Muir Woods National Monument is the embodiment of everything I love about America’s national parks. Donated to the federal government by William Kent, a California senator who once owned the land on which Muir Woods sits, Kent requested the property be instituted as a national park. His intent: to protect the old-growth coastal redwoods growing there. Kent's request … [Read more...] about Finding Ghosts and Giants at Muir Woods National Monument
nature
Hiking the Reef Bay Trail in Virgin Islands National Park
Hiking the Reef Bay Trail in Virgin Island National Park is the perfect way to familiarize yourself with the landscape, flora, and fauna of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you're more adventurous, it's a hike you can complete on your own. If the idea of hiking alone in a national park seems daunting, the National Park Service offers guided group walking tours of this … [Read more...] about Hiking the Reef Bay Trail in Virgin Islands National Park
Celebrating Small Successes in Yosemite National Park
It’s been said Yosemite National Park is the crown jewel of America’s national parks. I haven’t been to every national park yet, but I believe it. Although my time in Yosemite was marked by disappointment, I still consider the three days I spent backpacking in the park among the most special memories of my life. Gaining Perspective It’s too easy to focus on failure, so when I … [Read more...] about Celebrating Small Successes in Yosemite National Park
5 Favorite Memories of Yellowstone National Park
I can't even begin to accurately describe the experience of visiting Yellowstone National Park for the first time. It was years ago, and I was a green solo traveler from the East Coast who was inexperienced with nature on such a grand scale. The sensations you experience in Yellowstone tend to extremes: Excitement. Fear. Awe. Wonder. The landscape is just so big and beautiful … [Read more...] about 5 Favorite Memories of Yellowstone National Park
Discovering Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
It's a loose analogy but I think it works: if northeastern Wyoming is like a set of washboard abs, then Devils Tower National Monument is like an outie bellybutton. There. I've said it. Analogies are useful when trying to describe something that defies description, and Devils Tower is certainly that. I could, perhaps, call it a lot of other things, too--an otherworldly … [Read more...] about Discovering Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
The Best of Bremerton, Washington
When I’d just moved to the Seattle area, I lived like an itinerant preacher--welp, minus the preachin’. I spent six weeks just north of the city in Edmonds and another week south of the city in the Georgetown neighborhood but I have to say my favorite stint was the five days I spent in Bremerton, west of Seattle and accessible by a 55-minute ferry. After five days walking and … [Read more...] about The Best of Bremerton, Washington
Lone Cypress Letdown in Pebble Beach, California
If you want to see the famous Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, you should know one thing: it's going to cost you. If you don't do your research and show up in search of the solitary Monterey Cypress standing sentinel on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Pacific Ocean, what sticks with you after your visit may not be the warm memories of a leisurely drive along a spectacular stretch … [Read more...] about Lone Cypress Letdown in Pebble Beach, California