Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but to me, Trappers Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area is stunning. In fact, hiking on the Flat Tops around the lake is beautiful, as we found when we hiked…
Racking your brain to figure out what to give a hiking buddy for Christmas? About five years ago I hit on a useful, yet inexpensive, solution: hand-painted, hand-personalized t-shirts (I usually spend about $25 to make 10 shirts). Not only…
If you don’t have much time in Badlands National Park, but you want to experience the Badlands proper, the Door and Notch Trails are for you. These trails are extremely short (together, they’re 1 mile (1.6 km) RT), and they…
In August, we “just happened” to be driving through Colorado on Colorado Day, when the state parks in the state offer free admission. I’d always wanted to check out State Forest State Park (who wouldn’t, with a memorable name like…
I got my first camera within the first year of my life – seriously. A large local company had been caught doing something illegal, so as a PR stunt, every child born in the same month as myself received a…
Near Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument there is a wash that turns into a canyon, and through this canyon runs a small, perennial stream. The canyon (which goes under the name of Coyote Gulch) also hides several…
While we’re on the topic of State High Points, let’s go for one more: and this one has some real claims to fame! At 14,440 feet (4,401m) above sea level, Mt. Elbert holds the record for the highest peak in…
After hiking to the highest point in Oklahoma in May, we all decided that the highest point in the state of New Jersey was “high” on our must-do list when we visited that state in July. High Point State Park…
Some “highest points” are impressive, and others are not. Some seem to have nothing interesting to recommend them, and some have very nice scenery around them. Black Mesa, the highest point in the state of Oklahoma, isn’t exactly impressive, but…
I’ve hiked the Delicate Arch Trail more times than I care to count, but I still love it. There’s something about standing across the valley from the arch looming upwards, tall and grand, that brings an awe at the beauty…