Death Valley is known for its rugged landscape, extreme heat, and desert beauty. What it’s not known for is its accessibility. I’ve read that there is only one fully wheelchair accessible trail in the park (and, at the time of…
Exploring Sandstone Falls in New River Gorge
Sandstone Falls is one of the premier attractions in New River Gorge National Park. However, it’s not near most of the rest of the main attractions in the park: I drove a good hour (it felt like more) from the…
Yosemite’s Bridal Veil Falls in Midsummer
One of the great things about Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite is that it flows all year (unlike Yosemite Falls, which turns into Yosemite Fell about the middle of July or early August). Another great thing about Bridal Veil Falls…
9 Best Day Hikes in Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is definitely unique – sea stacks and tide pools give way to temperate rain forests, which melt into alpine valleys and steep-sided mountains. This is perfect environment for seaside strolls, forest hikes, waterfalls, and high-alpine hiking in…
Afternoon at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse
Oregon has its fair share of lovely beachy stuff – cliffs, sand, rock formations, tide pools, impressive tides, sea stacks, and so much more. It even has lighthouses. One that caught our attention – mostly because we took a hike…
Visting the I-80 High Point at the Summit Rest Area
So it’s not hard to get to, easy to miss, and maybe not even that impressive. But the I-80 High Point – also known as the Summit Rest Area or the Lincoln Rest Area at Exit 323 between Cheyenne and…
Enjoying the West Tetons Overlook
If you want to enjoy views of the western (non-tourist) side of the Teton Range, but aren’t thrilled about 8+ mile hikes, don’t despair. Although most hikes into the Jedidiah Smith Wilderness are long by dayhike standards (trails up Table…
10 of the Best Free Historical Sites in America
I don’t necessarily seek out historical places to visit – it’s often an outcome of being in the area and on a whim stopping by (like the Flume Trail or Warren Peak, both in Wyoming). Other times we do go…
Visiting Big Machines at the John Deere Pavilion
The John Deere Pavilion on the Illinois / Iowa border not-that-far from I-80 is certainly an attraction worth seeing! It’s what little boys dream of and maybe we’ve all secretly wanted to do for most of our lives: You get…
15 Must Do Waterfall Hikes Across the US
Waterfalls! There’s something magical about the cascade of water tumbling over one or more ledges to the river below. It catches your breath, makes you want to pull out your camera, even though you know you can’t capture the way…