History, Architecture and Nature: A little bit of everything in Central California
3 Jun 2014

History, Architecture and Nature: A little bit of everything in Central California

by | posted in: Adventure, Architecture, National Historic Landmark, National Monument, Natural Wonders, Photography, Religious Sites, Travel, Zoos & More | 1

History, Architecture and Nature: A little bit of everything in Central California Last week I took a vacation to central California where my sister lives with her family. Over the week we visited three National Historic Landmarks, two beautiful houses … Continued

The Petrified Forest – a colorful depository of ancient lumber
20 Feb 2014

The Petrified Forest – a colorful depository of ancient lumber

by | posted in: Adventure, Day Trips, Historic Site, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Travel | 2

The Petrified Forest A colorful depository of ancient lumber Helping a friend with her goal to visit all of America’s national parks, we traveled to Petrified Forest National Park in the northeast corner of Arizona near Holbrook on a 30-mile … Continued

2013 Gratitude Project – Arches National Park
26 Nov 2013

2013 Gratitude Project – Arches National Park

by | posted in: Adventure, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Thanksgiving, Travel | 2

2013 Gratitude Project – Arches National Park This month will be a celebration of travel. I am so grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had over my nearly thirty years to explore the world. Click here to read about my … Continued

2013 Gratitude Project – First Time to Zion
26 Nov 2013

2013 Gratitude Project – First Time to Zion

by | posted in: Adventure, Day Trips, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Thanksgiving, Travel | 1

2013 Gratitude Project – First Time to Zion This month will be a celebration of travel. I am so grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had over my nearly thirty years to explore the world. Click here to read about … Continued

If you could hike in Kolob
9 Jul 2013

If you could hike in Kolob

by | posted in: Adventure, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Travel | 1

I’ve been to Zion National Park a handful of times and have always been in awe of the spectacular scenery. I’ve hiked many of the trails in the main canyon including the Emerald Pools Trails three times and the magnificent, … Continued

The Otherworldly Bryce Canyon
20 May 2013

The Otherworldly Bryce Canyon

by | posted in: Adventure, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Travel | 2

An ancient Paiute story tells of the Legend People who once lived in present-day southern Utah who weren’t so good. Because of their bad deeds they were turned into stone by the coyote. Now it’s a land of funky red … Continued

Tonto National Monument & the Apache Trail
5 Jan 2013

Tonto National Monument & the Apache Trail

by | posted in: Adventure, Day Trips, Historic Site, National Monument, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Travel | 3

New Year’s Day 2012 I spent on a bamboo raft in some of China’s most spectacular scenery, so this year I wanted to do something awesome again. This year I spent the day experiencing something that President Teddy Roosevelt called … Continued

Western China’s Ancient Remnants
24 Jul 2012

Western China’s Ancient Remnants

by | posted in: Adventure, China, Historic Site, International Parks, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Travel | 0

From the Mogao Caves we hopped in a taxi for the day to visit a few other sites outside of Dunhuang including a 2,000 year old wall and gate and Yadan National Park where Zhang Yimou’s Hero was filmed. 1,000 … Continued

Dunhuang, camel trekking near a desert oasis
9 Jul 2012

Dunhuang, camel trekking near a desert oasis

by | posted in: Adventure, China, Natural Wonders, Photography, Travel | 9

We reached Dunhuang a couple of hours later than expected the next day and made our way to the Dune Guesthouse to arrange our adventures for the next couple of days. Since we arrived late, we didn’t really have time … Continued

It was the best of China; it was the worst of China
6 Apr 2012

It was the best of China; it was the worst of China

by | posted in: Adventure, China, International Parks, National Parks, Natural Wonders, Photography, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage | 6

After Hongcun we went to Tangkou, the small town just outside of Huangshan national park. The travel people we worked with (a professor Melissa taught last semester) had booked our hotel and everything should have been fine. However, when we … Continued