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One good thing about being a student is that you get a holiday break and you can take it for granted and no one’s gonna think you’re ungrateful. Except I was still working on my one paper, but whatever. By the time I turned the paper in, the weather was sunny, cold, and clear, so [...]

I went on down the Navajo Loop and connecting to the Queens Garden trail. Pretty and short and a little icy and steep at the top of Navajo. For some reason, probably because they’re mean, bitter people, the Parks Service closed the Wall Street trail — which is sort of the whole reason to come to Bryce. I mean, you know, that and the hoodoos, but whatever.

Haleakala National Park, Hawaii » I figured no one had ever been to see the sunrise at Haleakala before, so I better do it and take photos. Certainly no one has ever taken photos of it before. Woke up: 3 AM. Left Kahana: 3:10 AM. Arrived at summit: 4:55 AM. Realized I should’ve slept another hour: 4:55 AM also. Nah, earlier. Probably more like 3:45 AM is when I realized it.

It may have been less than six miles. Part of the route was washed out. I think. It was hard to tell. There were signs, there were counter-signs. Anything was possible and therefore nothing mattered. It’s inside Olympic National Park, in the Elwha Valley area-thing. Here’s the picture that I’ve decided I want to have [...]

So after the coast, the trees. Y’know, on my cross-country road trip, during which I visited a bunch of parks, it came to my attention that not every national park is like the national parks in Washington state. The parks in Washington state make sense to me. They’re big, there’s a lot to do there, [...]

Posted this list originally here. Now updating! I no longer think that I necessarily need to see every single US National Park before I die. The hamburger list has left me a changed man. OTOH, I’m pretty interested in going to Samoa now, so, you know. Things change. Alpha by park and I bolded the [...]

So yeah, I sort of have this idea that I should see every US National Park before I die. Although I’m not sure I should have to count the one in American Samoa. I got a long way to go (alpha by park): Acadia: not visited. American Samoa National Park: not visited. Arches: visited! A [...]

I posted some photos of Sequoia and Kings Canyon (click on the link or go through the Photos tab up top). Some were already posted in the last two blog entries. I can’t tell if any of them are any good — I’ll give it a month. Enjoy maybe. bkd

They refer to each separately, but only give you one map, thus obfuscating the truth, which is their way. Went to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park or Parks over the weekend — left Thursday, came back Saturday. Camped for a couple nights. Hiked a little bit, took pictures of trees (see previous post), drove [...]

Went camping in Death Valley last weekend. Camped for two whole nights — an adult personal best! The lowest point in North America. Yes, that pot hole right there. Pros: The roller coaster roads, featuring many inversions. Taking the Emigrant Road way back to civilization — brilliantly washed out and steep. My new flannel-lined sleeping [...]