We left Finca La Rosendo in Argentina’s Mendoza province on March 17 with just over two weeks to travel 2,100 miles northwest to Cusco, Peru, in time for our reservations to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We planned to make a few stops along the way, first in …
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on a small farm and produce artisanal wine? We spent the last four weeks living on tiny Finca La Rosendo just outside of San Rafael, in Mendoza province in western Argentina (www.fincalarosendo.com.ar or Finca.LaRosendo on Facebook). Vicky and …
This past week we visited Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, near the southern tip of the Andes about 250 miles north of Cape Horn. Located on the 51st parallel–about as far south of the equator as Quebec City is north of it–the park is famously windy, and the weather …
After spending a few weeks at home with Dylan and Stephanie (thanks you two!) catching up with friends and attending to various matters that are more difficult to do from the road, we’re leaving town again on February 2 (coincidentally, the same date as our wedding in Paraguay way back …
If you like the idea of experiencing the United States’ border with Mexico up close and personal in a dramatic natural landscape, you won’t find a better place to do it than Big Bend National Park.
It’s all about a bend in the river. The Rio Grande originates in the …
A few years ago, we had what, in hindsight, was clearly a pivotal moment. After a fabulous visit to a national park—Carlsbad Caverns, in New Mexico—Lorrie bought a massive guidebook to the 58 (now 59) national parks. In Your Guide to the National Parks, author Michael Oswald describes each …
We are weeks behind in our blogging. Aargh!! As I write this, on December 2, we are in West Texas in the heart of Big Bend National Park. Our last blog talked about Death Valley, which we visited from November 7-11 and we’ve travelled many miles since then. It’s hard …
Lorrie has wanted to visit the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of California since the first time she heard about them 15 years ago. I think it was mostly the prospect of kayaking their coastlines that attracted her, or at least that’s what she mostly spoke about whenever …
Leaving Yosemite, shivering with cold at the higher altitudes and eyes smarting from the smoke in the valley, we pointed our truck south in search of southern California’s fabled warm and sunny weather. We stocked up at REI in Fresno with topographical maps, trail advice, and dehydrated meals-in-a-bag to sustain …
Tall trees. Can you look up at a tall tree from its base or nearby and judge its height? I think I can make a reasonably good estimate up to about 100 feet. But what about trees that are 150-250 feet tall? Or those over 350 feet – taller than …