Jean Nguyen

  • Colorado

    Great Sand Dunes and Zapata Falls

    November 19, 2015 - By 

    Last year we fell in love with New Mexico’s White Sand Dunes, so it was a no brainer that we had to see North America’s largest sand dunes during our time spent in Southern Colorado. The drive from Black Canyon of the Gunnison to Great Sand Dunes was beautiful, especially when passing through the Curecanti National Recreation Area. We arrived to Great Sand Dunes in time for a late lunch, and with the early winter month upon us, the low sun gave us perfect lighting for photos. In the peak months of May and June, a seasonal creek flows through the…

  • Colorado

    Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    November 18, 2015 - By 

    Of the 59 national parks in the U.S., most are unheard of/unknown, and that is definitely the case for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Maybe because it’s such a small park.  Maybe because it is simply overshadowed by Colorado’s other popular national parks such as Rocky Mountain or Mesa Verde.  But despite its unpopularity, gazing down (and hiking down!) into the canyon is spectacular, especially gazing at the famed Painted Wall at sunrise, Colorado’s highest cliff at 2,250 ft. tall.  There is a reason why it is called the Black Canyon.  With its steep drop offs and incredibly…

  • Colorado

    Colorado National Monument

    November 17, 2015 - By 

    Not having a strict agenda, or any schedule for that fact, is one of the best aspects of traveling.  Not vacationing.  TRAVELING.  And that is how we stumbled upon the wonders of Colorado National Monument. During our 2014 road trip across the U.S. we hardly spent any time in Colorado.  In fact, we only had 3 days to spare for Colorado, which forced us to rush through Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver, and Boulder.  Now we had real time (well, more than 3 days) to spend in Colorado, but all in the south.  My sites of interest included 3 national parks:…

  • Utah

    Crystal Geyser

    November 16, 2015 - By 

    No, not the brand of water. An actual geyser. An accidental, man-made geyser formed by a drilling attempt to find oil in 1935. The Crystal Geyser, located just a few miles south of the small town of Green River, Utah, was a rare cold water carbon dioxide driven geyser—it did not have any geothermal activity. I say was because it doesn’t erupt anymore. Prior to 2014, it was said that ~66% of the eruptions occurred about 8 hours after the previous eruption, and the rest about 22% after. Eruptions lasted 7-32 minutes, or 98-113 minutes. But now, due to stupid…

  • Utah

    Donut Falls

    November 15, 2015 - By 

    If you happen to be in or near Salt Lake City with a couple hours to kill, check out Donut Falls, perhaps one of the most popular hikes in the SLC area.  We were staying in Draper with friends, and they suggested making the quick hike (or walk) at Donut Falls. Apparently the week before, the climate resembled more like late summer/early fall. When we visited Donut Falls, it was clearly the start of winter.  The creek was mostly frozen with snow-covered rocks, and the hike up to Donut Falls was icy and slippery. But was it worth it?  YES! Because a portion…

  • Idaho

    Twin Falls and Around

    November 13, 2015 - By 

    Years of watching our friends base jump from the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls on social media sparked the desire to see the bridge for ourselves.  Perhaps someday we’ll make the jump ourselves once our timing alines with some friends’ timing, but for now scoping out the bridge and the surrounding area would have to do. Between Boise and Salt Lake City was obviously Twin Falls, but was there anything else? Obviously, there was!  Not far from Twin Falls was a slight detour to Idaho’s Balanced Rock, seriously the coolest balanced rock I had ever seen. Numerous balanced rocks lay scattered throughout the Colorado Plateau, but…

  • 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…

  • British Columbia

    Sea-to-Sky

    October 30, 2015 - By 

    Autumn in Whistler meant one cannot enjoy the lakes and watersports of summer nor the splendor of white powder of winter. However, I was already in Vancouver and had the desire to venture slightly more north, especially since it meant driving along the famous Sea-to-Sky Highway. And best of all, after consecutive days of rainy, gray skies in Vancouver, we were guaranteed days of sunshine in the Whistler area. My first stop en route to Whistler was in the little town of Squamish specifically for the Stawamus Chief, the second largest freestanding monolith in the world. Sitting along the highway, the…