Some of the places we go in the wilderness fill our hearts with wonder. Sometimes we are struck speechless by the sheer majesty of the view before us: the thick forest, the massive mountains, the sheer cliffs, the craggy peaks,…

A Sense of Awe and Fear

Climbing the Ladders to Alcove House
Probably one of my favorite hikes in Bandelier is Alcove House. One of the great things is that it’s not that much longer to take the Main Loop to the Alcove House Trail, so you get to see the cliff…

Generously Compensated for Failure
A number of months ago, a social media friend posted a picture of a beautiful mountain scene. He wrote, “Hiking up from the Lake Louise ski hill in October in Banff National Park I had planned to go over…

Climbing Ladders into Caves on Bandelier’s Main Loop
It’s not every day you get to climb a wooden ladder into the home of ancient American Indians. Maybe in Mesa Verde, on an official tour, or another tour with a guide or park ranger standing close by. But on…

Best Day Hikes in Death Valley National Park
Death Valley is a land of extremes – incredibly dry desert, mountains, bristlecone forests, cacti, sand dunes, wildflowers, canyons, old mines, and waterfalls, not to mention rich history, hiking options galore, and the bragging rights of “the lowest place in…

Reason to Hope
We love to see God come through for us, to feel His presence. As the psalmist put it, “Better is one day in your courts [presence] than a thousand anywhere else” (Psalm 84:10). We long to feel God and His…

Awesome Formations at Chimney Bluffs State Park
Chimney Bluffs has long been a hidden gem of western New York State. Located right on the shore of Lake Ontario, the park has seen an influx of visitors in recent years to see the incredible badland spires in the…

God Guiding Us
Last time, we talked about how God is with us all the time – both on the trail and if we get off the trail, guiding us back to the right path. Whether we can feel Him or not,…

Nampaweap Petroglyphs – The Best Rock Art in Arizona!
If you’re looking for one of the most prolific and best-preserved rock art sites I’ve ever seen in the southwestern US, look no further than the Nampaweap Rock Art Site in the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness (part of Grand Canyon-Parashant National…

The top 15 Pages on Anne’s Travels in 2018!
It’s the end of 2018 (where did the year go?) and we get to look back for a bit and see what the internet thought was the most interesting (or useful?) posts and pages on Anne’s Travels were over the…