Ever since I visited the Bureau of Engraving in Washington, DC when I was 9 years old, I’ve wanted to visit the US Mint in Philadelphia. But it’s never quite worked. No one really wanted to take a trip to…
Day Hiking the Cirque of Towers Overlook
It’s a total of 8.3 miles to the Cirque of Towers Overlook in Jackass Pass, above Big Sandy Lake in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. That’s way too long to plan a dayhike for me. Way too long. But…
Dayhiking North Lake in the Wind Rivers
North Lake, in Jackass Pass, high above Big Sandy Lake and well below the Cirque of Towers in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming, is a rugged mountain view junkie’s dream. Not only does it boast quite a large lake in…
Day Hiking Big Sandy Lake in the Wind Rivers
It’s a long trail to Big Sandy Lake. Five whole miles, in fact. But the trail is more or less flat, and it really isn’t that far. (At least in my mind. My feet said otherwise at the end of…
Waterfalls and Fossils: Upper Darby Canyon
I was looking for hikes on the western side of the Tetons. That side is the non-tourist side; there aren’t many roads, let alone day hikeable trails, and there’s even less information on what’s out there. So my research wasn’t…
Highline Trail Along Lower Green River Lake
For the short-distance dayhiker, the Highline Trail probably offers some of the best day hiking in the Wind Rivers. Views of jagged Wind River peaks and flat-topped Squaretop Mountain open up nearly from the first, and are simply lovely over…
Lava Mountain: No Trail, but Awesome Views!
I suppose any trip isn’t complete until we’ve been off-trail. On a recent trip to Wyoming, though, we did a bit more than just leaving the trail behind: we did a hike that was entirely without a trail. No signs,…
Fort Stanwix: The Hands-on Fort
For some reason, few people know about Fort Stanwix. I live within a few hours, yet I’d never heard of it until one day when I was looking for national public lands areas near my home. Then it went on…
A Day Canoe Trip in Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park has been one of those places I’ve always thought about going, but could never figure out a good reason to. For one thing, you really need a boat to see it (at least during the summer months),…
10 Best Things to Do in Niagara Falls
Sometimes I forget about the nice stuff near home. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. I just don’t think about it because I’ve seen it enough times that my thoughts are on faraway places like the Tetons and the…