Best Day Hikes of The Needles, Canyonlands National Park
When we last visited Canyonlands National Park some odd years ago, we mainly focused on a section of the park called the “Island in the…
Boston National Historical Park
Boston. Beantown. City on a Hill. The Athens of America. The Cradle of Liberty. So many nicknames for this one city in the state of…
Quiet Side of Acadia National Park
For our next foray into Acadia National Park, we set our sites to the west side of Mount Desert Island. Also appreciated as the Quiet…
Eastside of Acadia National Park
I once read a quote about Acadia National Park: "You can fish with one hand and sample blueberries from a wind-stunted bush with the other."…
Marsh – Billings – Rockefeller National Historical Park
All our knowledge of Vermont came from fleeting passages in a lengthy lecture series of American History. I think 30 minutes in total was covered…
Other Islands of Acadia National Park
I well knew Acadia National Park's core resided on Mount Desert Island through several travel articles and nature documentaries. I discovered the Schoodic Penninsula district…
Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park
Before we arrived at Acadia National Park back in the Summer of 2017, I sat at a pretty little cafe just outside of Yarmouth researching…
Statue Of Liberty National Monument
In honor of the Union's defeat of slavery and the Confederate south, France gifted the United States with a colossal neoclassical statue. Her real name…
United States Supreme Court Building
Congress let 146 years pass before providing the US Supreme Court with its own building in 1935. Prior to its current location, the court moved…
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Hale Farm & Village
In 1810, Jonathan Hale arrived in Bath Township as the first legal settler on the Western Reserve. Like many settlers, he came to build a…
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
I've always believed that a fun way to learn history is through the experience of riding a train. There’s something antiquated yet charming about riding…
Driving Tour of Cuyahoga Valley National Park
The Cuyahoga River burned 13 times since 1868. Before Cuyahoga Valley became a national park, numerous industrial plants occupied the area, and for a hundred…
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Near the junction Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee and within the Appalachian Mountains, lies an area well-traveled by Native Americans centuries before European settlers arrived in…
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Following part of the Lincoln Heritage Trail, we drive two hours to Abraham Lincoln's third home in Indiana. The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial marks the…
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
When we're on the road our choice for entertainment isn't music, but history lessons from Audible.com. So when we visit a National Monument or National…
How to Visit Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park offers over 20 Ranger-led tours, most underground and a few above ground. Selecting which tour to go on can be a…
Stories of Mammoth Cave National Park
I must be honest although Mammoth Cave National Park holds the title of longest cave in the world, it is not as dramatic or as…
Easy Hikes of Great Smoky Mountains
During our stay in the Great Smoky Mountains, I had the unfortunate luck of getting sick with some kind of stomach bug. I was down…
Waterfalls of Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains is blessed with two essential ingredients for the creation of waterfalls: abundant rainfall and elevation gradient. An average of 85 inches…
Cades Cove of Great Smoky Mountains
Amid the Appalachian Mountian Chain and Blue Ridge Mountains area, we have decided to visit that famed region of America known as the Great Smoky…
Dry Tortugas National Park
When Juan Ponce de León landed at Dry Tortugas islands in 1513, he and his crew caught hundreds of giant sea turtles, in addition to…
Everglades National Park
If there was a tract of land in desperate need of protection, Everglades National Park is it. In 1947, that's what Congress did; by establishing…
Manatees of Crystal River, Florida
I could not leave Florida without seeing a wild manatee. From early November to late March, the West Indian Manatees gather in numbers when water…
Sailing in Biscayne National Park
One early morning in late March of 2017, I urge Hitch to wake up with a nudge, "Get up. It's sailing day!" My excitement feels…
I Fell Into a Waterfall in the Great Smokies
Sometimes you fall in love with nature, sometimes you just fall in nature, sometimes you do both at once. This story takes place in the…
Juniper Springs in Ocala National Forest
Take a moment and eyeball the cover picture on this article. Juniper Springs is seriously gorgeous. Of all the photographs I've taken so far on…
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Gulf Island National Seashore contains a set of barrier islands located both in Mississippi and Florida. The two districts contain a total collection of 12…
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Cane River Creole National Historical Park was our first foray upon entering Louisiana. Right along Cane River Lake, reside two French Creole cotton plantations both…
Padre Island National Seashore
Off the coast of Texas lies the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world: Padre Island National Seashore. Just over 70 miles long…
Big Bend National Park: East Side Trails
For the remainder of our stay at Big Bend, we pushed toward the distant eastern side of the national park. As we drove toward Rio…
Waco Mammoth National Monument
As we rolled into Waco Texas, the only thing I knew of it was the Branch Davidian shootout that took place in there in 1993. It turns…
Big Bend National Park: Chisos Basin
At the heart of Big Bend National Park resides the Chisos Mountains. They extend nearly twenty miles from the Punta del la Sierra in the…
Big Bend National Park: Western Desert
Big Bend National Park is a magical place for the outdoor lover. Avid hikers will find a paradise of trails within the borders of this…
On Second Thought, Forget The Alamo
Why did we choose to forget the Alamo? Well, it all began with a desire to see The Alamo while we were near San Antonio,…
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Within the northern boundaries of the Chihuahuan Desert of western Texas resides an underrated gem of the National Park System: Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Do…
Carlsbad Caverns: Left Hand Tunnel
Crisis in the Caves, 1979 On a hot July day in 1979, four men entered the elevator leading down into the Big Room of Carlsbad…
Carlsbad Caverns: Lower Cave
Carlsbad Caverns National Park offers a series of Ranger Guided tours that take you through caves off the beaten path. Some are called "Wild Cave"…
Carlsbad Caverns: The Big Room
Young Jim White's Adventure Imagine it's 1898, and you are a young boy of 16 years old. Your father sent you out with your trusty…
Natural Entrance Trail in Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Ancient Inland Sea Like many natural geological formations of Southwest America, Carlsbad Cavern's story starts over 280 million years ago, during a time known as…
White Sands National Monument
Millions of Years in the Making White Sands National Monument is the culmination of a process that started over 250 million years ago when the…
Bandelier National Monument
For our first few days in New Mexico, we took a day to visit Bandelier National Monument, an amazing location. This historical site was designated…
Colorado’s San Luis Valley
Over the course of a few days in October, we set out to explore the San Luis Valley, an area of Colorado that also includes…
Great Sand Dunes National Park
After what seemed like a brief visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, we drove south and east, where we spent a little over a week…
6 Tips for Visiting Rocky Mountain National Park
I'm going to be up front about this: Rocky Mountain National Park is very very crowded. Over 4.5 million visitors flock to this incredible land…
Rocky Mountain: Bear Lake Corridor Hike
With only a week to spend in Rocky Mountain National Park, I wanted to get the best bang for my hike. After much planning, I…
Rocky Mountain National Park: Old Fall River Road
When I think of great American Icons, Rocky Mountain ranks pretty high on the list, right up there with Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. I picked…
Badlands National Park Secrets
Back in August, I remember my giddy school-girl excitement in the days leading up to our visit to South Dakota and Badlands National Park. I…
Badlands National Park: Castle & Medicine Root Trails
When we visit a national park I usually plan a few scenic drives and a few hiking trips. For Badlands National Park, I set my…
Badlands National Park Scenic Drive
On an early September morning, I roust my husband by frying bacon and brewing a pot of tea; that usually gets Hitch up from a…
Above Wind Cave National Park
I find it sad that a majority of people who visit Wind Cave miss out on half the park. They come for the caves, which…
