Ever wondered what the Grand Canyon looks like from a small distance away? The Tetons from the less-visited western side? Canyonlands from the other side of the canyon? The Statue of Liberty from New York Harbor? So many famous places…
Celebrating 20 Years of Family Vacations
This week we’re celebrating 20 years of traveling together across the US! Wow! It’s been an exciting adventure together, and all the more exciting that we’re still (more or less) able to travel all together in the big green van…
The 6 Best Day Hikes in Grand Canyon (South Rim)
Grand Canyon National Park tops our list for the number of times we’ve visited a park. At last count, between the North Rim, South Rim, and Toroweap Area, we’ve visited a total of 10 times – more than any other…
11 Amazing Trails of the West that are 1 Mile (or Less) in Length
Short trails don’t have to be boring. Nor do you have to forgo the best scenery because you can’t – or don’t want to – hike all day long, miles and miles on end. So I thought I’d put together…
12 Places Worth Visiting at Least 10 miles Down a Dirt Road
I can’t say I travel to get to the dirt roads. But when that’s all that is between me and a lovely I hike I want to take, let’s just say I’m very willing to tackle the road. Some are…
Faraway Ranch: History in Chiricahua
This week I’d like to do another picture-based post: this time to Faraway Ranch. The ranch is in Chiricahua National Monument, and quite accessible from the road. It was once run as a dude ranch, with the family taking visitors…
A New Grand Canyon View: Grandview Lookout Tower
Last spring, I was preparing to hike the Grandview Trail in Grand Canyon. During my internet searching, I ran across a Grand Canyon sight I’d never known about before: the Grandview Lookout Tower. Could possibly be, I wondered, a real,…
Finishing the Chiricahua Loop: The Echo Canyon Trail
By the time we’d reached the Echo Canyon Trail (after hiking the Ed Riggs Trail, Mushroom Rock Trail, and Big Balancing Rock Trail, taking a side-loop to hike around the Heart of Rocks Trail, and then traversing the Sarah Deming…
Views of Chiricahua Spires: Sarah Deming and Upper Rhyolite Trails
If you haven’t had enough rock formations after walking the Heart of Rocks Trail (and somehow I never have), you can continue to enjoy the formations from a distance if you walk back to your vehicle via the Sarah Deming…
Chiricahua Formations: The Heart of Rocks
In my last post I talked about hiking to the Big Balanced Rock in Chiricahua National Monument. If you like the Big Balanced Rock, you’ll absolutely love a trail that starts only yards from that rock formation: the Heart of…