New Mexico – a land of culture and history

Taos, NM One thing the Chinese pride themselves on is how long their culture has been around. It has been continuous in some fashion for thousands of years. Although there are remnants of ancient civilizations in the U.S. you would … Continued

Arizona Museum of Natural History

I enjoy visiting natural history museums. They make me get excited like a little boy. It’s probably because of the dinosaurs. Who doesn’t like dinosaurs? I recently made a visit to the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, AZ, and I’m … Continued

Butterfly not-so-Wonderland

Going to a Butterfly Wonderland sounds amazing, like a dream, but for me it fell a bit flat. Perhaps that’s my problem. I am an optimist who dreams big. When someone says it is a rain forest experience, I expect a jungle … Continued

Santa Clara, Mountain Meadows and Pine Valley

Santa Clara, Mountain Meadows and Pine Valley Southern Utah is rich with history. On my recent trip to St. George I experienced the emotions that accompany visits to a few historic sites in the area. I say that because each … Continued

If you could hike in Kolob

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

Lee’s Ferry – the only crossing for miles

My next stop was at Lee’s Ferry. Go back less than 100 years and there was no bridge or road across the Colorado River or its deep canyons for hundreds of miles meaning that Arizona and Utah were practically cut-off from … Continued

Pipe Spring National Monument – cultures clashing over water

On my drive back from Utah, I decided to stop at two locations important to the Honeymoon Trail (read more about that here or here) and now part of the rich history of the American west. Pipe Spring National Monument Pipe … Continued

The Otherworldly Bryce Canyon

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

A Second Earth – Biosphere 2

In the mountains north of Tucson is a feat of human engineering built for one experiment, now being used for many. It made world headlines in the 90s and of course everyone had an opinion of whether it was a … Continued

San Xavier Mission of Wa:k

On my way to Green Valley a couple of weeks ago, I exited off of Interstate 10 onto Interstate 19 – the only stretch of road I’ve been on in the U.S. that uses meters and kilometers instead of feet … Continued

%d bloggers like this: