Monument Valley
Monument Valley is the archetypal Classic Wild West. Even my first time here felt vaguely familiar. I had just found a job in Austin, Texas fresh out of grad school, and started rooming with my college buddy. My friend was…
Lower Calf Creek falls
So called for its use as a natural pen for calves in the early 1900’s, the Calf Creek is a south flowing tributary of the Escalante river. Located in the canyon carved by the Calf Creek are two spectacular emerald…
Goblin Valley State Park
Imagine this – an out of the world landscape filled with an army of “goblins” turned to rock stretching to the horizon! What the locals refer to as “goblins” are really “hoodoos” – strange looking, naturally artful, mushroom-shaped sandstone formations…
Horseshoe Bend
An obscure sign in the middle of nowhere on Route 89 in Page, AZ beckons tourists to the Horseshoe Bend overlook parking lot. A small board at the parking lot (which perfectly echoes my philosophy on nature hikes) signals the…
Darjeeling
If you do make a trip to Sikkim, it can be easily paired up with a trip to Darjeeling as well. Until the 19th century, Darjeeling was a part of the Kingdom of Sikkim. However, it was lost to the…