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Things to Do on a Sedona Weekend Trip
Sedona’s seductive landscape has long attracted healers and psychics. Many spiritualists allege that the area contains vortexes that swirl with energy and hold restorative power. And as a result, the town overflows with crystal shops, hypnosis centers, and psychic studios. But it isn’t only the mystics and healers that are lured by Sedona’s magnetism. The town’s setting amidst vegetation-carpeted cliffs is a nature-lover’s dream. Nestled within this backdrop are tourist attractions that bewitch even the most die-hard New Age skeptics. In recent years, outdoorsy adventurers have been drawn to Sedona for…
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Unforgettable Glacier National Park Day Trip Itinerary
Glacier National Park in Montana boasts some of the most pristine and dramatic landscapes in the United States. Famed for its 700+ miles of hiking trails and its awe-inspiring alpine vistas, the national park is an example of unspoiled wilderness at its finest. The park’s untouched landscapes remain authentically wild. They feature glacier-ripped valleys laced with plunging waterfalls and snowcapped pinnacles sheltering glassy turquoise lakes. Grizzly bears and moose roam the park in abundance. In summer, alpine meadows erupt in a blaze of colorful wildflowers. With more things to do…
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10 Things to Do on an Orcas Island Getaway
Orcas has long been one of Seattle’s favorite island getaways. Considered by many to be the jewel of the San Juans, it is a place where time slows down and the frenzy of city living seems worlds away. Due to its difficult-to-reach location in Washington’s northern Puget Sound, the rugged and laid-back island has struck a delicate balance between development and preservation, tourist dollars and authenticity. It is pricy but not pretentious, touristy but not overcrowded, and pretty but not packed with must-see attractions. Orcas Island has everything you might…
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Visiting Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier is the contiguous USA’s fifth-tallest mountain and the highest peak in the spectacular Cascade Range. Depicted on every Washington license plate, eponymous to everything from beer brands to cherries, and visible throughout much of the state’s western half, it is a towering landmark that has become one of the Pacific Northwest‘s most recognizable and beloved symbols. The sky-scraping mountain is a constant visible reminder of the region’s remarkable geology. Within its confines, Mount Rainier National Park hosts an ecosystem that is studded with geologic wonders and natural splendor.…
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Off the Grid at Hells Canyon in Oregon
When explorers came across the immense canyon that forms the border of present-day Oregon and Idaho, they figured they may as well have stumbled upon Hell. The inhospitable landscape—home to rattlesnakes, sweltering temperatures, and rugged barren landscapes—proved to be a formidable obstacle on their westward journeys. Many tried to tame the Snake River with boats and ferries, but hardly any were successful. Even today, Hells Canyon is no easy place to visit. The cavernous river gorge is remote, desolate, and hundreds of miles from the trodden tourist trail. But it…
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The Trail of Ten Falls in Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park
Whenever I find myself complaining about the Oregon rain, I’m always quick to remind myself that the state’s jaw-dropping beauty is thanks, in large part, to its dreary climate. The precipitation that drenches western Oregon for nearly nine months out of the year gives birth to a wonderland of lush forests and scenic waterways. Without it, places like Silver Falls State Park would not exist. The iconic Silver Falls State Park is a microcosm of what makes western Oregon so beautiful. It is verdant. It is lush. It features towering…
