Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural attractions on Earth. It’s a vast and visually powerful landscape with plunging cliffs and variegated colors slashing across the ancient rocks. Known for its multihued toned, the colors of the rocks change color through the course of the day, culminating in a spectacular sunset. It also …

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Dry Tortugas National Park: A Delightful Day Trip from Key West

Dry Tortugas National Park: A Delightful Day Trip from Key West

Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the least-visited, but surely one of the most unique, gems in the U.S. National Park system. For most, the highlight is a massive sentinel red brick redoubt, Fort Jefferson, that stands resolute and in stark contrast to the bright blue skies and crystalline Gulf of Mexico waters that …

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Why You Should Visit the Grand Canyon in Winter Instead of Summer

A snow storm moving across the Grand Canyon in the winter.

The question of when you should travel to the Grand Canyon is an important one because the timing of your visit will greatly impact your vacation in a variety of ways. When visiting in the summer, you have a few more lodging options and both canyon rims are open, but you’ll face crowds, increased prices, …

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Everglades National Park, Florida

Everglades National Park, Florida

From the World Heritage inscription for Everglades National Park: Everglades National Park is the largest designated sub-tropical wilderness reserve on the North American continent. Its juncture at the interface of temperate and sub-tropical America, fresh and brackish water, shallow bays and deeper coastal waters creates a complex of habitats supporting a high diversity of flora …

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Wood Buffalo National Park

Wood Buffalo National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Wood Buffalo National Park: Situated on the Northern Boreal Plains in the north-central region of Canada, Wood Buffalo comprises a vast wilderness area (44,807 km2 ) which is home to North America’s largest population of wild bison. It is also the natural nesting place of the whooping crane. Another …

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Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador

From the Gros Morne National Park World Heritage inscription for Gros Morne National Park: Gros Morne National Park illustrates some of the world’s best examples of the process of plate tectonics. Within a relatively small area are textbook examples of monumental earth-building and modifying forces that are unique in terms of their clarity, expression, and …

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7 Pet Peeves About America

This post is a companion to the article 7 Things That Are Awesome About America When you spend a significant time away from your home country, you get a new appreciation for the good and the bad. Now that I’m back in the US and have traveled around the country for three months, I have …

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Independence Mine State Historical Site and Hatcher’s Pass, Alaska

In the Mat-Su valley of Alaska near Palmer and Wasilla is a beautiful mountain pass named after miner Robert Hatcher. Hatcher’s Pass is a great skiing destination for locals during the winter, but in the summer people come for the hiking and the history. For like I said, Hatcher’s Pass was named after a miner …

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8 Interesting Facts About Las Vegas

The famous and iconic Las Vegas welcome sign

My travels to Las Vegas over the years have usually been for a conference—something the city is well equipped to handle given its infrastructure. Most recently, at Blog World Expo I spoke on the subject of “Travel Porn,” and it got me thinking that it was high time we cover some “fact porn” about one …

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