SCENICLAND, USA

[Music] [Applause] you walk on it and it feels like heavy but dry snow you scoop it up and it feels like moist white sand well this much is certain at white sands national monument near alamogordo new mexico there is more of this so-called white sand than you and i could walk over in a dozen years now america has numerous sandy regions but this is the most unique desert of them all a hundred and seventy six thousand acres of nearly pure gypsum as white as any natural white we've ever seen and here and there an occasional wild bush seems grotesquely out of place in this remarkable vastness another oddity is this 10-foot solid mass of gypsum sandstone we can only guess at its original size for this is all that the whistling winds have left and what remains is mostly held together by the roots and branches of a sage-like brush good evening ladies and gentlemen this is jack the ten states have been described in travel brochures as scenic land usa montana idaho south dakota wyoming nebraska colorado utah arizona new mexico and texas and the word scenic land is well suited to this tent state area for here nature has collected some of her richest scenic treasures including nearly 40 percent of america's national parks and monuments indeed no other area of similar size on the face of the earth can match the dazzling splendors of scenic land usa in its own way saguaro national monument in arizona is almost as unusual as white sands in new mexico the main entrance road leads to an attractive visitor center behind which is a cactus garden exhibiting a wide variety of cacti and other desert plants but this is small stuff compared to what lies ahead a sandy forest of giant saguaro the spanish indian name given to the largest cactus to be found in the united states the saguaro monument has been called a wilderness of unreality a landscape of weird and bizarre shapes as you drive along some of the more interesting sections of the forest are indicated by stop markers stop number one stop number two etcetera and rangers are on hand to furnish information and answer questions and you'll have a lot of questions to ask in this wonderland of the sonora desert now in size the saguaro tops all other succulents of the usa heights of more than 50 feet and weights in excess of 10 tons have been recorded there have been specimens with more than 50 arms or branches and some saguaro live for as long as two centuries and so efficient is the saguaro's water storage system that even after years of extreme drought the plant still has enough moisture in reserve to produce flower buds disease and not the drought is the real enemy of the saguaro this cactus is diseased and unfortunately the cause of the disease is as yet a mystery but even in death the saguaro is magnificent it dries it splinters into bamboo like chutes yet its network of roots enable it to remain upright for years after the plant has died all told there are 27 species of cactus at saguaro monument plus dozens perhaps hundreds of different types of desert plants and it's a wonderful place for school children to see close up to touch and examine the living desert they have read about but two visitors of all ages in this case the roger rutt family of dodge city kansas all of the other plants are merely stage scenery for the star of the sonora desert the spectacular saguaro and incidentally this giant of the cactus family is found only in the sonora desert stay on if you can through the late afternoon when the sun has given up its last glimmering rays and you can look up through the branches of the noble saguaro to an even mightier creation old mr moon and this is the time of day when the desert is in my opinion at its very loveliest well what the saguaro is to the sonora the kenyan is to scenic land and america and the entire world the star of nature's show for while the world is full of spectacular deserts and mountains and forests there is only one grand canyon and no other canyon can be compared with it on the basis of size majesty and awesome splendor many indian tribes notably the hopi have called grand canyon their home the hopies practice the kachina cult the kachinas being supernatural spirits and these dolls represent various kachinas and are given to hopi children to acquaint them with their tribal religion our fellow visitors here are three generations of the austin family from chandler arizona one of the youngsters spotted a crow and we watched as the birds showed off swooping freely through the canyon valley miles above the contrails of big jets but they fly much too high for the passengers to enjoy the spectacle and colors of the grand canyon but you can see the canyon from the air at much lower altitudes on scenic flights that originate at the williams municipal airport larry ely who dresses as flamboyantly as our producer bill operates the service and his planes take off and land almost on the hour every hour starting at 5 am the flights last about an hour and you'll get a real bird's eye view of some 150 miles of grand canyon country [Music] i'm sure you know this but it's worth repeating that there are many excellent motels hotels and lodges on the rims of the canyon and naturally all of them offer superb views of the canyon sunset crater is another of arizona's unique national monuments the