Travel & Tourism
Cyclone Pass “Prize” Makes Shoshone Lake Hike (Grunt) Worthwhile
Shoshone Lake is a big lake that is in my backyard. Tucked in the foothills of Wyoming’s southern Wind River Range, the lake is situated at about 10,000′, and in the Shoshone National Forest.
My husband, Jerry, a friend, Kathy Swanson, of Casper, WY, and I hiked to Shoshone Lake and beyond on July 8. The [...]
Why I Pursue “Epic” in My Life
One of my favorite words is EPIC. I probably drive people nuts because I say it (as well as stellar) so often. Even my new business (Epic Life) even has the word in it. I have a lot of epic in my life. This is by design.
By epic, I mean something beyond scale, bigger than [...]
A Traverse (Day Hike) of Zion National Park
I had been to Zion National Park, in southwestern Utah, on two previous occasions — enough to establish itself as one of my favorite national parks. Its beauty is stunning.
Our approximately 50-mile traverse hike was the idea of Mike Lanza. He recently turned 50, and had conjured up this trek that would commemorate a mile [...]
Coral Pink Sand Dunes–A Giant Sandbox
We have three young sons, ages 11, 9 and 4. As toddlers, they all loved playing in the custom-built corner sandbox their Pa-Grandpa built in our backyard for them. When we go on beach vacations, the boys relish playing in the sand.
So it was a highlight when we spent the final day of our recent [...]
Kodachrome State Park is Great Base Camp
On our recent spring break camping trip in southwestern Utah, we spent two nights camping and one day hiking and exploring Utah’s Kodachrome State Park. We had been to the area before and loved it.
This state park gets its name, Kodachrome, from a 1948 National Geographic Society expedition that named the area after its popular [...]
Have Workout, Will Travel
Normally I would take a reprieve from training during our family’s spring break. After all, I was getting some exercise. We hiked every day. But the hikes were fun and enjoyable — not “training” efforts.
The fact that in less than four weeks I will be hiking from North to South across Zion National Park — [...]
Hiking and Hunting For Treasure in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
One of the many highlights of our week-long family camping trip in southwestern Utah was a hike to Calf Creek Falls in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which was set aside as a national monument in 1996, contains 1.9 million acres of land in southern Utah. There are three main regions: the Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits [...]
Utah’s Goblin Valley is a Hit for Families
We recently returned from a week-long camping trip in southwestern Utah for spring break. About every other year we head for southern Utah’s state parks and national parks to get dirty, hike, climb on big rocks, camp, play games, sit around a camp fire, star gaze and eat as many s’mores as possible.
For this trip, [...]
“Surprise Adventure” Was a Splash
Last Sunday morning, I roused my husband, Jerry, and our three sons, out of bed. I told them to “rise and shine” and get their clothes on because we were going on a surprise adventure.
We started their surprise adventure off right by stopping at the local bakery to get ‘em a box of donuts. Next, [...]
Wining & Dining on Napa Valley Wine Train
It was our first time to Napa Valley and California’s wine country. After a bunch of hiking and exploring the Marin Headlands to the south, we were looking forward to some spectacular wining and dining. Napa Valley seemed like just the place.
We like riding on trains and don’t get the opportunity to do so very [...]
National Park Trips
Yellowstone International