Tallahassee Museum – A Great Stop for Kids
If you find yourself driving the Florida panhandle, the Tallahassee Museum is a great kid-friendly pit stop.
An Overnight Paddle on the Black Creek – Brooklyn, Mississippi
In May of 2017, I took my then five -year-old son on an overnight paddle trip down the Black Creek in Brooklyn, Mississippi. The trip was magical, and we both still talk about it to this day.
Camping and Hiking in Homochitto National Forest
My son and I spend a weekend hiking and camping in Mississippi’s Homochitto National Forest.
A Quick Day in Hot Springs, AR
A quick day trip through Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas – touring bath houses and local sites.
A Quick Hike in McConnells Mill State Park
At McConnells Mill State Park, the loop that I chose started at a covered bridge near the mill, followed Slippery Rock Creek to the next bridge, and then returned to the mill. The whole while, I was surrounded by rushing water, towering rock walls, fly-fishermen, and tons of boulders.
Panther Creek Trail
Out-and-back scramble and hike along Panther Creek to the Panther Creek Falls near Cornelia, GA.
Climbing to a High Point in Cheaha State Park
A quick hiking trip to Cheaha State Park in Alabama’s Talladega National Forest – bagging another state high point!
The Wave Organ
If you find yourself on the north end of town in San Francisco, follow the coast east from the Golden Gate Bridge, just passed Presidio Beach, and you will come to a small spit of land that juts out into the bay. Follow the stone-lined road passed St. Francis and Golden Gate Yacht Club, and you will find yourself surrounded by water and stone ruins. You have located San Francisco’s Wave Organ – defined on the Exploratorium website as, “a wave-activated acoustic sculpture.”
Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge
On the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge lies the other half of Golden Gate National Recreational Area and the Marin Headlands – a lush rolling land that dips down to the water for some fantastic views of the bay area.
Muir Woods National Monument
If you’re visiting the San Francisco Bay Area for any amount of days, I would say that Muir Woods National Monument belongs on your list of must-see locations. We rented a car to get there, but the park is just a hop and a skip over the Golden Gate Bridge – 16 miles from downtown San Francisco.
Haight-Ashbuy / San Francisco
When the 1967 flower-power anthem San Francisco said, “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair”, it was talking about the Haight-Ashbury District.
Japantown / San Francisco
A stroll through Japantown in San Francisco, CA. See brilliant foods, toys, paper foldings, grocery signs, a wooden Vader helmet, and much more.
The Mission / San Francisco
On our 10 year anniversary trip to San Francisco, there was one area that had us coming back again and again. The Mission District, also known as “The Mission”, is chock full of delicious cheap eats, truly quirky shops, and historical sites.
Andy Goldsworthy at The Presidio / San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco was first established as a Spanish garrison in 1776. Now the 1,500 acre park is a National Historic Landmark, famous for its hikes, views, and history.
Sutro Bath Ruins / San Francisco
The Sutro Baths were developed by self-made millionaire Adolph Sutro in 1894. He made his fortune in Nevada’s Comstock silver mine, and applied those riches to his dreams of a better San Francisco.
Kayaking Down Bayou Lafourche
A 106 mile kayak/camping trip down Bayou Lafourche, including Donaldsonville, Napoleonville, Thibodeaux, Raceland, Lockport, Cut Off, Leeville and Fourchon.
Cloudland Canyon: West Rim
Hiking the West Rim in Georgia’s Cloudland Canyon State Park.
Wissahickon Valley Park
For ten years, I have biked or driven into the Wissahickon, usually with a camera. In this slice, I attempt to exhibit the important landmarks of the park along with my favorite nooks and crannies.
Zion: West Rim
Trailhead 9:15 AM. The first two miles of the west rim trail are extremely strenuous, unforgiving, switchbacks. Most trails level out now and then, but this stretch seemed to be entirely uphill. About a fourth into the 2-mile climb, I caught up with a gentleman from Florida…
Zion: The Narrows
On Monday morning I speed-hiked down the West Rim Trail. On the canyon floor, I shuttled to Watchman campground, set up camp, and filled my belly with a delicious Beef Ravioli MRE – one of the best yet! I crammed all electronics and paper documents into waterproof bags and stuffed those bags into my backpack. Today I would hike The Narrows.
