After being foiled by forest fires in Bryce Canyon, we decided to end our stay early and head over to Monument Valley. The drive took a little under five hours, and passed quickly. Monument Valley is the quintessential image of “the west” – flat plains punctuated by towering buttes (nicknamed “mittens”). We stayed at Gouldings, […]
After hiking in Zion, we drove an hour and a half northeast to Bryce Canyon. We’d visited Bryce a few years back, and had fond memories of amazing landscapes and great hiking. We stayed at the Lodge at Bryce Canyon, which is the only accommodation inside the park. We were steps from the Rim Trail, […]
We’d been to Zion before, but it was more of a drive-through so we decided to return for a proper visit. We stayed at the Zion Lodge, which is the only option for accommodations inside the park. In peak season, this is the best approach to avoid having to park at the entrance and take […]
For Memorial Day in 2012, we headed to wine country in California. We’d visited the year before, but it quickly became one of our favourite destinations so we ignored our “don’t go places more than once” rule. We flew into San Francisco and then headed North (making a brief stop at Muir Woods). We stayed […]
(Location: San Gerado del Doto, Costa Rica) We’re not birders. Well, I’m definitely not a birder. Andy says he’s not a birder. In any event, we found ourselves driving halfway up the Pan American highway in search of the Resplendent Quetzal. Neither of us are feeling that great at this point in the trip. Let’s […]
(Location: San Vito, Costa Rica) From Pavones, we drove (well, were driven) two hours back to Golfito, and then another very hilly, windy hour to Las Cruces Biological Station. There is one reason to go here: birds. We were only here for one night, and had the whole place to ourselves. We did a two […]
(Location: Pavones, Costa Rica) No one had heard of this place. We were pretty close to Panama. There were small planes that seemed to land and take off in the middle of the night. Where the heck were we ?? From the Osa Peninsula, we took a private ferry to the other side of the […]
(Location: Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica) Getting to the Osa Peninsula isn’t easy. It was a very bumpy flight, in a very small plane, from San Jose to Puerto Jiminez. There was a bit of confusion at the airplane landing place (not really an airport, per se) – the lodge had arranged transportation but none of […]
(Location: San Jose, Costa Rica) The last time we were in Costa Rica was in 2004. On that trip, our flight was canceled making for a day of stress and difficult connections to our remote lodge. This time we would do it differently. We planned a “safety day” at the beginning of the trip. No […]
Location: Socorro, New Mexico Bosque del Apache – unless you’re a birder, you’ve probably never heard of it. I don’t remember how we became aware of this National Wildlife Refuge located an hour and a half south of Albuquerque. The best time of the year to visit is from early November to mid-February, so it […]