Grand Canyon: Driving Desert View Drive

Our last day in Grand Canyon National Park was beautiful. After clouds, snow, and hail, we had bright sunshine and brilliant blue skies for our morning hike on the South Kaibab Trail and our mid-day cruise on Desert View Drive. The East Entrance to the park is closed right now so this ended up being …

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Grand Canyon: Hiking South Kaibab Trail

After our six-mile hike on the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, I was feeling prepared for what we should expect hiking the other major South Rim trail our second full day in the park. The South Kaibab Trail is 6.8 miles to the Colorado River. The National Park Service - in line …

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Winter in Grand Canyon National Park

After an amazing morning hiking Bright Angel Trail and a mid-day siesta to avoid the hail storm that was passing through, we decided to spend our first afternoon in Grand Canyon National Park exploring Hermit Road. Hermit Road is usually closed to personal vehicles. During peak season, you have to take one of the park …

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Grand Canyon: Hiking Bright Angel Trail

Our first day in Grand Canyon National Park we decided to tackle the toughest hike on our list - the iconic Bright Angel Trail! Bright Angel Trail is a 9.3-mile trail down to the Colorado River. The National Park Service recommends that day hikers only go down 6 miles before hiking back out (for 12 …

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Crossing the Hoover Dam

I have mixed feelings about man-made dams. We've visited Grand Coulee dam as well as several other dams along the Columbia River, and they certainly are engineering marvels. Many of them have generated economic prosperity for the surrounding communities and states and have eliminated devastating flash flooding. They have also caused significant and irrevocable harm …

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Experiencing the Vegas Strip at Night

Probably the last place you want to go during a global health crisis is Las Vegas. The casinos, the shows, the dining -- I can't imagine any of those experiences being particularly safe right now. However, if you find yourself passing through Vegas at night, as we did on our recent long weekend trip to …

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Washington Hikes: Rampart Ridge Loop

Last weekend the sun was out, Mt. Rainier was towering overhead, and we took advantage of the break in the weather to squeeze in a Saturday morning hike before I needed to be home, accessible, and on-call for work. We set out for the Rampart Ridge Loop trail from Longmire in Mt. Rainier National Park, …

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