It was the fourth day of my Mt Rainier National Park backpacking trip. As I sipped my coffee at the Yellowstone Cliffs campground, I studied the topo map to reacquaint myself with our hike for the day. We were to pass the Carbon Glacier, which...
We’d barely dropped from the ridge into our first flower-studded meadow along Mt. Rainier’s Northern Loop Trail when my hiking buddy popped the question – “What’s the wildlife goal this time?”I had to laugh; this woman knew me well. She’d trudged through parks in Miami...
Born in Seattle, one of my earliest delights was the rare glimpse of Mt. Rainier in her full glory, shimmering through breaks in the clouds. Family weekends, holidays and even commutes across the Cascade Range were punctuated by visits to Paradise, Tipsoo Lake, the Grove...
I wanted to visit Dry Tortugas National Park long before I understood what or where it was. It sounded exciting - a tropical island far removed from the rest of the Florida Keys and an oasis for marine and bird life. It sounded like my...