Editor’s note: I first visited Yosemite as a child, and have been back close to a dozen times, including three since starting The Royal Tour. It is a place unlike anywhere I’ve ever visited, a place of dreams. (Also a place of crowds, but such is the trade off.) Here, Jackie adds her own experiences…
Editor’s note: Who doesn’t like a good volcano, right? For visitors to California, Lassen Volcanic National Park is off the beaten path, but just as awesome as any place this side of Yosemite. Like our resident geology buff Morgan, I love this gem of a park and recommend it to everyone I know! For more…
On the morning of September 14, 1814, a 35 year old Francis Scott Key stood on the British warship HMS Tonnant. He was there to negotiate for the release of an American prisoner captured during this, the third year of the War of 1812. During the prior day, and throughout the night, a British fleet…
Few events have so shaken up the country than the one that took place here at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC on April 14, 1865. Sitting in a box overlooking the stage, President Abraham Lincoln was shot in back of the head by actor John Wilkes Booth at roughly 1015pm. The president would die across…
Not too many of America’s national parks occupy a place like this, just outside of a major metropolitan area. But here, just a half hour from downtown Cleveland, and - in some places - mere feet off of interstate freeways, sits an oasis easily reachable by day trippers. Hiking, bird watching, and one of the…
Editor’s note: While I’ve spent time in the amazing natural areas of Colorado, Denver is a city I’ve really only been through. Writer Sam Spector makes a nice case here for spending a long weekend - or more - in the metro area, and not just heading out to the mountains. For more of Sam’s…
For most of human history, the concept of “value” was immediate. My goat has value because it can be traded for x amount of money now, or because it will feed my family for x amount of time now. And for most of human history, that was the way we assigned value to nature. An…
To say that my two night, three day, add-on for my Costa Rica tour was off to a rough start would be an understatement. I had just arrived in Tortuguero National Park after a several hour trip by bus and then boat, and the weather, which had cooperated for the entire trip to this point,…
Editor’s note: Mesa Verde is indeed a gem. I’ve only been once, and only for a few hours on a whim - I had intended to remain at Canyonlands in Utah but decided to leave early and make this a bypass - but I loved it. You will, too, especially after reading this piece by…
Editor’s note: a slight change of pace from Morgan, our resident geology buff, as this look into Indiana Dunes National Park focuses more on the ecology. For more of Morgan’s writing, click here to visit her index page. One of the more recent additions to the US National Parks system is Indiana Dunes National Park…