White Sands National Monument is a really unique place. It features miles and miles of white sand dunes and, well, really nothing else. The fact that there is nothing else there is what makes it so cool. It's a surreal sort of place. Sam and I went backpacking there for a night. White Sands gets a ton of visitors, but there are only 10 … [Read more...]
Organ Mountains
The Organ mountains are rocky and jagged. They look cool even from a distance since they jut up seemingly out of nowhere. The area is supposed to provide good rock climbing although some of the peaks look nearly impossible to climb. 'Rugged' seems to be a good word to describe them. The vegetation stuck out as being different from any other … [Read more...]
Essential travel items (plus travel tips)
I travel a lot both professionally and for fun. I'm quite familiar with all different modes of travel: flying, road trips, business trips, car camping, tent camping, backpacking, RVing, trips close to home and trips around the globe. Granted, I'm missing a few categories there like travel by bus, train or boat. Travel really isn't about the … [Read more...]
Canyon trail – Bosque del Apache NWR
The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is famous for the cranes that migrate there for the winters. On a winter morning at sunrise, the refuge will be crawling with photographers looking to snap pictures of the majestic birds flying off for the day. Once the last bird takes off, the photographers throw their cameras back in their cars and … [Read more...]
Manzano Mountains
The Manzano mountains lie about an hour's drive from my house and yet I have visited them only twice very briefly in the years I've lived there. They are kind of the southern extension of the Sandia Mountains that dominate the eastern skyline of Albuquerque. My first visit to the Manzano mountains came because I wanted to visit Manzano Mountain … [Read more...]
Black Mesa State Park
Black Mesa State Park is in the Oklahoma panhandle, above the Texas panhandle, both of which are known for being flat, hot, sunny, and perhaps dull places to have to travel through. Most of these adjectives are probably actually true most of the time. While I can appreciate a certain beauty to the sweeping, desolate, flat plains, it gets pretty … [Read more...]
Sequoyah State Park
They say first impressions are strong and the curvy, tree-lined road that leads into the Sequoyah State Park once you turn off of the main highway makes for a great first impression. It's the sort of road that has you feeling like just around the corner is something amazing waiting to be discovered, even though you know that just around the corner … [Read more...]
Clayton Lake State Park New Mexico
I feel a need to add 'New Mexico' to the title because there is also a Clayton Lake State Park in Oklahoma, which I have also been to. Clayton Lake State Park is probably most famous for having dinosaur footprints. They were not originally visible, but were partially uncovered in the work they did on the dam for the lake, and later actually … [Read more...]
Spavinaw State Park
Spavinaw State Park is one of eight that makes up what is collectively known as Grand Lake State Park. I headed out there with kind of low expectations: I could see from Google Maps that it wasn't a very expansive area and knew that it lacked cabins or trails. Basically, it was looking like one of those state parks that is pretty much just a nice … [Read more...]
Great Salt Plains State Park
Great Salt Plains State Park always makes me think of my first night there. I was excited to be there for the first time, and I walked down to the shore of the lake right at sunset and took dozens of pictures, entranced by the beauty of the sun setting over the lake, the gentle clouds, and the reflection of the sunset in the water. I still feel … [Read more...]