Little Bighorn Battlefield
On our way through Southern Montana, we decided to spend a day checking out the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Like many of the historical…
Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park
When one visits Glacier National Park one must always hike to a glacier-fed alpine lake. For our first full day at the park, I set…
Yellowstone Lake
When Hitch and I set out to take a tour of Yellowstone Lake, we invited our friend, Luis, from Seattle. We drove 20 miles south…
Canyon District in Yellowstone National Park
"Yellowstone" originated from a term used by Minnetaree Tribe to describe Yellowstone River: "Mi tse a-da-zi," which literally translates to "Rock Yellow River." French Tappers…
Yellowstone: Roosevelt-Tower Area
On our driving tour of the Grand Loop, we decided to take a late morning brunch at Roosevelt Lodge upon reaching the Eastern half of…
Yellowstone: Norris Geyser Basin
Norris Geyser Basin first came to my attention when my newsfeed presented me with an article about a man who fell into a hot spring…
Yellowstone: Upper Geyser Basin
When I think Yellowstone I instantly think of Old Faithful, but the park is much more than just the one geyser. Earth harbors only about…
Yellowstone: Mammoth Hot Springs
Fissures, Faults & Water Angry steam billows upward in white plumes from bubbling rusty orange puddles swirled in limestone white, while an acrid rotten-egg smell of…
First Day at Yellowstone
We decided to stay at Yellowstone National Park for a full month. It is America's first national park and covers more than 2 million acres. Chances…
Caves of Craters of the Moon
Craters of the Moon National Monument has a lot of caves: over 400 documented with the discovery of more caves each year. The most common…
Easy Hikes of Craters of the Moon
Long ago, a huge serpent miles in length, lay where the channel of the Snake River is now. Though the serpent was never known to…
5 Deadliest National Parks
Back in the summer of 2016, I remember reading an article about an Oregonian 23-year-old man who went over 225 yards off the boardwalk trail,…
10 Amazing National Park Units and the Presidents Who Created Them
Just after my visit to Minidoka National Historic Site, I came back to our Airstream and read a flurry of Facebook and Twitter posts on…
Minidoka National Historic Site
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized Executive Order 9066, it seized the freedom of over 110,000 people. Two-thirds were American citizens and half of the…
City of Rocks National Reserve
Officially named as City of Rocks National Reserve, I recently discovered this place after doing a quick search for national parks in Idaho. The 1840s…
Canyonlands National Park: Island in the Sky
Raw and rugged is what best describes Canyonlands National Park. Some call it the Great American Outback, with its relatively unchanged landscape since Powell first…
Dark Skies in Utah
Not only do the desert southwest states offer incredible views of geology and nature during the day, they also offer stunning views of the heavens…
The Arches of Arches National Park
After the third visit to Arches National Park, I'm beginning to understand why it's such a popular park: many of the viewpoints are easily accessible…
Arches: Fiery Furnace
Within Arches National Park, remains a pocket of wilderness where there is no other destination than what you discover. The Fiery Furnace is a maze…
Arches: Park Avenue
2,000: That's the official estimate number of natural arches found within Arches National Park. Arches may be the stars of this show, but they have…
6 Underrated National Parks to Visit
I watch as the line of cars extends nearly a mile beyond the park boundary and onto the highway itself. Traffic cones beam day-glow orange…
Capitol Reef: Scenic Drive & Capitol Gorge Trail
I love the raw beauty to Capital Reef National Park: the towering cliffs encasing a green oasis of Fruita valley, the mysterious canyons and distant…
Grand Staircase-Escalante: Devil’s Garden
Apparently, there are quite a few places in the world called "Devil's Garden" and the one we explored on this occasion was found in the…
Capitol Reef: Burr Trail Road & Notom-Bullfrog Road
To get to Burr Trail Road, we took Utah Scenic Byway 12 south for 38 miles toward the small town of Boulder from Torrey. SB-12…
Capitol Reef: Lower Cathedral Valley
The best way to visit Capitol Reef National Park is via long road trips on dusty dirt roads, some requiring 4 wheel drive and possibly…
Capitol Reef: Fruita & Fremont River Trail
