Glacier/Waterton Lakes Travel Guide

Glacier National Park

UPDATED Resource for those planning to tour Glacier National Park and/or Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park. Located respectively in northern Montana and southern Alberta the adjacent national parks are typically visited at the same time and offer some of North America’s most spectacular mountain ranges and most beautiful lakes. In 1932, the United States and Canada designated these two national parks together as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a symbol of their longtime peace and friendship. Both parks offer outstanding opportunities to view wildlife and a wide variety of recreational activities. More…

Arizona Deserts

Petrified Forest Revisited

Blue Mesa, Petrified Forest National Park

NEW Our brief Thanksgiving Route 66 tour brought us to Petrified Forest National Park where we had not visited since 1999. Quite a few changes have taken place: substantial acreage has been added to the park, there is more backcountry access for visitors, a series of “off the beaten path” unmarked trails …Our featured hike this trip was the unique and colorful Blue Mesa Trail. More…


More Petrified Forest Articles

California Central Coast

The Elephant Seals of Piedras Blancas

Elephant Seals of Piedras Blancas

The elephant seal is the largest of all pinnipeds, with the largest males reaching 5,000 pounds. In the autumn and winter the Piedras Blancas Rookery teems with thousands of these incredible creatures, making it one of the world’s finest wildlife viewing locales. It is also an easy roadside stop with parking along the Pacific Coast Highway.
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New Regular Feature

American West Roadside Stops

Hoover DamOur American West Roadside Stop Series is back online. It features attractions on the side of the road or close by which require only a quick visit to enjoy. New sites will be added regularly.

Special Guest Feature

Reminiscences of a River Rafting Photographer

Our friend, professional photographer and veteran Grand Canyon river rafter, John Blaustein, has announced the third edition of his classic book, The Hidden Canyon: A River Journey. We are featuring his original 2000 article, generously updated by John with several new photos from the third edition. Find out what it’s really like to raft the Grand Canyon! More…



Return to the Grand Canyon!

The Rock Art of Shamans’ Gallery

Shamans' Gallery, Tuckup Canyon After 24 years of recovering from our last Grand Canyon expedition, we finally returned in April, 2014. We accompanied Ken Johnson’s rock art club to Shamans’ Gallery in Tuckup Canyon located in the remote and desolate far western section of Grand Canyon. This is a spectacular rock art site, with many life-sized figures. The artwork may be over 3,000 years old… More…

(Note: see Special Report on Ken Johnson elsewhere on this page.)

Yellowstone / Grand Teton Travel Guides

Mammoth Hot SpringsUPDATED Our Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park Travel Guides have been substantially revised and updated. Find up-to-date information on various outdoor activities and where to make reservations for lodging or find camping in and around these popular parks.

Glacier National Park Road Trip

3,500-Mile, 19-Day Journey to Adventure

Logan Pass, Glacier National Park

Our September trip featured hiking the backcountry of Glacier National Park with some of the most fantastic scenes in the American West.

Special Report: Kenneth W. Johnson

Remembering the “Rock Art Buff Extraordinaire”

Ken Johnson Our long-time friend and collaborator, Ken Johnson, passed away suddenly at the age of 69. After a long military then professional career, Ken retired to Las Vegas and developed an amazing passion for rock art. He spent his final years traveling the most remote highways and byways of the Southwest seeking out and documenting rock art sites. He showcased his excellent rock art photography (his photo, left) at Vegastraces.com which covered the Mojave Desert region. Two years ago, he moved to Kanab, Utah and began documenting rock art of the Colorado Plateau with plans for a new website, Kanabtraces. Sadly, he passed just as we were starting this project. We hope to eventually complete it for him. Rest in peace, Ken Johnson.