Finding Joy in Death Valley
Death Valley is an incredible place to go EXCEPT in the summer, when temperatures have reached 134 degrees Fahrenheit! Some roads are quite steep, and signs posted require that you turn off your car's air [...]
Joshua Tree Nat’l Park, CA
Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California is a bizarre landscape where rocks and cactus pop up with strange and beautiful formations. The Colorado and Mojave deserts meet here. tr
Hooray for Hollywood
Hollywood! We did all the touristy stuff: Sid Grauman's Chinese Theater, the old Max Factor Building (now the Hollywood Museum), the Dolby Theater where the Oscars are held annually, and the Hollywood Museum of Illusions. [...]
Zion and the Subway, UT
The Native American Paiute tribes called this area Mukuntuweap, but the National Park Service decided that the adopted Mormon name, Zion, was easier for the masses to pronounce. The park’s striking vertical topography is what draw visitors [...]
Grand Canyon, AZ
As the crow flies, Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim and the Lodge at the North Rim are only 10 miles apart. To drive between them, you have to travel 215 miles or about [...]
Coyote Gulch, UT
Located in the vast Grand Staircase-Escalante desert, Coyote Gulch is a winding, semi-narrow canyon that snakes its way down through incredible red rock country, and joins with the Escalante River just above Lake Powell. Mike hiked [...]
Moving Mom
Over the summer, we spent countless hours helping Mom sort through decades of household items interspersed with family photos, momentos and her own original artwork. Therein lay the challenge - separating the wheat from the [...]
Sibling Reunion in Myrtle Beach, SC
We're so lucky to have each other. Eight of ten siblings made it to the reunion. We missed you Rosemary, Al, Steve, Linda and Vicki! We walked the peaceful beaches near our AirBNB where Hurricane [...]
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park was warm and dry in August, making for easy hiking. We love staying in the little cabins at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. We caught up with our Conservation Corps crew as [...]
Mount Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier is like a beacon of sorts. When we see it, we know we're home. As you drive closer, the immensity of "her majesty" and the surrounding forest are awe inspiring. We met our [...]
Saying Goodbye to Ron Snyder
So grateful that I made a quick trip to Long Beach, CA to see my friend Ron Snyder while he was hospitalized for pancreatic cancer chemotherapy. We spent the day telling tales of our exploits [...]
Seattle’s Summer Entertainment
We ran all around Seattle catching the best of the city this summer.