For today’s 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service, I wanted to share a hike I made over the weekend to the “Diving Board” in Yosemite National Park, a spot made famous by Ansel Adams’ “Monolith” photo. This location stands a stone’s throw from the face of Half Dome, offering a close-up view of that […]
A little over a year ago, I made my first visit to Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park. (I wrote some nonsense about it and alien life here following the trip.) I was instantly enamored with the place. It was beautiful, tranquil, photogenic, and a bit mysterious. It was also a challenge to visit. […]
Wondering if the Alcatraz Island Tour is worth it, or which tour of the former prison you should take during your San Francisco visit? This post provides info for getting tickets to visit Alcatraz, plus photos of the island, jail cells, and other random tips for making the most of your time on “The Rock.” […]
Corona del Mar is an affluent area of Newport Beach, California. South of the main harbor, CdM has beautiful, jagged coastline that puts its beaches among the best in Southern California. A lot of the best coastline is difficult to access here, as there’s almost no public access between Crystal Cove and Little Corona Beach. […]
Well, Merry belated Christmas, that is. Yesterday, we headed to Crystal Cove State Park to see some of the vintage-inspired holiday decor and enjoy a “traditional” white (sand) Christmas. I think it’s going to take years to get used to trading in the snow and evergreens of the Midwest for the beaches and palms of Southern California, […]
If you’re looking for a serene spot to enjoy or photograph the sunset at Lake Tahoe, there are few better locations than Bonsai Rock. It’s one of the hidden gems of Lake Tahoe, and a really unique photo location. This is because the distinctive feature of this location is a large rock with some plant […]
In the previous post, we had just finishing photographing a gorgeous sunset at Crater Lake National Park. The next morning, we were up bright and early (which actually is a misnomer: it was early, but most definitely dark) for sunrise. This time, the plan was to hike out for a better view, either to Watchman […]
Fairmont Banff Springs is a hotel in a castle. That’s right: a castle. I don’t know what more I need to write in this review. If you have a pulse, at some point in your life, you have wanted to live in a castle. Well, here’s your chance…at least for a night or two. Okay, […]
Captain’s log, stardate 93337.74. Our location is Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, as we await the sunrise. It’s 6:05 a.m. (for those of you losers who can’t convert from stardate 😉 ) and the clouds are quickly rolling across the Canadian Rockies in the pre-dawn sky. Unlike our previous adventure in Yoho National Park, […]
This Yoho National Park Trip Report, or rather the trip to the Canadian Rockies that led to this report, is my latest excuse for lack of posts on this blog. Sorry. You can read Part 1 of this Trip Report here. (Unlike this installment, that one is more than just a wall of text–there are […]