Impossibly tall spires, pinnacles, monuments, ramparts, towers, precipices, aeries. These are some of the descriptive elements that make up the experience that is Zion Canyon. For me, the experience of entering Zion Canyon for the first time was an emotional one. I was simply overcome by the feeling that a place like this couldn’t possibly…
Category: North American travels
October 15, 2015: Surrendering to Nature’s majesty; Bryce Canyon
Today we returned to one of our favorite National Parks, Bryce Canyon. It is almost always cool in Bryce, for the elevation is between 8,000 and 9,000 feet. That’s a good thing. The only drawback, though, is that I always need 3 to 4 days to acclimate to higher elevations before I can undertake serious…
October 7 and 8: Of Hoodoos, Natural Bridges and Native American Rock Art
So what is a hoodoo, you say? Hoodoos are another one of the amazing features the Utah desert presents for consideration. They are often seemingly impossible spires of sandstone that are often much bigger towards the top then at the narrow bottom. Call it nature’s balancing act. They can be as tall as a ten…
September 24th: An adventure into the unknown; Peek-a-boo and Spooky Slot Canyons
25 miles down a dirt road lie some hidden marvels. We headed deep into the heart of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument today to discover the fabled slot canyons, Spooky and Peek-a-boo. We also found a third, with a much less intriguing name, Dry Gulch. Walking a mile down a nearly impassable road from the…
September 21st, 2015: Of Pictographs and Waterfalls
We are now getting settled into our first Campground Host position, at Calf Creek Recreation Area, inside Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, in southern Utah. We jumped right into work the day after our arrival – on a busy Friday. The days since have since been full of cleaning campsites, checking the restrooms, answering questions…
September 8th, 2015: Orca Spotting!!!!!
I could never imagine what seeing a whale in the wild was like; until today!
September 4th: Following the Roar!
Today we ventured westward on the Southern End of Vancouver Island to the town of Sooke and up to the Sooke Potholes. Kind of an unimposing name for something that takes your breath away. I’ve seen Yosemite Falls which is incredibly tall and Niagara Falls which is incredibly wide and powerful, but the waterfalls that…
August 19th: Left in the dust.
This day started like any other. A night or two at a campground followed by the next day’s drive. This day, though, contained a little more action than I typically like, during the daily drive. We were looking for the road to the Quinalt Rain Forest, in the southwestern corner of Olympic National Park. I…
August 27th: A Walk in the Woods
We were thinking our walk through East Sooke Regional Park would be “a walk in the park”, but it was anything but. East Sooke is on the coast of the Strait of Juan De Fuca coastline about 15 miles west of Victoria, on Vancouver Island. These pristine woods must look like the entire island looked…
August 15, 2015: Toulamne Meadows, Yosemite NP
What started out as a typical day of hiking soon turned into anything but typical. Little did we know that there was a wildfire raging just outside the eastern entrance to the Park, off Highway 120 leading into Toulamne Meadows! To start with the hiking; we were hardly acclimated to the high elevation (7,500 – 8,250 feet)….
Silver Chariot 