Capitol Reef National Park feels like a secret. Hidden away in the remote back routes of Utah, and as evident by the low tourist population,…
Scenic Highway 12 and Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Scenic Highway 12 Some of Utah's most gorgeous high desert scenery unravels along this all-American highway. The entirety of the road starts near Bryce Canyon…
Bryce Canyon: Mossy Cave and Fairyland Point
Mossy Cave Trail Hitch and I took Highway 12, a little less than 4 miles beyond the SR-63 turn-off. I found this hike exceedingly pleasant,…
Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest
Under the jurisdiction of Dixie National Forest is an excellent prelude to Bryce Canyon, if you are traveling eastbound on Highway 12. When we were…
Bryce Canyon National Park: Highway 63 & Bristlecone Loop
Utah State Route 63 We drove southward from the Bryce Visitor's Center and took SR-63 all the way to Rainbow Point. It's a little over…
Bryce Canyon National Park: Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop Combo
To absorb the true meaning of Bryce Canyon National Park, I felt that I had to descend into the canyon itself. There's a quote from…
Zion East: Driving Nirvana
Zion National Park Scenic Byway From Canyon Junction to Mount Carmel Junction on Utah Highway 9. The drive heads up and east, paralleling Pine Creek,…
Zion National Park: Northgate Peaks Trail
Northgate Peaks Trail Overlook on Kolob Terrace Kolob Terrace, also known as Kolob Plateau, is a less-visited section of Zion and is accessible via the…
Zion National Park: Weeping Rock & Timber Overlook Trail
The Weeping Rock, Zion National Park Main Canyon The verdant gardens of Weeping Rock are exquisitely beautiful. In the early morning and without another soul…
Zion National Park: Emerald Pools & Kayenta Trail
Hiking Zion's Emerald Pools The trail to Emerald Pools is a Zion National Park signature hike and a must for any first time visitor. It's…
Zion National Park: Riverwalk Trail
Zion National Park is pretty popular and received some 3.6 million visitors alone last year. Not as much as Grand Canyon's 5.2 million visitors, but…
Padre Island National Seashore
Off the coast of Texas lies the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world: Padre Island National Seashore. Just over 70 miles long…
Horseshoe Bend in Glen Canyon
I've seen Horseshoe Bend a few times in photographs on the National Geographic website, but when we got to Arizona I started seeing the image quite frequently…
Touring the Canyons of Lake Powell
As we drove up to Wahweap Bay, we both let out a long sigh-like "wow". We beheld shimmering blue-green water and cresting rocks of white, red,…
Upper Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon lies in the great Navajo Nation wherein meanders down from the hills into lake Powell. Antelope Canyon has a few different bits and…
Big Bend National Park: East Side Trails
For the remainder of our stay at Big Bend, we pushed toward the distant eastern side of the national park. As we drove toward Rio…
Grand Canyon: Village to Visitor Center
Grand Canyon's Trail of Time Starting from Vankamp's Visitor Center of the Grand Canyon Village, we hiked the South Rim trail along the newly created…
Glen Canyon River Trip
While at the Grand Canyon visitors center I'd read that tour guides ran calm water rafting trips from Glen Canyon Dam down the Colorado river…
Grand Canyon: Desert View Drive
Grand Canyon's Desert View Point Just south of Mather Point, we took Desert View Drive eastward for about 23 miles to reach Desert View Watchtower.…
Grand Canyon Village Historic District
If you’re into history, the Grand Canyon Village within the Grand Canyon National Park is an excellent place to explore and most of the buildings…
Waco Mammoth National Monument
As we rolled into Waco Texas, the only thing I knew of it was the Branch Davidian shootout that took place in there in 1993. It turns…
Grand Canyon: Hermit’s Rest to Bright Angel
The best way to see the Grand Canyon without punishing yourself on a heart-bursting in-and-out hike of the canyon is to hike the Rim Trail.…
Big Bend National Park: Chisos Basin
At the heart of Big Bend National Park resides the Chisos Mountains. They extend nearly twenty miles from the Punta del la Sierra in the…
Big Bend National Park: Western Desert
Big Bend National Park is a magical place for the outdoor lover. Avid hikers will find a paradise of trails within the borders of this…
Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is one of three national monuments near Flagstaff Arizona. We alternated our site-seeing between the…
