Read more about the article Yosemite Valley – Yosemite Falls, Tunnel View & Glacier Point
Tunnel View

Yosemite Valley – Yosemite Falls, Tunnel View & Glacier Point

Although Yosemite National Park encompasses over 1,100 square miles, most of the 5 million annual visitors spend their time at Yosemite Valley. It’s no wonder as the 7-mile stretch, which is only about a mile wide, has some of the more dramatic landmarks such as El Capitan, Half Dome and many waterfalls.

Upper Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls

Right outside our hotel, Yosemite Falls cascaded down the sheer granite cliffs to its rocky basin. At 2,400 feet, it is the largest waterfall in North America and consists of three sections: Upper Falls, the middle cascades and Lower Falls.

Lower Yosemite Falls

We hiked the 1-mile Lower Yosemite Falls loop. From afar, we could see Yosemite Falls in its entirety. However, once we got closer to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls, we could no longer see the Upper Falls. As we watched snow-melted water plummet 300 feet to the boulders, it was hard to image that the same water already traveled over 1,200 feet – four times the drop we watched – from Yosemite Creek. (more…)

Read more about the article Joshua Tree NP – California

Joshua Tree NP – California

We met my husband’s family at Big Bear Lake, CA last summer. Those who’ve read my posts know that I don’t like to stay in one place for a long time – especially somewhere I’d been before. Since four days hanging out at a lake didn’t excite me, I decided to take one of my daughters (Thing 2) with me to Joshua Tree National Park for a day trip.

Looking at the Joshua Tree inside the park

It was a huge undertaking but worth it in the end. We left just before sunrise. Although only a little over 70 miles from Big Bear, the drive to the western entrance takes almost two hours mainly because the two-lane road full of hair-pin curves winds its way down the San Bernardino mountains for about 25 miles. Fortunately once we reached the Lucerne Valley area, miles of desert (and flat, straight roads) stretched ahead. (more…)

Read more about the article Big Bend National Park, TX Itinerary
Between Alpine and Terlingua

Big Bend National Park, TX Itinerary

After reading Texas Monthly for years, I’ve always wanted to visit Big Bend National Park in Texas. But it is hard to get to – and that may be the appeal for many. In fact, its one of the least visited of the National Parks.

Big Bend is located far west Texas – the part that’s under New Mexico. The park offers a place to hike, bike, fish, camp, whatever you want and it’s absolutely beautiful. But it’s 653 miles from Houston where we go to visit family. We chose to add a few days after Christmas and make the drive from Houston.

We found a reasonable room at Terlingua Ranch Lodge. Although Terlingua sits three miles from one of the park entrances, the ranch was about 30 minutes north of the park.  That seems far, but in reality it was one of the closer places to stay as Alpine is an hour and a half (83 miles) and Marfa is 2 hours from the park. (more…)

Read more about the article Boquillas Canyon and Hot Springs – Bend Bend National Park
Overlooking the Rio Grande from the Boquillas Canyon Trail

Boquillas Canyon and Hot Springs – Bend Bend National Park

After completing the Balanced Rock Trail, we ventured to the eastern side of Big Bend National Park. We passed the Panther Junction visitor center – one of two places in the park to purchase gasoline. Then we drove about 20 miles to Boquillas Canyon.

Even though we had seen the Rio Grande at Santa Elena Canyon the previous day, this area was completely different. Instead of being surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs, this area was more open and the river seemed to flow faster.  Additionally, we could see people on the other side in Mexico riding horses. (more…)