Zion: East Rim
Hiking up the east rim from the canyon floor was strenuous – switchback after switchback with short spurts of level terrain interspersed. Toward the end of the climb, thighs and calves on fire, I took solace in the fact that the return trip downhill would be a cakewalk.
Storming Fort Proctor via Kayak – St. Bernard Parish, LA
Designed to defend New Orleans from the Union Army, Fort Proctor was constructed under the supervision of General P. G. T. Beauregard in 1856. Also known as Fort Beauregard and Beauregard’s Castle, the fort was originally located about 150 feet inland with a rail yard on its northern end. Today it is approximately 230 feet from the shore, surrounded by Lake Borgne.
Biking New Orleans, LA to Biloxi, MS
This is the story of a hastily thrown-together cycling trip from New Orleans, LA to Biloxi, MS on April 26th, 2011, the Monday after Easter. As usual, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to pack for such a trip…
Funny Tombow One Man Band
Street performer on Bourbon Street that calls himself “Funny Tumbow One Man Band”. The guy ROCKS by employing all appendages.
Grand Isle, LA – Day 47 of the BP/Deepwater Horizon Disaster
A trip down to Grand Isle, Louisiana, to see how things are developing, contribute a bit to the local economy, talk to locals, show some support, and try and make a surreal catastrophe happening a few hours away more tangible.
BP / Deepwater Horizon Disaster – Oil Reaches Grand Isle
A month after the Transocean / BP / Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes, burns, and begins to perpetually leak oil into the Gulf of Mexico, I walk onto the beach at Grand Isle, unprepared for what I am about to witness.
Tunica Falls, MS
Another New Year presents itself, and she’s escorted by the same old companions: hissing fireworks, the unfathomable lyrics of Auld Lang Syne, gaudy street parades, steaming cabbage with black-eyed peas, and of course those delicate pledges-to-oneself that we call New Year’s resolutions. All of these timeless traditions constitute the norm on New Year’s Day. The question is, does January 1st still have room for new traditions?
Sugar Bowl: Cajun-Country Cycling Trip
Fall is such a nice time for biking in South Louisiana. No, we don’t have the typical “fall foliage” here – more of a green to yellow transition as seen through the smoke of billowing cane field fires, but despite the lack of leaves bursting orange and red, it is still pleasing to enjoy the outdoors at a breezy 70°.
Cycling New Orleans, LA to Venice, LA and Back Again
Some trips are planned out out months or even years in advance. Phone calls, maps, gear needs, reservations, research, and countless hours traveling a virtual path in Google Earth typically come before these arduously strategical undertakings. This was not one of those trips.
Fick Fossil Museum – Oakley, KS
The Ford Focus wagon took a beating on the dirt roads of Utah and the mountain climbs in Wyoming. As we reached Jackson Hole, strange things started to happen under the hood – clanking, smoke, etc. Being that is was a Sunday in a town with more outfitters than mechanics, we thought it wise to start the trek home.
Teton National Park, WY
June 20-21 were spent in the grandeur of Grand Teton National Park. In short, the attraction to this park lies in the contrast between abrupt rising granite and broad glacier-carved lakes. Even after four days of Yellowstone, the landscape of Teton still caught me off guard. Our first stop in the park was at the Colter Bay Visitor Center for a proper lay of the land.
Yellowstone National Park – Day 4
Day four in Yellowstone consisted of touring the Midway Geyser Basin, hiking to Fairy Falls, exploring the Old Faithful area, getting caught in a Bison traffic jam, and spotting another Grizzly Bear.
