Every year I like to take a bike ride on a rails-to-trails or canal path in celebration of my birthday. It’s a nice time of year and everyone is ready to get out and enjoy the nice weather. Well, this…

Biking the Ontario Pathways

Honoring the Artist via His Art
I’ve long heard it said that “You can’t say you love the artist but say that you hate their art.” Or, more recently, “If you insult an artist’s work, you’re indirectly insulting the artist.” These expressions can be turned around…

Spectacular Views from North Dome
Last week I posted about hiking to Indian Rock, which happens to be Yosemite National Park’s “only” arch. Not so very much further down the trail (and it really is down!) is North Dome. It’s a great place to look…

Refreshed in the Wilderness
In our everyday lives, we are constantly asked to give: to offer help, to work hard at our jobs, to give time and affection to our families, to take care of the myriad of tasks that never seem to end.…

Indian Rock: Day Hiking Yosemite’s Only Arch
On our recent visit to Yosemite, there were a few “must do” hikes on my list along the Tioga Road, namely, Cloud’s Rest and North Dome. Actually, the dome didn’t interest me as much as a photo I had seen…

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…

The Sounds of the Wilderness
There are sounds in the wilderness that are found nowhere else. The sound of a bubbling stream in the stillness, the whistle of a bird in the forest, the crash of a wave against the beach, the August cicadas’ droning,…

Cooper Mill: Overlooked NJ Attraction
Cooper Mill, in Chester, NJ, is definitely an overlooked attraction. Maybe it’s because the region is filled with so much history that people go to Washington’s Headquarters in Morristown or take in the sights of freedom in Philadelphia. But whatever…

When You Pass through the Waters
The Bible says “When you walk through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you pass through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames…

Hiking Point Arena-Stornetta National Monument
If there is a more beautiful place on the California coast than Point Arena-Stornetta National Monument, I can’t imagine what it would look like. The trail through Point Arena-Stornetta takes day hikers through clifftop meadows of waving grasses and wildflowers…