Western US
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
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Snapshots from the sky: Colorado to California
Sometimes I think I should have been a pilot. I’m not actually sure the realities of that job would be the best fit for me – and I love my actual job – but I know for sure that I’d never get sick of gazing down at our beautiful planet from the air. I’m forever… Continue reading
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Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, Montana
A couple years back, my mom – an avid blog reader since day one – wrote her first ever guest post. She really enjoyed the process and offered to write more posts in the future should the opportunity arise. This one had actually been in progress for a while and, since my California trip still… Continue reading
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Montana Summits: Storm Castle Peak
Never ones to waste a day of sunshine, my mom and I decided to squeeze in one last hike before the end of our trip. So we headed down Gallatin Canyon to climb Storm Castle, a 7165 foot (2184 m) summit. This is a fairly popular hike, although somewhat less so than other nearby hikes,… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part I: Philipsburg, Anaconda, and the Pintler Scenic Highway
Inspired by our previous Montana roadtrip, my mom and I planned another one this past summer. Our intended theme was a little less history and a little more scenery. The actual theme ended up being ‘where can we go next to avoid the rain?’ But despite the less-than-stellar weather, we mostly made it work. Day… Continue reading
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Eight Hours in Laramie, Wyoming
While we were camped at Vedauwoo (if you missed last week’s post, you can read all about Vedauwoo here), we took a few hours out of our day to visit nearby Laramie, Wyoming. Laramie is the third largest city in Wyoming and home to some interesting museums and quite a lot of frontier history. We… Continue reading
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Among the Rocks – Vedauwoo Recreation Area, Wyoming
Vedauwoo [vee-dah-voo]: anglicized version of the Arapaho word bi-ito’o’wu, meaning ‘earth born’ Vedauwoo Recreation Area encompasses a large collection of 1.4 billion-year-old granite outcrops in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains in southern Wyoming. Evidence of human habitation of the area dates back at least 8000 years; it is the native land of the Arapaho,… Continue reading
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A hidden waterfall and obnoxious geese – Curt Gowdy State Park, Wyoming
The final destination for our three-day weekend in Cheyenne, Wyoming was nearby Curt Gowdy State Park. Curt Gowdy State Park is located in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Cheyenne. This is the native land of the Comanche, Pawnee, Crow, and Shoshone, but they were displaced in the… Continue reading
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Pioneers on the Plains – Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Wyoming
Ask anyone who has ever gone on a road trip with me, and they’ll tell you I planned far more things than we could possibly fit into the time we had. They wouldn’t be lying. I’m not exactly what you’d call a relaxed vacationer. But every once in a while – usually accidentally – I… Continue reading
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48 hours in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Visiting Wyoming’s capital city was not plan A for this particular outing. But when weather thwarted plan A, we found ourselves spending the weekend in Cheyenne. Prior to our departure, some friends warned us that Cheyenne was lame and to prepare to be disappointed. Perhaps they enjoy different things when they travel or went in… Continue reading
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Snowy Range Scenic Byway & Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming
At an elevation of 12,013 feet (3662 m), Medicine Bow Peak is the highest peak in the Wyoming half of the Medicine Bow Mountains (which extend into northern Colorado). The Snowy Range – the northernmost section of the Medicine Bows – is traversed by a scenic byway and was our destination for Labor Day Weekend.… Continue reading