Yellowstone and Grand Tetons are a concentration of epic views and fascinating phenomena. In Yellowstone, water boils out of the ground to create colorful pools, waterfalls race with thousands of gallons per minute, steaming water spouts into the air, and…
I first did the Zion Narrows in 1997. Or, should I say, I first set foot in the Virgin River in 1997, and we went around the first bend and turned around. The kids were too young; one of the…
Rock Formations. Hoodoos. Creamsicles. Ever since our first visit to Bryce Canyon in 1997, it’s been one of our favorite parks in southern Utah, over Zion, Cedar Breaks, and Capitol Reef. It gets crowded these days, but it’s…
Grand Teton has to be one of my favorite national parks in the US (along with North Cascades and a whole lot of others!) Those Alp-like jagged peaks, snow-flecked even in August, alpine lakes, lovely meadows, the unique meadows and…
This post courtesy of one of my group members. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon about a dozen times. I can enjoy looking at from the rim for hours, as I have done—But the longer I stare from above, the…
I’ve discovered something: Sinks Canyon – where the river literally disappears underground and reappears, two hours and about a quarter mile later – is much more interesting in August than in June. ‘Way back in June 2003, we…
Trails are nice, trails are great. I like trails (especially trails that lead to and through spectacular views!) But there comes a time when the inner anti-establishment in us all decides it would like a bit of freedom – and…
Table Mountain, on the “non-tourist” west side of Grand Teton National Park, has got to be one of our favorite views ever – and I mean that seriously. If you interviewed everyone in the group, they’d probably list that single…
If I had to pick one desert state to say was my favorite, Utah would almost certainly win. I love the rock formations, the arches, the canyons, the scrubby desert; it’s all lovely in a very rustic sort of way. …
A few months ago, I posted about finding fossils in Upper Darby Canyon on the west side of the Tetons. Well, my goal that day wasn’t fossils; in fact, I didn’t even know they existed until they appeared in boulders…