveries. His initial claims in Silver Reef were staked in 1875, and with a large rush of prospectors and miners brought in, the mine and mill were in full operation by 1878.
At its height, Silver Reef had a population of 2,000. There were hotels, 9 stores, 6 saloons, a bank, several restaurants, a hospital, 2 dance halls, 2 news papers, a china town and 3 cemeteries.
As the price of silver dropped, mines gradually began to close. By 1884, most were closed and by 1901, most buildings had been demolished. The old Wells Fargo bank still stands today and now houses a small museum & gift shop of the once bustling mining town.
As we headed back home to Arizona on our last day of our road trip, we made a stop at Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, Colorado.
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