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Colorado 14ers #2: Mount Bierstadt
I’ve been hiking since I was too young to remember, and in that time I’ve accumulated quite a few hiking accomplishments. But one thing I’d never done in all 30+ years of my life was go hiking alone. In general, I don’t consider myself an anxious person. Sure, I have my moments of anxiety when… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2021, part VI: acoustic geology at Ringing Rocks
The final stop on our six-day Montana road trip was quite possibly the most bizarre place I’ve ever been in my life: Ringing Rocks. Which is – as the name suggests – a collection of rocks that ring… when hit with a hammer, that is. It’s not entirely clear why this happens. Geologists think it… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2021, part V: the richest hill on earth
In Montana, the license plate on your car reveals where you live. The numbers were assigned numerically based on population; back in the day, Butte was by far the most populous city in Montana so it was assigned #1. Although it retains its #1 license plate designation, Butte is no longer the largest city in… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2021, part IV: cowboys, old cars, & the prison museum
Next up on our Montana history tour: Deer Lodge, a small town with a surprising amount of history! We arrived mid-morning and our first stop was Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site. This is an old cattle ranch that’s still semi-active. They have horses and cattle on site and park workers give tours, talks, and demonstrations of… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2021, part III: First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park & Gates of the Mountains
Five of the six days of our Montana road trip were beautiful – warm, sunny, no rain to speak of. Perfect weather for exploring. But naturally, the one cold rainy day of our entire trip was the day of our boat tour. Just the kind of weather you want when you’ll be sitting on a… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2021, part II: Fort Benton & the Missouri River Breaks
If you know me – or you’ve been following this blog for a while – you know I’m a planner. Some might say I’m an overplanner. I usually have a lengthy and well-researched list of things to do at each destination. Such was not the case for these first couple days of our road trip.… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2021, part I: waterfalls, birds, & the Lewis and Clark expedition
When my mom and I met up in Montana this summer, it was to spend a week exploring one of my favorite states, visiting a few well-known attractions and a handful of lesser-known ones in the western half of the state. Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Sandbeach Lake
In Colorado, one can find sand in the most unexpected and/or unusual locations. Much like the aftermath of a day at the beach. Case in point: Great Sand Dunes National Park. Case in point #2: Sandbeach Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Continue reading
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Riding the rapids in Split Mountain Canyon – Dinosaur National Monument, Utah
After spending the other days of our long weekend exploring Dinosaur National Monument from above, a guided whitewater rafting expedition now afforded us the chance to see the Utah side of the monument from below. Our one-day trip took us along 9 miles (14.5 km) of the Green River through Split Mountain Canyon. The geology… Continue reading
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Canyon Country – Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado
By far, most people who visit Dinosaur go to the Utah half of the monument. It’s the side with the dinosaur bones for which the monument is most famous. It’s also the more accessible part of the monument, with developed campgrounds and easy river access. However… what the Colorado half lacks in dinosaur fossils, it… Continue reading
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The Land of Prehistoric History – Dinosaur National Monument, Utah
(Gold star to anyone who can figure out the random inspiration for the title of this post. Hint: it came from the TV show I was bingeing at the time I sat down to write this.) If you’ve ever heard of Dinosaur National Monument, you probably specifically heard about the Quarry Exhibit Hall – a… Continue reading
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On Top of South Dakota: Black Elk Peak
After summiting the North Dakota high point the day before, Chelsea and I set out to stand on the highest point of South Dakota. Our hotel was only about 30 minutes from the trailhead, so this one involved much less driving. The hike, however, was a little more substantial. The highest point in South Dakota… Continue reading
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On Top of North Dakota: White Butte
Chelsea and I both have the goal to summit as many US state high points as possible. Up to this point, we’d both stood on a few of them… separately. This time, we decided we’d visit a couple together! The states? North and South Dakota. And so we set off for a long weekend in… Continue reading
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Badlands and Bentonite – Toadstool Geologic Park, Nebraska
Following our stops at two of Nebraska’s national monuments, Chelsea and I made our way to the Oglala National Grassland for our final stop in the state – Toadstool Geologic Park. Basically, Nebraska’s version of the badlands. The formations at Toadstool date back more than 30 million years, to a time when now-extinct animals roamed… Continue reading
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The Devil’s Corkscrew – Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska
After exploring Scotts Bluff and learning the history of the Oregon Trail, Chelsea and I continued north to our next stop: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Here, we would learn about a very different time in Nebraska’s history. I hadn’t really had time to do much research on these locations, so I assumed Agate Fossil… Continue reading
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Landmark on the Oregon Trail – Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska
Back in May, Chelsea and I headed to the Dakotas for a long weekend to do some highpointing. Since we were driving all the way up there, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to detour through Nebraska along the way and visit some national monuments in the western part of the state. Our… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Estes Cone
Estes Cone was not plan A for Chelsea and me on this particular weekend. But April and May in Colorado are part of what Coloradans call the “spring of deception.” No matter how warm and sunny it is, no matter how many days in a row the nice weather endures, make no mistake: it’s not… Continue reading
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Colorado Bucket List: Picketwire Canyon Dinosaur Tracks
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m a dinosaur snob. I can’t help it. I grew up in an area with a pretty fantastic dinosaur museum. The bar was set really high when I was really young, so I’m not easily impressed. But this place was really cool! Picketwire Canyon is located… Continue reading
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Castle on the plains – Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site
Bent’s Old Fort was in fact not a fort in the traditional sense. It may have resembled military fortifications, but it was actually a trading post. Brothers Charles and William Bent and their business partner Ceran St. Vrain built the fort a few miles outside La Junta in 1833, choosing this particular place because it… Continue reading
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On Top of Oklahoma: Black Mesa
When we told people we were heading to Oklahoma for the weekend, the typical response was a raised eyebrow followed by a confused “why?” In their defense, it’s not exactly a hopping travel destination, especially the panhandle region. But aside from the fact that I had the entire soundtrack of Oklahoma! stuck in my head… Continue reading
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