My first hike within Glacier National Park would be the easy, popular, 3/4 of a mile Trail of the Cedars trail. The trail itself is either paved or a boardwalk making it wheelchair accessible. The simple stroll put me right in the thick of the dense cedar-hemlock forest following Avalanche...
Just across the road from the Teton National Park, up an unmarked gravel road leading into the forest, is one of the best boondocking locations I have ever been too. I’ve camped here before, back in June of 2011, and enjoyed it so much I was happy to repeat the...
Friday would be my final weekday near the Grand Teton National Park so I decided to spend the afternoon at Jenny Lake… at least to beat the heat that has visited me each afternoon in the forest. It was ironic that the moment I came to a stop in the...
Wednesday morning, after waking early, completing my morning work load and grabbing a quick breakfast, I jumped on my bike to go for a ride. Instead of the normal dirt road or trail, I opted for asphalt this trip. Hwy 191 runs North and South through the Grand Teton Nation...
It didn’t take much for Conor to convince me to head out for a hike, and since I always neglect the National Park, it didn’t take much more for him to convince me of the trail leading up to Mills Lake. Sadly, even after an entire night’s worth of planning...
Located outside the park entrances, Adams Falls is accessed via the East Inlet trailhead just outside of Grand Lake. It is a large and quite busy trailhead as it leads the hiker past two water falls and numerous lakes and meadows without the need to pay for the National Park...
I was going to write a blog post each day, but the activities of each day tired me out too much. Instead, I am summarizing the entire week in one mega-post… After Conor’s arrival late Sunday night, we jumped right into the activities Monday morning. I first took him to...
The many settlement sites scattered throughout the monument were built by the Ancient Pueblo People, more specifically the Sinagua, Cohonina, and Kayenta Anasazi. Wupatki was first inhabited around 500 AD. A major population influx began soon after the eruption of Sunset Crater in the 11th century (between 1040–1100), which blanketed...
Once again I have visited a volcano crater. For most of my life I thought volcano’s were a rare thing on the planet, but as I am visiting them I am realizing just how common they are. They are right under our noses and we hardly notice. Just look at...
The term El Malpais (“the Badlands”) is used locally to refer to lava flows. I did not know this when I came to this Ntnl Monument. From the satellite view it is clear; a huge black smudge blankets the area south of Grants, NM. It’s volcanic features include a string...
