A few weeks ago, I posted about how you could stand on the San Andreas Earthquake Fault Line in Carrizo Plain National Monument. This week, I’d like to tell you about another of the cool features of this unknown national monument: it hosts two exhibits of farming equipment used within the last two centuries. These [...]
Think beautiful views…think green mountains all around you…think historic structures…think memorial towers…think J. R. R. Tolkien… Wait…Tolkien, in the middle of mountains and historic structures? Yes, think Tolkien! On top of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires of Massachusetts (you knew that if it was like Tolkien there had to be a “shire” in the name!) [...]
So you’ve seen Yosemite Valley and you’re looking for something new. Or else you’re visiting the park during the summer or fall and the famous falls aren’t falling. Whatever the reason, you’re looking for another trail that’s different from other hikes in Yosemite National Park. Let me give you a suggestion: try hiking around the [...]
Carrizo Plain National Monument is fairly new as national monuments go. The park was established in 2001 from land in Southern California that had been a part of the Carrizo Plain Natural Area. When I visited the monument a couple years ago, I found that it had barely been developed, although there was a visitor [...]
What’s your mental image of the Mississippi River? If it’s a huge river filled with paddle boats playing Jazz music, it’s probably similar to most American’s thoughts on the Mighty Mississippi. However, at the headwaters, the “mighty” river is anything but huge—it’s a nicely flowing stream, only knee deep, and two people could probably stand [...]
While visiting the Headwaters of the Mississippi River, a park ranger told us about another of the park’s features: a 100-foot observation tower, located in the middle of Itasca State Park. Having an hour or two to spare, we decided to check it out. I’m so glad we did. The view from the top was [...]
Mt. Stewart has got to be one of the prettiest mountains in the Teanaway area. It seems to be visible from just about any viewpoint in the area, and it gives you a reference point: “Oh, there’s Mt. Stewart again!” However, the best view I ever got of the mountain was from Longs Pass, just [...]
I visited Hovenweep National Monument inside of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument several years ago, but didn’t find it too exciting. Others in my group liked the square towers and round towers, but I guess I thought I’d seen better Indian dwellings before. However, on a recent trip I visited the Lowry Pueblo in [...]
On a recent trip to Washington State, my group found ourselves in the middle of Colville National Forest, way too far from our intended hiking destination to drive there and then take the hike on the same day. Just as we came to this realization, we looked out the window of the van, and there [...]
Glacier National Park has always been synonymous in my mind with rain. From my experience, “Partly Cloudy” means “Pouring Rain All Day”. However, on our last trip to the park, Glacier redeemed itself: although it did rain two of the three days we were there, it never downpoured, and we never got soaked while trying [...]
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