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.
30 Windshield Views of America
Here is a picture or thirty, snapped rather precariously, from a moving vehicle during one meandering or another. I hope you find them amusing. – Gary
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.