• Idaho

    Around Boise

    November 11, 2015 - By 

    Even though I’ve never spent any time in Idaho, I always thought Idaho was flat and boring, perhaps because I’m the typical Californian who confuses Idaho with Iowa.  Well, I was wrong!  With its notoriously beautiful neighbors of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, I should have assumed that Idaho would also be full of BLM land, mountains, and wilderness (Idaho is actually the state with the highest percentage of wilderness in the lower 48 states).  There is more than just potatoes! After our 6-week roadtrip around the Pacific Northwest ended with Hells Canyon, we beelined it for Boise, Idaho en route to Utah.  I…

  • Oregon

    Hells Canyon and Around

    November 10, 2015 - By 

    Perhaps the most remote destination in the Pacific Northwest, Hells Canyon sits along the border of Oregon and Idaho with the mighty Snake River below carving the deepest river gorge in the U.S. Even during the scorching hot peak season of summer this national recreation area seldom sees tourists due to its far location from any major city, meaning the off-season would entail pure solitude. Two things I had to consider before making the trip to Hells Canyon: whether or not the roads were still open (some typically close by end of October), and if the long drive through tiny hamlets…

  • British Columbia

    South Vancouver Island

    November 5, 2015 - By 

    Vancouver Island comes second after New Zealand for being the largest island in the Pacific, and oddly enough, at the very southern tip of the island is Victoria, the lovely city and capital of British Columbia. Everyone raves about Victoria, often finishing their suggested excursions with a sigh of wistful nostalgia. People either love or hate San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, but no one, and I mean no one feels any disdain for Vancouver or Victoria. We had to check it out. Trip planning for Vancouver Island was not easy. First, there was the expensive ferry. (If we didn’t…