Inside the newly created Gold Butte National Monument lies a very unique and little place called Little Finland. Big cities like San Francisco have places called Little Italy and L.A. has Little Tokyo, but why would a corner of the Nevada desert have a place named Little Finland? Well, it has nothing to do with […]
Aiken Mine Road snakes through the Mojave National Preserve’s famous cinder cone field as well as providing access to some of the most unique and wonderful sights this area has to offer. On the way to see those sites, the road passes through other-worldly landscapes of basalt (dried lava) flows which are topped with Joshua […]
This hike is a great alternative to visiting Hoover Dam and to see the views from its bypass bridge. Hoover Dam is one of the biggest tourist attractions for visitors to the Las Vegas area. For most people, this engineering masterpiece is accessed in a vehicle via two other masterpieces of engineering – a roadway […]
Wine made from the Riesling grape in Germany tends to cause a lot of confusion to American wine drinkers. German wine makers put several classifications on Riesling wine that describes its different styles. Therefore, when purchasing a bottle of German Riesling, it is important to know these classifications. After reading our article about our travels […]
The Burr Trail is yet another wonderful back road through the scenic red rock country of Southern Utah. Burr Trail stretches 68 miles from the small town of Boulder, Utah, located along Hwy 12, to Bullfrog located on the shores of Lake Powell. Along the way, Burr Trail passes through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument […]
In the Owen’s Valley, about a two hour drive north of Los Angeles near the town of Lone Pine, is a string of “almost” ghost towns that are fun to visit and explore. You’ll also get to experience the views and vastness of Owens (Dry) Lake, the Sierra Nevada and Inyo Mountains – each can […]
Have you ever heard of Anza-Borrego? Many people we know have not. With so many amazing natural places in California like Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Big Sir, Death Valley, etc., who would guess that there’s yet another scenic place to go visit and experience? The Anza-Borrego region is located in eastern San Diego County, south of […]
Oregon is a great place to explore during a week-long road trip. It makes a perfect vacation for anyone that needs to get away from work. When compared to other states, Oregon boasts some beautiful and unique scenery including its Cascade Mountains, which are full of ghastly volcanic features, moist and mossy rain forests, scores […]
On the eve of the American Civil War, the largest gold rush in Southern California was taking place in Holcomb Valley of the San Bernardino Mountains. Holcomb Valley is a mountain-top valley just north of Bear Valley where the popular resort of Big Bear Lake is located today. A trip into Holcomb Valley offers a […]
Often overlooked by tourists visiting Joshua Tree National Park, the Black Rock area doesn’t see the same volume of people as other parts of the Park. This makes it a nice place to enjoy some of the famous Joshua Tree landscape without all the crowds. A variety of hiking trails through desert vegetation and with […]
Oso Flaco Lake is an enchanting nature area located just south of Pismo Beach along the Central Coast of California. The Oso Flaco Lake Natural Area is part of the popular Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area and the lake itself is surrounded by one of the largest coastal dune ecosystems on the west coast […]
With the creation of the new Sand to Snow National Monument on Feb 12, 2016, we decided to check out one of its access points near Yucca Valley, California. We choose to hike up Pipes Canyon near the tourist attraction of Pioneertown. This allowed us to enjoy an almost full day of hiking and the […]
We’ve all heard how remote and desolate Death Valley is with its stark and lifeless landscapes but often it is difficult to really experience it in that way because of all of the tourists. Desolation Canyon is a place where you can get that remote feeling and it’s only a few miles from the Death […]
Located at the southeastern tip of Death Valley and just outside of the park boundary are the Salt Creek Hills. This small oasis offers an easy hike through the oasis to the old gold mines of Amargosa Spring and is a great place to stop, stretch your legs and enjoy the desert serenity for an […]
The Mojave National Preserve is one of the newest units of the National Park Service and within its boundaries represents much of the fine qualities of the Mojave Desert. This article, along with our Virtual Tour below, will give you a brief overview of some of the sites to see in the Preserve and where […]
We are going to take you on a tour of the San Andreas Fault, starting in the Cajon Pass, through Wrightwood and Big Pines, then along the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains. California is world-famous for many things and one of them is earthquakes. This introduction to a small section of the infamous San […]
Some of the most spectacular and colorful wildflower displays that we’ve ever seen were in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The blooms typically occur during mid-summer at elevations above 11,000 feet. On this trip, which was the last week of July 2015, we were lucky to explore this area after a long period […]
This Virtual Tour takes you on the only hiking trail that goes down into Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly and ends at the White House Ruins located on the canyon floor. Canyon de Chelly is located inside the national monument of the same name – Canyon de Chelly National Monument – and is the spiritual center […]
Just north of busy San Francisco is a quiet, peaceful seaside region known as the Point Reyes National Seashore. With its many bays, inlets and estuaries, the Point Reyes area offers plenty of scenic places to explore. There are also dozens of sleepy little towns tucked into the rolling, forested hills here. Point Reyes is […]
When it’s hot during the summertime, we all look to the mountains nearby for relief and if you head up to Big Bear in Southern California, one great hiking option is to Castle Rock. It is one of the most popular hikes in the Big Bear Lake region and for good reason: it passes through […]