Yellowstone National Park – Day 3
Our third day in Yellowstone was a day of short trails but breathtaking vistas. We started with a steep descent down a series of switchbacks to what was quite possibly the most jaw-dropping panorama in the entirety of Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Yellowstone National Park – Day 2
On day two in Yellowstone, we began with breakfast in Canyon Village’s cafeteria, and then headed north toward the Mammoth Springs area via Roosevelt. At about 10:00 AM we spotted an audience along the roadside…
Yellowstone National Park – Day 1
This is a continuation of our Summer ’08 Road Trip. Just a hop, skip, and a jump from Idaho Falls, and we were entering West Yellowstone. Immediately upon entering the park we spotted a fox, an eagle, a raven, and lots of bison.
Zion National Park, UT
Finishing up early at Buckskin Gulch allowed us just enough daylight to skim the surface of Zion National Park. Zion, Utah’s oldest and most visited national park, is located in the southwestern corner of the state. The park is amazing, but don’t think that you’re going to see much of it in one afternoon.
Buckskin Gulch Slot Canyon, Utah
The website Adventuresports.com defines a slot canyon as “a narrow canyon carved into sandstone or slick rock by centuries of rain and flash flooding… often filled or partially filled with water and can be extremely dangerous to navigate through.” Buckskin Gulch, the longest and deepest slot canyon in the southwest, is located in southern Utah and superintended by the Bureau of Land Management.
Four Corners Monument, UT/CO/NM/AZ
Continuing along on our Summer ’08 Road Trip, Angela and I left Mesa Verde and headed west towards Buckskin Gulch, a slot canyon on the Arizona/Utah border. On the way we stopped at Four Corners Monument, where visitors can simultaneously exist in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The monument is owned and operated by the Navajo Nation…
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Mesa Verde is very similar to Chaco Culture in that visitors walk through and observe Ancestral Puebloan ruins. The main difference is that Mesa Verde is much more accessible, therefore the crowds are much larger. Still, the park offered an amazing display of ancient ruins presented by outstanding park rangers.
Chaco Culture National Historic Park
Chaco Culture National Historic Park is a series of architectural ruins built between the years 850 and 1150 by Ancestral Puebloans. This history-heavy slice begins with a fully transcribed, hour-long ranger led tour of the Pueblo Bonito ruins. This is followed by a walk through the Chetro Ketl ruins, and a hike to some stunning petroglyphs.
Roswell, NM
The fourth stop on our 2008 summer road trip was Roswell, NM, the All American City. Now, without giving away too much of my own personal life history and to avoid total embarrassment, let’s just say that over the years I’ve developed a bit of a fascination with the idea of extraterrestrials, martians, aliens, or little green men.
Carlsbad Caverns Nat. Park, NM
One of the first large rooms in the cave is the Bat Cave, named for the thousands of Mexican freetail bats that roost here from March to October. The bats hang upside down all day and hunt insects by night, consuming up to one half its weight in insects in one feeding. If the average man ate on the same scale, he would have to consume 95 pounds of food for dinner!
Guadalupe Mountains Nat. Park, TX
The second leg of our journey ended at Guadalupe Mountains National Park in west Texas, and when I say “west Texas” I mean 450 miles west of Austin, all driven in one sitting, with no air conditioner, in the summer. We gleefully hopped off the interstate at Van Horn, TX and skirted the foothills north towards the heart of the Guadalupe Mountains.
Austin, TX
In the summer of 2008, Angela and I embarked on a road trip of semi-epic proportions – New Orleans to Yellowstone and back again. The price of gas soared above $3.50 per gallon, the heat index pushed 100 degrees everywhere south of the Mason-Dixon, and our Ford Focus wagon was starting to fall apart at the seams…
Biking River Road: “West Bank”
I started before dawn at my home in the Marigny (a neighborhood just east of the French Quarter). First things first, I had to cross the Mississippi River to get over to the West Bank. The only safe option for river crossing via bicycle is the ferry, and the closest ferry to my home is the Canal St. Ferry.
