On our last visit to Death Valley National Park, the Keane Wonder Mine Trail was high on my list of “must-do” hikes. I’d hiked it at least three times back in the early 2000s, but then the area was closed…

On our last visit to Death Valley National Park, the Keane Wonder Mine Trail was high on my list of “must-do” hikes. I’d hiked it at least three times back in the early 2000s, but then the area was closed…
There are several premier trails that take hikers from the mesa of Island in the Sky to the White Rim Road. I’m sure they’re all very nice, but out of them all I chose to hike the Lathrop Trail… and…
On our last trip to California, we mostly stuck to famous parks. But one of our few excursions outside of national parks was to the Alabama Hills to hike the Mobius Arch Loop. I’d read about it online, and it…
Island in the Sky has some amazing trails. Murphy Point, Grand View, White Rim Overlook, Mesa Arch, and others offer fantastic views without a whole lot of vertical-gain effort. Others – like the Gooseberry Trail, Wilhite Trail, or Murphy Hogback…
A few weeks ago, I talked about exploring around 20 Mule Team Scenic Drive in Death Valley National Park. Well, partially by accident, and partially intentionally, I also ended up exploring 20 Mule Team Canyon, also located along the scenic…
It’s a tiny bit of forest tucked between a neighborhood and farm fields. But within that sheltered glen, Catlin Mill Creek tumbles over three(ish) ledges to create a scene better known as Deckertown Falls. The falls are as beautiful as…
There’s a nice little scenic drive a short distance up CA-190 from Furnace Creek. It’s called 20 Mule Team because it’s the route that the famous “20 Mule Team” used to transport borax out of Death Valley. But I have…
Quite a number of years ago, I took the rails-to-trails known as the Genesee Valley Greenway from the town of Mt. Morris to the Brookdale Preserve (just south of Rochester, NY). Then last year, I took the section of the…
Did you know that you can paddle up the Genesee River to the very impressive Lower Falls? I certainly didn’t know it until recently, when I got a book about local paddle routes out of the library. You know what…
Last week was a “staycation” for me. Every day felt like, “we can’t possibly see something today as nice as yesterday” and yet it always was! Who knew there were so many places spectacular with fall colors this close to…