Beautiful and stunning coastline made world-famous by numerous movies, including King Kong and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the Nā Pali Coast on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai is truly a sight to behold. Its uniquely jagged and forested landscape gives it an otherworldly vibe, not found (probably anywhere) on Mainland, U.S.A. …
If you’ve watched the comedy Tropic Thunder, then you’ve seen the jungles of Kauai, Hawaii. This movie was entirely filmed on this island, and after kayaking down the Wailua River and hiking to Secret Falls, I fully understood why the producers chose Kauai as the “Vietnam backdrop”. As we worked our way down the river, …
While the better-known Garden of the Gods is located in Colorado, this one is Southern Illinois' main claim to fame. By far the most popular hiking spot in the area, I firmly believe that the Illinois Garden of the Gods is worthy of its name. Beautiful and unique, it's a favorite go-to spot of out-of-towners …
Ahhh, Monument Valley (MV). An immense land of beautiful, mesmerizing, untouched desert. A mecca for Southwest lovers and road-tripping aficionados. A magical place locked in time. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park has earned every bit of its fame and reputation. For seven years I dreamed of visiting this world-renowned geographical wonder and I finally got …
Before I visited Idaho, I always pictured it like Iowa or Ohio - just flat, nothing, boring, potatoland. Pleasantly surprising, Idaho is none of that, at least not the areas we went to. We drove through the entire eastern half, south to north, starting at the Utah border and driving approximately 2 hours north to …
Routinely assumed to be a single waterfall, Niagara Falls is actually three separate waterfalls. It consists of Bridal Falls, American Falls, and the biggest and most famous, Horseshoe Falls. The last waterfall is what people typically picture when thinking of Niagara Falls. I, embarrassingly, was one of these people, until I got to visit this …
Continue reading Niagara Falls: America’s Most Famous Waterfalls.
At the beginning of the trail, near the top and parking lot area. Located about 15 minutes outside of Flagstaff, Sandy Canyon is a great day hike. Officially called the Sandy Canyon Trail, it’s located inside the Coconino National Forest, tucked back off the typical touristy path. It could easily be overlooked or missed if …
Continue reading Sandy Canyon: A Picturesque Portion of the Arizona Trail.
Since I love visiting geographic wonders and have a great love for hiking, Ross Creek Cedars was right up my alley. In fact, one of my life goals is visiting all of the National Parks, as well as all the giant trees in America. So, naturally, visiting the mighty cedars in northwest Montana was a …
Continue reading Ross Creek Cedars, Montana: Some Really Big Trees.
Around 5 miles outside the teeny “town” of Glenwood, New Mexico, is an outdoor recreation area that is both family-friendly and super-duper cool. Located within the Gila National Forest (pronounced “hee-la”), it’s a super easy, approximately 2-mile in-and-out trail. The metal catwalk begins around .5 miles into the trail, which starts at the parking lot. …
Continue reading Glenwood, New Mexico: Catwalk Recreation Area.
Located on the Kootenai River, Kootenai Falls are more like whitewater river-rafting falls rather than huge, towering falls like Niagara Falls. Located at Kootenai River Rd, Libby, MT, it sits in the top, most-western corner of Montana, in a rather remote area. In Montana, the falls are approximately 4.5 hours from Butte or Helena and …
Continue reading Kootenai Falls and Suspension Bridge (Beautiful Montana).