Smokies: Mount LeConte Day Hike
On my way back from a friend’s wedding in Charlotte, I stopped by the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for a “quick” day-hike up the 6,593 ft Mount LeConte. The 10 mile round trip hike starts at Hwy. 71 on the Alum Cave Trail.
Biking River Road: “East Bank”
This is a story about a cycling trip that follows every curve of the Mississippi River’s east bank, from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, LA. On this self propelled two wheel adventure, the clock started at 5:40 AM when my feet left the ground and found the pedals of my Trek bicycle. The idea for the trip however, was realized much earlier.
The Birmingham Vulcan
Who boasts the largest cast iron statue in the world? Birmingham, AL of course. Slices of America visits the Birmingham Vulcan.
Cloudland, GA
This is a series of photos taken in and around Cloudland, GA in November of 2006. We got there just in time to catch the vibrant yellow and red leaves.
Calico Ghost Town
Calico Ghost Town was the last stop on our 2006 California Expedition. Calico was first established in 1881 when it came to prominence with the mining boom.
Sequoia National Park
After three days climbing Mount Whitney, the group hobbles through Sequoia National Park on part three of our 2006 California trip.
Seattle, Wa
Join guest contributor Justin Wetz on his tour of Seattle, Washington. Highlights include the Space Needle, Sci-Fi Museum, Pike’s Place Market, and Bainbridge Island.
Messages Left After Hurricane Katrina
At 7:00 AM on Monday, August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina made landfall as a category 4 storm… This project was shot over a period of two months. The photos, taken by both my wife (Angela Driscoll) and I, depict a desperate attempt at communication.
Big Bend National Park – Texas
In August of 2005 my wife Angela and I left New Orleans and headed West. After visiting my brother in Houston, we continued West to Big Bend National Park, stopping at Amistad National Recreational Area to cut the driving time in half.
Amistad National Recreational Area – Texas
Via I-10, the trip from Houston to San Antonio is about 240 miles and then another 155 miles from San Antonio to Amistad via Hwy 90. Just 5 miles before reaching Amistad, we stopped in the large border town of Del Rio to stock up on water and food for the next 2-3 days.
New York City (2004)
In 2004 my friend James came up to Philadelphia for a visit. We planned a very typical touristy day trip to New York City, hitting all of the major sites. These are images from that excursion.
Niagara Falls
I’d like to think that I had some idea, but really, I had NO idea how big Niagara Falls was. And what was immediately impressive was the size of the mist cloud created by the falls…
Detroit, MI
Waldo, OH for their famous bologna sandwich; Detroit, MI for their museum, and Niagara Falls for its grandeur. We begin in Philadelphia and travel clockwise …
Fried Bologna – Waldo, OH
Waldo, OH for their famous bologna sandwich; Detroit, MI for their museum, and Niagara Falls for its grandeur. We begin in Philadelphia and travel clockwise …
Lancaster County – The Amish
July 29th 2003 marked the third anniversary of Slices of America. In celebration, I decided to head out to Lancaster County Pennsylvania to see what Amish life was all about. Angela and I packed sandwiches, drinks, and snacks and headed west out of Philadelphia.
St. John Neumann Pilgrimage
A short pilgrimage to the shrine of entombed St. John Neumann, with a pit stop at the Mario Lanza museum, all within the Philadelphia city limits.
Rally for America: Valley Forge, PA
It wasn’t a pro-war rally. It wasn’t an anti-war rally. This gathering in Valley Forge, PA on March 16, 2003 was a rally for our troops.
testing the galleries
Falgout’s Alligator Farm
In the Fall of 2000, Ted Falgout allowed Angela and I to visit and photograph his alligator farm in Larose, LA. I grew up less than half a mile from the farm, went to school with and was very good friends with Mr. Ted’s twin sons, yet I had never been inside those gator houses.
A Boy and His Bike, New Orleans – Slice #1
What started out as a routine mechanic visit, ended up a Tour of New Orleans on bike. The tour’s only racers were the sun and myself. It wasn’t even close. This is the Slice that started it all!