Mountaintop adventures
May 16, 2022
Skógafoss lies in the south of Iceland roughly 2 hours from Reykjavik. The famed waterfall sits just off the “ring road” near the eponymous town of Skógar. The massive falls appear from the Ring Road, and tower above the large, dirt parking area.
Continue reading “Skógafoss and the hike of never-ending waterfalls”
May 15, 2022
I visited Gullfoss on a drizzly day in Mid-may, 2022. The Waterfall lies at the furthest point from Rejkavic along the famed Golden Circle route. Gulfoss means Golden Waterfall in Icelandic, and it lends its name to the route itself. The massive falls lie just 10 minutes down the road from Geysir. It thus provides an incredible one-two-punch of natural wonders for day-trippers from Iceland’s capital.
Continue reading “Gullfoss”
May 15, 2022
I arrived at Geysir on a drizzly Sunday in mid-May. Driving through thick fog and intermittent rain, I assumed I’d arrive to find a deserted area. In contrast, the complex of parking lots, walking paths, and visitor centers were bustling with fellow tourists.
Continue reading “Geysir and Strokkur”
April 12, 2022
My day began with a morning rush hour drive along US-36 from Denver towards Boulder. Traffic moved thick but fast. I pulled off onto CO-170 and suddenly found myself deposited onto rolling ranch land, dotted with deciduous tree stands and farmhouses. Just beyond this bucolic scene, the Flat Irons and foothills loomed large, aglow in the morning light.
Continue reading “South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak Loop”
February 8, 2021
My day began around 4:30 am in La Junta, Colorado. The next two hours involved driving down increasingly spare roadways through the far southeastern plains of the Centennial State. Just 20 miles shy of the border with Oklahoma, I pulled off onto a dirt county road. It started straight but grew winding. It crossed drainage ditches and creeks. I had no cell service. I pleaded with the Universe not to give me a flat tire.
Continue reading “Black Mesa, Oklahoma”
November 28, 2021
The United States has no shortage of amazing, beautiful volcanoes. And some of them, while dormant, are very much not extinct. Some have erupted within the past century.
All that said, you shouldn’t visit most of these places expecting to see a molten lake of lava. Unless of course, you are visiting Kīlauea! Kīlauea has been erupting, nearly continuously, for the past 40 years. As luck would have it, I found myself on the Big Island of Hawaii at an opportune moment to witness its fresh, spewing lava first-hand. (The name Kīlauea in fact means “spewing”).
Continue reading “Kīlauea Iki Trail (Hawaii Volcanoes NP)”
August 27, 2021
The great state of Colorado spans 10,000′ in elevation and over 450 miles in extent. Its geography and climate span an equally impressive range. A single day’s drive can take you from the high eastern plains to red rock desert, with the spine of the Rockies in between.
Continue reading “High Dune (Great Sand Dunes NP)”
August 27, 2021
Mesa Verde National Park features elaborate cliff dwellings and myriad archeological sites. The structures, excavations, and artifacts span over a thousand years of ancestral Puebloan history. The park divides into two large sub-mesas. Chapin Mesa hosts crowd favorites like Cliff Palace and Square Tower House. But the quieter Wetherill Mesa features its own set of large cliff dwellings, like Mug House, Step House, and Long House.
Continue reading “Long House (Mesa Verde NP)”
August 27, 2021
Mesa Verde National Park features a unique blend of stunning scenery and over a thousand years of archeological treasures. Ancestral Puebloan people built elaborate cliff dwellings on this high cuesta just beyond the Rocky Mountains.
Continue reading “Petroglyph Point Trail (Mesa Verde NP)”
August 27, 2021
During my recent visit to Mesa Verde National Park, I took a ranger-guided tour of Square Tower House. The “house” consists of a set of stone dwellings built into a cliffside by the ancestral Puebloans. The park contains roughly half a dozen major dwelling sites periodically open to the public in some fashion. Square Tower in particular features the tallest ancient structure in the park.
Continue reading “Square Tower House (Mesa Verde NP)”