Western US
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
-
Visiting Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
As you may recall from my previous post, the lead-up to our late-March roadtrip was mired in uncertainty. But, with the forest fire situation much more under control by the end of the week, we were officially settled on a destination: the Black Hills. So off we went, heading north across the dry, barren plains… Continue reading
-
The roadtrip that wasn’t
About two weeks in advance, a change in my husband’s work schedule meant that we would both be able to take the same week off at the end of March. Obviously, that meant it was time for me to plan another last-minute trip. But where to? With such a short time until our planned departure,… Continue reading
-
Yellowstone National Park, part V: Canyon to Mammoth
We’re finally here. After six months of thinking about writing these posts, being overwhelmed by the thought of writing them, procrastinating writing them, sorting through thousands of photos, and finally actually sitting down and writing them, I’ve made it to the end. And I’ve saved the best for last, because this post will begin at… Continue reading
-
Yellowstone National Park, part IV: Old Faithful to Canyon Village
Hopefully you guys aren’t sick of reading about Yellowstone yet, because we still have this post and one more to complete our tour of the park. Last week, I left off at Upper Geyser Basin, home to the famous Old Faithful as well as dozens of other geysers and hot springs. The majority of Yellowstone’s… Continue reading
-
Yellowstone National Park, part III: Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin
In last week’s edition of this Yellowstone saga, we traveled a decent distance and stopped at multiple geyser basins. In today’s edition, we’ll pretty much be staying in one location: Upper Geyser Basin, home to the famous Old Faithful Geyser. Of course, this is the main reason people visit Upper Basin. But I think what… Continue reading
-
Yellowstone National Park, part II: Madison to Old Faithful
Welcome back to my Yellowstone saga! Today, we’re going to pick up where I left off last week and continue south on the Lower Loop of Grand Loop Road from Madison Junction to the famous Old Faithful. This can be found on the west-central portion of the map below. This 16 mile (26 km) stretch… Continue reading
-
Yellowstone National Park, part I: Mammoth to Madison
Last week, I published a comprehensive guide to visiting Yellowstone National Park, which was largely focused on planning a trip to the park: logistics, navigation, accommodations etc. If you’ve stumbled across this post because you’re planning a visit to Yellowstone, I’d recommend starting there, as it’s much more focused on the big picture. However, I… Continue reading
-
A comprehensive guide to visiting Yellowstone National Park
I grew up visiting Yellowstone National Park at least once per year, so when I say I’ve been to the park dozens of times, I’m not exaggerating. In another life, I probably would have been a good park ranger or tour guide; I can identify many of the hot springs and geysers by name, recite… Continue reading
-
Driving the Beartooth Highway
In my opinion, no trip to Yellowstone National Park is complete without a drive over the Beartooth Highway. This scenic byway – US Highway 212 – connects the northeast (Cooke City) entrance of Yellowstone to the town of Red Lodge, Montana. Between these two destinations lies the Beartooth Mountains, a rugged range that sits atop… Continue reading
-
An afternoon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
After spending the first few years of our relationship completely and utterly broke (it’s super fun to have both people in school at the same time, living on a meager stipend and student loans), my husband and I still frequently have to remind ourselves that we have real adult jobs now with real salaries. And… Continue reading
-
Grand Teton National Park: hiking to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point
Our recent trip to Grand Teton National Park was, unfortunately, not nearly long enough. We really only spent a day and a half in the park. As you saw in my last post, one full day was spent driving a giant loop through the park and stopping at all the viewpoints and historic sites. For… Continue reading
-
A scenic driving tour of Grand Teton National Park
You’ve probably seen the Teton Mountains before without even realizing it; photos of the iconic range pop up all over the place. The rugged profile of the Grand Teton, Mount Owen, and Teewinot Mountain is unmistakable. I’d recognize them from anywhere. I generally write about our travels in chronological order, but sorting through all the… Continue reading
-
A photo a day: Yellowstone edition
This past July, we loaded up the car, drove up to Montana, and spent a week exploring Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks with my in-laws. While I’d been to both parks before and my husband had been to Yellowstone twice, this was the first ever visit for my in-laws. It was very much a… Continue reading
-
Touring the Colorado Capitol and the Denver Mint
A couple weeks back, I put together a list of things to do in Denver, and touring the Colorado Capitol and Denver Mint were items #1 and #2 on the list. What was intended to be a one paragraph blurb about each quickly morphed into a total of nearly 700 words… and I still had… Continue reading
-
25 things to do in and around Denver, Colorado
The 2024 airport statistics were released recently, and Denver has jumped up the list quite substantially; it’s now the 6th busiest airport in the world and #3 in the United States, with over eighty million passengers last year! Every time I’m there it’s a mess, so I know it’s a busy place. I wouldn’t have… Continue reading
-
A guide to visiting Yellowstone National Park in the winter
I’m in the process of doing a complete overhaul of my old Yellowstone National Park posts because, well, they’re old and in dire need of an update. Given my many visits to the park over the years, it’s a large undertaking. We’re also headed back to Yellowstone this coming summer, so I’m going to wait… Continue reading
-
A winter snowcoach adventure in Yellowstone National Park
As mentioned in a couple previous posts, this past Christmas we eschewed traditional gift-giving in favor of travel. Specifically, an overnight trip into the heart of Yellowstone National Park. Despite visiting many times, a winter overnight was something we’d never done, largely due to the expense. Only the northernmost road in Yellowstone remains open to… Continue reading
-
Snapshots from the sky: Colorado to Montana
I know I said a couple weeks ago that posts about our Thanksgiving roadtrip to Utah were upcoming – and they are – but I’ve decided to shake things up a bit and talk about our Christmas trip to Yellowstone National Park first. For the last few years, my family and I have repeatedly found… Continue reading
-
On Top of Utah: Kings Peak
Alternate post title: Finally. After being forced to cancel this trip at the last minute due to weather on two previous Labor Day weekends, I was approaching this year’s trip with the expectation of having to cancel again. But, as they say, third time is the charm! Kings Peak – elevation 13,528 ft (4123 m)… Continue reading
-
A guide to visiting Brainard Lake Recreation Area
(Updated May 2025) Brainard Lake Recreation Area was one of the first places we visited after moving to Colorado and has been a frequent destination of ours ever since. It’s a great place to take out-of-town visitors for some lovely scenery and short, relatively easy hikes. The longer hikes at Brainard are some of my… Continue reading