Yosemite is one of the most popular national parks in the system, and there are two predictable outcomes: the views are extraordinary, and there are a lot of people. We camped in Lee Vining in a pretty cool private RV campground (more on Lee Vining later), and the town is practically adjacent to Yosemite NP. … Read More Yosemite NP – June 2018
Sequoia and King’s Canyon (SEKI) NP is a paradise of contradiction. Or maybe there is no contradiction; maybe it is just balance. One thing for which there is no dispute: this place is beautiful. We spent four nights camped at the Lodgepole campground in the park. There are no hookups in the campground, although water is… Read More Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP – June 2018
Nabesna Road. I am beginning to think we may suffer from visual overload on this trip. Driving south from Tok, AK, we arrived at the northern portion of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. I will be honest – I had never heard of this national park before arriving. This is the largest national… Read More Alaska (2) Nabesna Road – June 2017
Alberta. Banff, if you have never been here, is just crazy with views! I say Banff, but really mean the Banff National Park in Alberta (Canada), which area includes Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Banff, Canadian Rocky Mountains galore, and much more. The views almost seem to get silly, because around every turn is a simply… Read More Banff National Park – May 2017
Ever watch one of those National Geographic wildlife films? The images that come to my mind are the mountain lion racing down a poor isolated elk, and a buffalo stampeding on some hapless mountain lion. Mountain lions need a better agent.. Not to go off on a technical rant, but buffalos are found only in… Read More Theodore Roosevelt NP – May 2017
Almost to the day for me, it has been 3 years since I (we) retired. Oh, how I miss those days of quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly forecasts… And who doesn’t love a well-placed flaming email distributed to the world. After retirement, one is forced to forego the joys and luxury of business travel: cramped… Read More 3 Years Post Retirement – Mar 2017
We have checked the Guadalupe Mountains National Park box. Typically when we visit a national park we say to ourselves that we will absolutely have to come back to visit stuff we weren’t able to see. There is much (let’s call that most) of the park we did not see. But for whatever reason I… Read More Guadalupe Mountains NP – Mar 2017
We have been camped out for a few days at the Lake Pleasant Regional Park in Morristown, AZ. With the cell phone tower as close as it is, I feel confident we have been spayed and neutered. I seem to be picking up Radio Free Europe on my fillings, and we seem to have a… Read More Lake Pleasant – Feb 2017
The real story about McDowell Mountain Regional Park is the beauty. Yes, there are a boatload of things to do here, miles and miles of hiking, mountain biking, and horseback trails. Since the park borders Scottsdale and is only 20 miles north of Phoenix, there are tons of other activities you can partake in. But… Read More McDowell Mountain RP – Feb 2017
Like Karen said to me, “beauty as far as the eyes can see.” That pretty much captures Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. If you don’t know where that is, you can be excused; it is located in the Sonoran Desert in southwest AZ on the border of Mexico. Over 95% of this 500+ square mile… Read More Organ Pipe – Feb 2017
I really deliberated whether to post on this visit to Lost Dutchman State Park, in Apache Junction, AZ (20 miles east of Phoenix). I have posted previously about this place and in spite of what you might think I try to keep the blog current but also interesting, and with new places. But Lost Dutchman… Read More Lost Dutchman SP – Feb 2017
Our destiny is clear: Get to Mesa (AZ) in plenty of time to set up and watch the Superbowl, with the New England Patriots facing off against the Atlanta Falcons. This is clearly a game I want both teams to win, being as we spent most of our lives in New England and have lived… Read More Bowie, AZ – Feb 2017
Karen, Dottie and I have been commissioned by our new “leadership” and his crack team to figure out the best place for the new wall on the Mexican border to go, and of course any décor items that might compliment it. We have looked around, and I think I have some great ideas! It’s all… Read More Big Bend – Jan 2017
Sometimes the cool stuff is right in front of you. If you live in Georgia, or plan to visit at some time, this might be a useful (or not) list of cool things to do or see. This is not an exhaustive list of cool stuff in Georgia – just some places we have been… Read More Georgia On My Mind – Jan 2017
Grits ain’t groceries, eggs ain’t poultry, and Mona Lisa was a man. That has absolutely nothing to do with this post. But the song was on as I drove home from my hike, and I love that song! Have you seen the movie, The Accountant? Like Christian Wolff in the movie, I too am a… Read More Last Post (this year) – Dec 2016
