Finding Autumn Colors in Seattle

Seattle is not considered a destination place for autumn colors. Leaf peeping is well known in the New England states, and some places in the Rockies have their fans. Sadly, the Pacific Northwest is rarely on lists of fall destinations for colors. However, if you know where to go, Seattle can offer some wonderful autumn color gems. One of the important things to note about the Seattle area is the influence of the Japanese gardens. It is within these gardens…

Various Beastly Encounters in Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is filled with many interesting experiences. I’ve shared with you the unique and interesting geothermal locations as well as the natural beauty of this part of the country. There is one more element to visiting Yellowstone, and that’s the animals. Yellowstone is the place to see some of the major wildlife in the United States including elk and bison. Set in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone is home to some of the large animals that are well known…

Extolling the Autumn Beauty of Yellowstone

While Yellowstone National Park is most famous for its many geothermal sites and wonders, it’s hard to ignore its beauty. Within the park there are a number of locations with amazing landscapes and scenery to enjoy. With mountains as a backdrop, its rivers and lakes create some stunning vistas. When visiting in the autumn months, one has an opportunity to enjoy even more intense beauty from the fall colors. One of the most beautiful locations in the park no matter…

Yellowstone’s Amazing Geysers and Mudpots

While Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in Yellowstone, it is far from the only one. What makes Yellowstone such a unique place is its many geysers, mudpots, fumaroles, hot springs, and other unique geological features. A collapsed volcanic caldera forms the center of the park, and underneath the ground the heat creates the amazing features which Yellowstone is famous for. When we first arrived at Yellowstone through the western entrance, we were headed down to Grand Teton National…

All Roads Lead to Yellowstone National Park

Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park. Hearing about places like Old Faithful and mudpots as well as the wild animals really piqued my interest. However, I never made it until this year. As we searched for a place to travel to get some relief from the pandemic, we finally settled on Yellowstone. I was excited. I didn’t spend a lot of time planning for this trip. Most of the planning was…

Awesome Grand Teton and Jackson Hole

I hate to admit this, but I didn’t know where Grand Teton National Park was located. I thought it was more in the eastern part of the U.S. so I was surprised when I began researching a visit to Yellowstone to see Grand Teton National Park just south of Yellowstone. Obviously we needed to visit there as well. Since we flew into Bozeman, Montana, it was quite a trip down to Jackson Hole, which is at the southern end of…

Tranquil Moments at Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma

During COVID when many travel opportunities shut down, visiting gardens remained possible. Most years I might only visit a garden two or three times a year. Not during COVID. With so many other sites and activities shut down, gardens became a tranquil place to visit. The Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma, Washington was one of our options. Like many other gardens in the Puget Sound area, this garden started out as a personal garden which later became a public garden. The…

Facing the Challenges of World Travel

When I began this blog over a year ago, my intent was to encourage people to explore our world. For me traveling is the best way to learn about the cultures and peoples of our very diverse world. While we can read about places and peoples in books, see travel shows on TV, or watch documentaries or movies from different locations, nothing compares to actually being in a place. Places are more than what we see. They are smells and…

Encountering Starbucks Throughout the World

I did not grow up in a coffee drinking family. My parents seldom drank any. They were much more likely to drink tea. In fact, as my father grew older, he would always have a pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator. Coffee was just not part of our life. Shortly after college I moved to the Dominican Republic for four years. There I began to have some exposure to coffee. The Dominicans would serve coffee in small demitasse cups…

Discovering Sunrise at Mt. Rainier in Washington

There were thin, high clouds in the sky as we left our home to visit Mt. Rainier. It looked to be a perfect day for a return visit to Mt. Rainier National Park. It had been two years since our last visit. This time we were going to a part of the park we had never visited before, Sunrise. The Sunrise area is on the northeast side of the park. There are three main parts to the Sunrise region. First…