thousand-foot crater last erupted in 1065 a.d the ash fallout forced the indian dwellers to flee their homes but at the same time it built up a beneficial moisture retaining layer which made dry farming possible so years after the eruption the indians returned and at one time there were as many as eight thousand in this region sunset crater monument also offers visitors a 45 nature trail walk and as a sort of added attraction these views of the twelve thousand foot peaks of the san francisco mountains the highest in arizona [Music] the 1964 south dakota license plate honored that state's most famous national monument and one of scenic land's greatest man-made wonders the rushmore memorial the visitor center is open daily throughout the year and each time we stop at rushmore the park looks greener fresher and lovelier than before and rushmore to me typifies what they mean when they say keep america beautiful it certainly is the gigantic sculptures are of course the heads of washington jefferson theodore roosevelt and lincoln and the story and the statistics of the rushmore memorial are too well known to bear repeating but several thoughts are worthy of consideration first the recollection that not since ancient civilizations has man successfully attempted such stupendous sculpturing second rushmore is unique at least in america's history and that man altered the face of nature without really changing it at all speaking of faces the faces of rushmore's admirers are worth the visit these people are north americans canadians from saskatchewan and rushmore belongs to them as well as to us for indeed rushmore is a tribute to all the great men of all the world while you're in south dakota don't miss badlands national monument the early french trappers said these are bad lands to travel across and even the indians had a healthy respect for this strange and grotesque landscape they described it as makosika mako meaning land sika meaning bad and so it has been known to us for the past several centuries the badlands of south dakota 170 square miles of weird yet enticing terrain now tens of millions of years ago this was a marshland and the rest of the story involves sedimentation volcanic deposits the disappearance of the marshland and finally the process of erosion a process that continues to this very day for even today a heavy rain or a cloud burst will shift the soft rocks and lose soil but they dry quickly and harden between storms to preserve the turreted ridges and sharp gullies and this rapid erosion and fast drying prevent the growth of a plant cover that would the erosion well today with our modern highways and transportation we don't have to fear the badlands as did the indians and the french trappers instead we can revel in what we see the wonder of nature in conflict with nature at badlands national monument in scenic land usa in northeast wyoming just across the south dakota border we approach another of scenic lands many natural wonders devil's tower this too is a national monument and it's possible to drive up to within a few hundred yards of the base and as you look up you're reminded by one of the guides that this was america's first national monument established in 1906 and what's more this massive sentinel of the plains is the tallest rock formation of its kind in the usa rising 865 feet above its wooded base what a picture postcard the winter snows have come to west yellowstone in montana just a few miles from the wyoming border and the snowmobiles will take us across the border and into the larger part of yellowstone national park in wyoming once underway there wasn't very much talking in the snowmobiles for yellowstone at winter is overpowering [Applause] this was our objective the world's most famous geyser is so few people ever see it when the snow surrounding it is piled six feet high and the temperature is so cold that the familiar spray instantly turns into a vaporous cloud the snowmobile ride round trip lasted some six hours but it was certainly worth every second of it if only to say we saw old faithful in the dead of winter when you could barely see the spring this now is the living painting that awaited us south of yellowstone in the wyoming valley known as jackson hole and jackson hole is synonymous with the teton range considered by many the most beautiful snow mountain range in all america if not the world and december is delightful in what we usually think of as a summer vacation paradise [Music] at jackson hole the snowmobile gives way to the versatile snow plane and incidentally do take along a camera or as you whizz across the ice and snow sometimes at speeds of 100 miles per hour chances are that you'll see more wildlife at this time of year than in the summer months [Applause] in the late afternoon the mountains take on a pinkish cast they call this the alpine glow a delicate coating of pastel coloring from the rapidly vanishing sun leaving wyoming and the dakotas were flying due west to utah and this trip is recommended for people who think america is overcrowded our cities perhaps yes but oh my do we have wide open spaces in this big big country once beyond this mountain range we're nearing a man-made wonder created during america's pioneer days and the wonder of this booming city is not that it exists but in the way that it came into