Places to Go, Go, Do
Check out the places we’ve explored.
One Day in Miyajima: Torii, Temples, Deer, Jizo, and a Giant Rice Paddle
When we planned our second trip to Japan, I knew I wanted to go to Hiroshima. I didn’t realize, until I started to look into it, that the beautiful floating torii I’ve seen in so many pictures of Japan would…
Cabot’s Pueblo Museum: Exploring the Home of one of California Desert Pioneer
After a night of glamping on a date farm in Desert Hot Springs (with two mineral pools just to myself!), I had planned to hike at the Whitewater Preserve before heading home. Alas, high winds gave me pause and then…
Ladder Canyon and Painted Canyon Hike: Slot Canyons in the California Desert
I don’t know how long Ladder Canyon has been an established hike, but I feel like I’ve been wanting to try it for decades. Every time I’m out in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area, it calls to me. But it…
Art Off the Grid: Exploring East Jesus and Salvation Mountain (More adventures around the Salton Sea including Slab City)
East of the Salton Sea, past the small town of Niland, exists an outpost called Slab City. Some call Slab City an off-the-grid haven for artists, snowbirds, and modern nomads. Others see it as a den of homelessness and drug…
Art Rising from Ruin: A Day Exploring the Salton Sea
If you live in Southern California, you’ve heard of the Salton Sea, that way below sea level, once-glamorous resort turned dead-fish landscape, out in the middle of the desert. But if you did a little deeper, it seems like there…
How to Build an Amazing Trip: The Joy of Planning
Every once in a while I find a blogger who is a kindred spirit. I find someone like the Invisible Tourist whom I think I would be friends with, whom I want to hang out with, and whom I trust…
Hindsight Lessons: Travel Plans in Retrospect
Just planning a trip gives me a huge amount of joy. I love reading everything I can get my hands on before I set out, from novels set in the region to travel blogs. I find the “must see” sights…
A Day in Capitol Reef National Park: Canyons, Bridges, and Pie!
Thrilled to my toes with my night in Canyonlands, I headed toward Capitol Reef National Park. I’d have a full day in Capitol Reef, the only full day of my trip and I was excited to finally get to do…
Bryce Canyon Hike: The Quickest of Loops
I knew I had to get home, but Bryce called to me. I had just enough time to get in a quick Bryce Canyon Hike and I desperately wanted to have hiked all of Utah’s Mighty 5. When I was…
Reveling in Dark Skies: The Milky Way and Sunrise at Mesa Arch
I felt determined to see the Milky Way. After missing it in Monument Valley (both due to overcast weather and poor planning — why didn’t I think about moonlight?), I had a mission. But, how to do it? I thought…