A Winter Visit to Death Valley National Park
A winter visit to Death Valley National Park gives you a different perspective. And missing the heat is not a bad idea.
California
A Day Trip to Channel Islands National Park
Taking a day trip to Channel Islands National Park off Ventura, California, is well worth the effort. Hiking, kayaking, and wildlife.
Discovering Tri-Valley, California: A Secret Bay Area Destination
Discover Tri-Valley California, just 35 miles from the Bay Area and full of open space, wineries, sweet small towns, and great food.
10 Reasons to Make Berkeley Your Bay Area Base Camp
Make Berkeley California your Bay Area base camp. Berkeley’s full of top restaurants, arts & culture, parks, and the vibrant UC Berkeley campus. Easy to get to San Francisco, wine country, and more!
Jack London State Park, California
Visiting Jack London State Park near Sonoma, California, brought back many pleasant memories of his stories and books I’d read since being introduced to To Build a Fire in 9th grade.
Confessions of a Serial National Park Visitor
The best deal in the world for mature travelers is the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) lifetime visitor pass for $80. It’s good at some 2,000 national parks, monuments, and federal recreation areas. Here’s more about the appeal of our National Park Service.
Thoughts on Driving the Southern California Desert
Driving through Southern California, including roadside attractions, oddball art and museums, and popular mid-century Palm Springs architecture.
Salvation Mountain, Salton Sea, California
Salvation Mountain is the creation of Leonard Knight who, the legend says, had a vision. A folk art masterpiece in California’s Salton Sea desert.
East Jesus, California: a Short, Strange Trip
East Jesus, east of the Salton Sea in Southern California, is a museum. But it’s unlike any museum you’ve seen before. It’s what most people think of as an art installation, an art oasis, or a performance space. East Jesus calls its exhibit space an “Art Garden.”
Desert Sunset, Keys View, Joshua Tree, California
Why are desert sunsets so beautiful? Desert sunsets, like this one at Keys View at Joshua Tree National Park, are particularly red due to the dryness of the air. Moist air tends to scatter light more. Also, deserts tend to have cleaner air, and therefore allow the light a more direct path to the eye, making the color more dramatic.