The hardest part about visiting Phantom Ranch isn’t getting there, but getting back. There are no welcome signs, no strategically placed words of encouragement. In fact, just the opposite. The one and only sign we …
May 14, 2011
National Parks
The Grand Canyon: Phantom Ranch
The Land Where Giants Dwell: Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is home to the largest living thing on the planet. The tree, General Sherman, is tucked away along Generals Highway, about five hour’s drive from San Diego. Although not the tallest tree …
October 14, 2010
Killarney, Ireland
The term "Full Irish Breakfast" is not to be taken lightly. Generous portions of eggs, sausage, toast, black and white pudding, potatoes, fish and fruit are necessary to match the energy with which our host, …
July 15, 2010
An Elephant’s Eye: Minneriya National Park, Sri Lanka
I’d been in Sri Lanka for a week, and now a couple of friends and I are driving through the interior of the island nation. The road’s edge is lined with a string-wire fence standing …
April 30, 2010
Glacier National Park: Untouched Beauty
There are few national parks that can compare to Glacier in the northwest corner of Montana. With 13 campgrounds and over 700 miles of hiking trails, there’s no shortage of natural beauty at your fingertips. …
April 18, 2010
Wintertime in Zion and Bryce Canyon
Hopping out of the van, we were greeted by the cold like a slap in the face. Our fingers working slowly as we struggled to strap snowshoes to our boots. The day started out with …
January 27, 2010
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
I can hear the wailing guitar riffs as we drift lazily on the water: "Well, take me back down where cool water flows, yeah, Let me remember the things I love, Stopping at the log …
January 19, 2010
Hawaii Down Under
They’re dark. They’re a bit creepy. They’re lava tubes. Lurking beneath the lush tropical foliage that decorates the island of Hawaii, what appear to be mine shafts drilled through solid lava are actually nature-made. During …
November 23, 2009
Haleakala Crater in Haleakala National Park, Maui
I’m not much of a morning person, so if I’m going to get up at 3:00 am and trek up a 10,023-foot dormant volcano to watch a sunrise, it better be worth it. Watching the …
November 16, 2009
Tikal National Park, El Petén, Guatemala
An ancient Mayan civilization inhabited Tikal around 800 B.C., flourishing for over a century amid the subtropical rainforest of El Petén, Guatemala. Their extinction became legendary – a Lost City until the mid-19th century, when …
September 29, 2009
Grand Tetons/Yellowstone National Park
The national parks have been described by Ken Burns as America’s best idea. I doubt that many visitors to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park would argue with that. I journeyed there in late …
September 27, 2009