being the silvery domed structure is the mammoth tabernacle and behind it the famous mormon temple the mecca of the mormon church we had been here once before on our program and these landmarks were quite familiar to us and while i'm not a mormon brigham young was one of my boyhood heroes so for the second time i made it a point to see the this is the place monument honoring young in that incredible journey across the plains and deserts and i think the monument is even more striking at this time of year [Music] meanwhile our busy producer bill southworth had chartered the plane to photograph what neither he nor i had ever seen the great salt lake from the air not in the heat of summer but in the season of jack frost and there it is a sea of blue against a field of white a natural phenomena which second only to the dead sea is the saltiest body of water on earth the salt content of the water is so great that salt harvesting is commercially feasible and successful the size of the lake varies with the seasons but its average dimensions are 30 miles wide and 75 miles long [Music] you know these tv producers are just like most vacationers tell them the water is salty but they have to find it out for themselves so my gosh it is liquid salt well what do you know about that all right bill from salt lake city we flew over into idaho and the last of the scenic land attractions on our schedule there it is just ahead seemingly a modest little community tucked away in a mountainous valley well don't blame us if we linger a while for this is world-renowned sun valley where sun snow and skis are merely an excuse to get away from it all and have a ball now the sun valley addicts are classified quite simply as follows those who ski and those who don't and at first it may seem that the skiers take over and run the valley well at first they do but wait we who are not quite so adventurous we'll have just as much fun so let's let the skiers take the spotlight for the moment from the first crack of dawn the ski lift at dollar mountain hums with activity and getting aboard one of these moving lifts is quite easy really all you do is no that's not quite what we had in mind so we'll wait for the next lift and well that's much better dollar mountain and baldy mountain are the favorite skiing slopes at sun valley exciting yet safe enough for beginners to follow their instructors and they say that the sun valley ski school is one of the best in the country well it must be several of these skiers are beginners who had arrived on the same plane we did yet a week later here they were skimming over the snow now let's consider what sun valley has to offer those of us who are not interested in skiing sunbathing oh you bet and if you tan easily you'll be as brown as a beetle nut in just three days and if you like outdoor swimming try this just for kicks the temperature may be in the 30s but this heated sheltered pool will make you think you're in florida [Music] as for your youngsters well once they've seen the dog sleds and the magnificent sled dogs the rest of sun valley won't matter the sled dogs are not huskies but samoyads a breed that originated in iran centuries ago and ultimately found its way to northern siberia lapland and finally this country they're extremely gentle and they love to be petted but therein lies the danger they are so affectionate that if you don't take one home with you your youngsters will never speak to you ever again for at least one whole day here's another something to do for the non-skiers at sun valley helicopter sightseeing tours these helicopter tours are arranged by the reader flying service and for a few dollars you can really explore the fabulous sawtooth mountains in which sun valley nestles if you want to land on a peak or ridge the pilot will be glad to accommodate then just say the word and you're airborne once again [Music] in season idaho is a hunter's paradise but to me this is the way to hunt in a helicopter and with a camera instead of a gun there must be thousands of deer and elk in the sawtooth mountains and here are just a few of these magnificent creatures as they run from the sound of the copter and bill did a fine job getting these action pictures later at the warming hut on dollar mountain the high life steel band warms things up with a calypso beat calypso in sun valley yes and it really brings those skiers in off the snowy slopes [Music] so [Music] [Applause] now homeward bound after a nine week tour of the ten states known as scenic land usa nine weeks that we have condensed into 30 minutes yes we saw many of the major attractions of this giant area but by no means all of them to see all of them would involve many months if not several years but these weekly armchair vacations will continue and as they do we're going to make an effort to present all of the colorful and worthwhile splendors of the 50 states just as tonight we have concentrated on scenic land usa thousands of rangers and guides the custodians of america's national monuments parks and forests i know that you will join me in expressing our thanks and gratitude to these many men and women who are dedicated to the proposition that america is and shall be kept beautiful now until next week jack douglas saying thank you so much and good night ladies and gentlemen boys and girls