I have often thought that if the U.S. were as well run across the board as is the National Park Service and the Coast Guard, we would have one really exceptional and responsive form of government. Wishful thinking aside, however, and recognizing that even the NPS has...
Regular readers of my blogs are likely already aware that Mount Rainier National Park is one of my favorites among America's great parks. However, being able to spend the entire summer in the Seattle/Tacoma area this year has provided me with the opportunity to visit...
Last month I addressed this subject, before almost immediately became an unwitting participant in exactly what I had advised against. During a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords in early August, I decided to join the ship's $94.95 "Hiking on the Hardanger Plain" shore...
Near the Mount Rainier National Park, the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is one of the most unusual city parks in the U.S. Yes, this Eatonville park is basically a zoo, but it is a zoo unlike any you are likely to find elsewhere. The mission of this 725-acre wildlife...
You never know how people are going to travel together until you hit the road with them, which is why I felt nervous about my husband's first family vacation with my mom and brother to Yosemite National Park this spring. Although I had traveled with them individually,...
I know that the excitement of approaching Yosemite National Park can tend to block out thoughts of stops along the way, no matter how attractive they might be. But the small town of Coulterville is such a picturesque, interesting and unspoiled reminder of California's...
Crater Lake National Park is an important component of any quality tour exploring the splendid Beaver State. Since most groups are likely to reach the park via OR 62, the historic and quite picturesque Union Creek Resort, just about a mile south of the junction with...
Those who remember my discussion of Mount Rainier National Park here last October already know that this is one of my favorite NPS sites. If one approaches the park from the west via WA 7 and 706, the small community of Elbe (population 30) can be found at the...
While stopping a minute to look up the endless stone steps cut into the cliff's side, I felt certain the upcoming Vernal and Nevada waterfalls would be worth the climb. I knew this not just because of the occasional glimpses of the powerful Vernal Falls, but also...
Only a two-hour drive south of my (happily) snowless winter stopover in Phoenix and the "Valley of the Sun" is Tucson, the state's second-largest city and home of the University of Arizona. Tucson holds one of three exceptional national park sites dedicated to great...
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