a website for curious travelers
USA National Parks and Monuments
Most of the sandy spit on which Provincetown is located is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore This area, known as the Province Lands, is characterized (today) by long sandy beaches and large, sparsely Read More …
We are heading to Barker Dam in California’s Joshua Tree National Park in the morning. We should have gotten going earlier this morning, but the coffee shop in town doesn’t open until 7, so we Read More …
The whole reason we are here now is to see the desert in bloom. I’ve long been fascinated with the way the stark landscape of the desert bursts into riotous color when the conditions are Read More …
The Hidden Valley Trail showcases some of the Joshua Tree National Park’s best features, thus tends to be one of the busiest spots in the park. We have arrived relatively early, so hope to beat Read More …
We immediately head out of Vegas, quickly finding ourselves in the desert. I’m so happy to be on the road here. I love the big, stark landscapes of the west. Finally we turn of the Read More …
We land on a gravel out-wash that is low, flat, and braided with leaping streams. The stream itself seems to defy gravity, somehow leaping above the level where we stand watching it without ever Read More …
We motor along the rocky shore of the Tarr Inlet, passing more gouged and scoured rock that is being colonized by vibrant vegetation. Between the bright fall foliage along the rock face and the dark Read More …
The landscape is fascinating, in some places raw and new-looking, as if just created. Of course, in a way it has been, when John Muir first visited here in 1879 much of the bay was Read More …
Our first new glacier for the day is Lamplugh, a rapidly receding tidewater glacier that sits underwater behind the sand piled in front of it. I’m fascinated by the way the compacted ice glows intensely Read More …
We are setting off on a gray morning that is misty with rain. The water churns a bit – making me reach for my sea sickness patches – as we motor through the Sitakaday Narrows, Read More …