One of the most common questions I am asked (second only to how exactly did you get Karen to marry you) is what is my favorite place visited this year? Since we have finished our travels for the year, I thought it would be timely to put this list together. I struggle with this question,… Read More Top 10 Places – 2016
When you are retired every day is Saturday, and this is no exception. I am sitting in our camper up in the White Mountains enjoying a thunderous and continuous rain over a cup of coffee, staring at my new found friend. Unlike our tenting neighbors, we are dry. And unlike our trip to Vermont, where… Read More New Hampshire – Aug 2016
Farms and charm – that is the essence of Vermont. Yes, brooks, streams, stone walls, cows, granges, hippies, cowboys, Subarus, hikers and skiers. But in the end, it is farm and charm. For those who have never been to Vermont, well, sad for you. In many ways this remains the Free and Independent Republic of… Read More Vermont – Jul/Aug 2016
Since our servants were off duty this day, I took several weeks’ worth of laundry to the laundromat in Manchester, VT. While there, I struck up a conversation with some obvious hikers (I won’t say how I knew they were hikers – no actually, they had already showered). Yes, they were hiking the Appalachian Trail… Read More Zero Day on the AT – July 2016
Five degrees cooler and 10 miles east of Bennington, VT, is the Woodford State Park. Situated in southern Vermont in the Green Mountain National Forest, we camped here for about four days. Just being in Vermont is a special treat, but staying in this campground, only a few miles from where the Appalachian Trail crosses… Read More Bennington, VT – July 2016
There is something therapeutic about taking a walk in the woods – not needing to see anything particular of note, just enjoy what nature offers. As a seasoned veteran, though, I know that if I take a walk in the woods without my camera, there will be lions and tigers and dancing bears. So I… Read More A Walk in the Woods – June 2016
While clearly keeping in mind why we are celebrating this holiday weekend, for those who have lost their lives serving our country, we enjoyed a weekend of fellowship at the Memorial Day Weekend Rally at the Highland Haven Airstream Park, not too far down the road from Floyd, VA (home of the Floyd Country Store).… Read More Memorial Day Weekend in VA – May 2016
In her camping debut, Dottie proves her mettle! We spent a few days in and around Pine Mountain, GA this past week, which if you are not familiar is where Callaway Gardens is located, near the town of Hamilton, all in Harris County. If you are not familiar with Harris County, it abuts Meriwether County.… Read More Dottie goes to Pine Mountain – May 2016
Story has it that the Red October was scuttled on a river off the coast of Maine. I beg to differ. We are working our way up the coast of the California Republic, and made it to Morro Bay. For you Dodgers and 49ers fans, Morro Bay sits somewhere between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara.… Read More Hunt for Red October – Mar 2016
This ain’t no disco. It ain’t no country club either. This is LA! First, apologies to our LA area peeps that we did not get to see this trip. We did, however, get together for dinner with our friends Lloyd (my college roommate) and his wife Ann. Like Sheryl Crow says, all I want to… Read More M. A. S. H. – Mar 2016
The thing about camping? When the weather gets too hot, or too cold, or too whatever, you move. As nice as the weather was at McDowell, it was getting on the warm side so we decided to head back to Sedona, part Duh. If doing something once is great, then doing it twice is greatuh.… Read More Sedona part Duh – Feb 2016
Success! We finally captured photos of wildlife with our new “Stealth Cam”. Catching photos of wildlife has eluded us until now. With this new camera in our arsenal we expect to catch more candid photos, but at least this is a start. I did discuss these photos with the park ranger. His counsel was, at… Read More McDowell Reg’l Park – Feb 2016
I know, you thought we ended up in Africa. Not so fast, Big Boy (or Girl). We are firmly in the US, although if you listened to the accents you would be sure we were in Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or one of those other northern countries. That is because no one over the age of… Read More Mesa, AZ – Feb 2016
No, we didn’t change continents, but it feels like we did. We boondocked for a few days near Sedona, AZ and it felt like we were dropped into a scene from the movie, Out of Africa, somewhere on the Serengeti. We half expected lions and tigers to appear. Not so much, but we did see… Read More Out of Africa – Feb 2016
Prescott, AZ seems like one of those places where, if you were looking for the perfect weather year round, would/should be on your radar. Having been here for only three days in February it is a bit hard to say. Never the less, it sure seems like a pretty good candidate for that short list… Read More Prescott, AZ – Feb 2016