College in the Park

Group travel in Yellowstone usually conjures up visions of busloads of elderly tourists decked out with floppy hats, fanny packs and cameras or disaffected teenagers who stand in front of the mountain vistas and text as their chaperones try to motivate them. There are other groups trekking through the park, though you have to be …

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Serendipity Strikes

The haze of smoke shrouded the mountains around Glacier National Park all day so we decided to go paddling on McDonald Lake rather than hike. Late that afternoon we loaded our boats and headed for the boat ramp. Timing a visit in any of the parks is essential, as crowds are largest between 10 - …

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The Flying Bathtub

We are presently heading for Vermont, driving along I-90. Ordinarily interstate drives aren’t interesting, but in Pensylvania  Lake Erie sparkles on the left and rolling vineyards pass on the right, making this leg of the trip quite pleasant. We crossed the border into New York and turned away from the lakeshore, and went back to …

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Air Supply

Many years ago (like, 35) I camped in Rocky Mountain National Park with a group of friends. One day we all went for a hike up Twin Sisters mountain. It’s not a terribly technical hike, but it's a lot of up and the summit is well above the tree line. It might have been the …

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Ice Roller

The first leg of what I’m now calling “Parkapalooza 2018” Started in Hinton, Alberta at Jasper National Park. Like most planners, I read lots of guidebooks and checked out the usual travel blogs and websites. I even talked to a few human beings about where to go and what to do. Jasper National Park is …

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Cupcakes in the Mountains

“You haven’t written much since we got to Canada,” said Ben. He’s right. Our days have been filled with exploring the area in our limited time here. We are far enough north that the light lasts well into the evening, with sunset around 9:00 and darkness around 10:30 PM. That makes for long, busy days. …

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Big Sky and Two Wheels

We drove through the Great Plains states on our way west, through Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana on Route 2. The two most impressive things were flatness and windiness. The northern plains states aren’t table top flat; the land undulates ever so gently. Every once in a while there is a big rock outcropping plopped …

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