Hiking to Stunning Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park

During a visit to Glacier National Park, we attempted to hike to Avalanche Lake but first explored the Trail of the Cedars. After successfully parking, we faced a challenging uphill journey, culminating in breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding mountains, including a bear sighting. We ended our trip at McDonald Creek and Lake, appreciating the park’s unique beauty.

A Hillside Hike and Exploring Lehman Caves In Great Basin NP

After having driven through Great Basin National Park the day before, we needed to find some other options for our second day in the park. Fortunately there are plenty of things to do, especially hiking. Unexpectedly, we were also able to do another activity which was to explore Lehman Caves. Great Basin National Park has quite a few options when it comes to hiking. Fortunately these options also include various ability levels. While at one point in our lives we…

An Unexpected Hike in Great Basin National Park

Tuesday was a travel day for us. Having spent a day in Capitol Reef National Park, it was time to move on. Our next and final stop was Great Basin National Park in Nevada. The drive there was over three hours long. I figured we would be tired when we arrived in Nevada so I didn’t plan any activity for the day. The drive indeed was long. There were no real places of interest requiring a stop so we drove…

Capitol Reef National Park’s Unique Mix of History and Adventure

Monday’s weather was cooler than Sunday’s. There was also a prediction for a thunderstorm in the afternoon. With that in mind we dressed for the anticipated weather and headed off for Capitol Reef National Park. I read online that the park was undergoing some construction projects and parts of the park were closed. I wasn’t sure how that would impact our day. This park does not have a pay booth as one enters because part of the park is just…

Hiking to the Inside of Bryce Canyon National Park

Having spent an afternoon in Bryce Canyon National Park, we were ready to see what more the park had to offer. The weather was about the same as the day before so we were looking forward to a good day. First, however, we needed to get some breakfast as our motel did not provide any. We stopped at a cafe in the town of Panguitch. We were able to get a table, but the place was pretty busy. Our waitress…

Great Sand Dunes National Park in the Spring

Our purpose in visiting Colorado was to check a few more national parks off our bucket list. I don’t think we will ever be able to visit all of the 64 parks, but I am hoping we can at least make it half way. This trip will add three more to the list with Great Sand Dunes National Park our first one. I have to admit I had not heard of Great Sand Dunes until I started researching our national…

From Muir Woods to San Francisco Bay’s Edge

One of the reasons I wanted to go to the San Francisco area was to visit Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a US National Monument. I wrote about national monuments in a previous post. Muir Woods is one I had read about and wanted to explore. It took us about two hours to drive north from where Andrea lives to reach Muir Woods. The drive took us over the Golden Gate Bridge, and shortly after crossing we turned west. We…

Wildlife Encounters in Rancho San Antonio near Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley conjures up images of high tech companies in shiny buildings with busy employees working far too much. We sometimes forget that word valley. A valley is an area between hills or mountains, and Silicon Valley sits near some hills which have been preserved for the valley citizens to enjoy and experience nature. One such location is Rancho San Antonio which is an open space preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of the valley. Here visitors will find…

Dash Point State Park: From the Beach to the Forest

A beautiful, sunny day in February is a great opportunity to do some exploring. On such a Saturday we decided to travel down to Federal Way and explore Dash Point State Park. Washington state has over 100 state parks so there are a number of locations to see, and we have only visited a few of them. It was time to explore more. Dash Point is on Puget Sound in Federal Way. We took the 320th St. exit off I-5…

A Serene Shoreline Hike in Lake Wenatchee State Park

Sunday morning dawned, and it wasn’t raining. It wasn’t the most sunny of days, but since it wasn’t raining, I was hoping we would be able to go to Lake Wenatchee State Park. When I had planned this weekend, I put Lake Wenatchee high on the list of activities. Despite the fact that we had come to Leavenworth a number of times over the years, we had never gone out to Lake Wenatchee. First, of course, we needed to stop…