• Wyoming

    Devil’s Tower

    January 29, 2016 - By 

    One hell of an interesting rock formation is Devil’s Tower, located in northeastern Wyoming.  Rising 1,267 ft. over its surrounding terrain, Devil’s Tower isn’t difficult to spot from the approaching roads. It is worth the quick stop and walk-around for a closer look at the rock details and columns. In addition to the short trail, there are a number of interpretive signs encircling the rock tower that lay out the history of spiritual use by Native Americans. Had I been a rock climber, I probably would have found Devil’s Tower to be more interesting. But other than that, what you see…

  • California

    Yosemite and Mono Lake

    January 28, 2016 - By 

    Note: This post has two sections.  The first tells the story of my ridiculous chain of events and misadventure during my first visit to a national park, and the second shares useful information about hiking Half Dome, cycling Tioga Pass, and visiting Mono Lake.  I encourage you to read this entire post since the first section is entertaining, but if you’d rather skip the misadventure and only read the useful bits then scroll down until you see a bunch of photos. Labor Day weekend 2010 was when I made my first visit to a national park. An acquaintance/friend asked me if…

  • California

    Pinnacles National Park

    January 25, 2016 - By 

    We knew we had to take Scromp out one last time before tucking him away for 6 months as we tour Europe. The question was where? California is spoiled with state and national parks and recreational areas. Three days before the weekend I had my heart set on Redwoods National Park but a friend mentioned Pinnacles National Park. I had never heard of it, so I casually looked it up. And WOW. Despite the millions of people who live in Silicon Valley, only a small percentage of people know of this new national park just a couple hours drive south…

  • Tips

    Our Must-Haves

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    We’ve found ourselves gratefully jotting down tips from other travelers and sharing these tips with friends and other travelers we meet during our adventures.  Rather than trying to recall our favorite services or phone applications (apps) from memory, I’m going to lay out all our favorite money tools, apps, services, and websites here.  These are more than just our favorite tools; I can’t imagine traveling without them!  Thanks to all the modern technology of the 21st century, traveling has become a piece of cake.  Sort of.   Plastic Money My go-to credit card for international travel is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.  Many…