In November of 2018, three fires devastated parts of California, in what has seemingly become a dark annual ritual. While the main story has been - and should be - the incredible loss of life and property from the blazes, I also wanted to tell the tale of a place that is very special to…
Often, destinations that are a bit more remote tend to be ignored. Places outside big cities, lacking in national parks or other well-known landmarks, can still be wonderful. There is a calmness to rolling hills, forests and meadows, mountains and streams that are, of themselves, not a focal point for travel. Southwestern Pennsylvania is one…
Sometimes, travelers are lucky in weather. I've had perfectly blue skies at Crater Lake in Oregon in a single week between snow storms, had the rain let up in Amsterdam just as I arrived, and had a storm abate just long enough to visit the ruins at Ephesus before it came back in. Other times,…
For most people from elsewhere, West Virginia is a bit of a blank spot. We know it exists, but we don't know what there is to do there. It's most famous export, coal, isn't exactly something that draws the tourists in droves. However, West Virginia is a wonderful place. It has some unique history, incredible…
"Almost heaven, West Virginia. Blue Ridge Mountains. Shenandoah River. Life is old here, older than the trees. Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze." The song is beautiful, and one I can't stop singing as my father and I criss-cross this state. The mountains loom over us, wisps of clouds hovering around the tops,…
In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of Mormon settlers crossed the Mojave Desert in California. They spotted a tree they had never seen before. Its outspread branches reminded them of a biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands to the sky in prayer. And so they named it the Joshua tree. The Joshua tree…
In the desert of northern Arizona lies a forest, a forest so old it was ancient even when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Yes, this forest is more than 200 million years old, and it can still be seen. How, you ask? Petrified Forest National Park contains one of the largest collections of petrified wood in…
Most people seem to think of New Mexico as a splotch of land between the desert of Arizona and the flat plains of Texas, thereby having little to no appeal as it relates to beauty. While geographically they may be right - New Mexico is, in fact, between Arizona and Texas - this is a…
On September 28, 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed in what is now San Diego Harbor at Point Loma. Today, more than 450 years later, the place is a bit different than he would have seen it. However, the strategic importance of this point overlooking the harbor and the deep blue Pacific Ocean remains the same,…
Downtown Vancouver is a truly beautiful place, built on a peninsula jutting between the natural harbor and Burrard Inlet, which leads to the calm waters of the Inner Passage, the channel separating mainland Canada from Vancouver Island. The tip of this peninsula is a 1000 acre green space: Stanley Park. So this begs the question,…