Category Archives: Traveler's Checklist

May 29, 2023 · 6:36 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is indeed a land of extremes. If it’s desert landscapes you are looking for, you’ll find them. But you can also find lusher landscapes and – at higher elevations – temperatures 20 degrees (Fahrenheit) lower than what you experience in the valley. It really pays to plan for a trip to this national park of extremes, and the National Parks Traveler has published my Traveler Checklist for Death Valley as part of its continuing series of Traveler Checklists.

To read this checklist, click on the image above.

I have experienced high heat in this park, and I am so entranced by this place that I’d really like to visit it again – in December, January, or February. Even at six days, I still didn’t get to do everything I wanted (partly because I stayed out of the hotter part of the day, ranging from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.). So, that’s the next goal on my bucket list.

This telephoto image is looking out across the valley and salt flat (not at Badwater Basin, but elsewhere along the Badwater Road). Take a close look across the valley at the series of alluvial fans, some of which coalesce into each other. This coalescing feature is known as a bajada (bah-haw-duh). Keep this in mind because it *might* be a question on an upcoming Death Valley quiz and trivia piece for the Traveler.

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October 19, 2022 · 4:28 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

If you are thinking about travel and making plans to maybe visit a national park, you should check out my latest National Parks Traveler Checklist. It’s all about planning for Lassen Volcanic National Park in California and is published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler.

Click on the image above to check out the checklist.

As for this image, I captured it at the Bumpass Hell parking lot before heading out on a 1.5-mile hike to Bumpass Hell. If you go, not only can you see this huge glacially-deposited boulder for yourself, but you’ll also see nicely-defined striations on surrounding rocks indicating the direction of travel the glacier took.

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March 5, 2022 · 5:16 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Yellowstone In The Winter

*Taking a stroll along the boardwalks at Upper Geyser Basin*

*Following the tour leader in Porcelain Basin*

*Meeting up with one of the Yellowstone locals*

*Geyser gazing is a nice winter activity in Yellowstone*

Thinking of a winter trip to Yellowstone National Park? There’s still time to go this year, but 2023 looks like a better option. Before you go, check out the latest Traveler Checklist I’ve written for the National Parks Traveler. It’s all about planning for your winter trip to this national park, getting there, where to stay and eat, and what to do once you’re there.

To read the Checklist, just click on any of the images above.

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September 22, 2021 · 5:32 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Great Basin National Park

*A Mid-Morning View Of Stella Lake, Great Basin National Park (Nevada)*

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest Checklist. This one’s for Great Basin National Park in Nevada. To read the article, click on the image above.

As for the image above, this was my first day and first hike in this national park. I’d driven up Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive and managed to snag a parking spot at a pullout across the narrow road from the actual Wheeler Peak Summit Trail parking lot, which was almost full (the parking lots are small in that park and they fill up quickly).

I knew I was not going to hike the 8-mile round trip up to and back down from Wheeler Peak summit – I wanted to, but didn’t feel I was in good enough shape nor as acclimatized for a hike up to 13,000 feet, even though my visit to Yosemite National Park the prior week helped some with that aspect. Instead, I opted for the 2.6-mile roundtrip hike to Stella Lake, which is accessed via the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail but with a 0.1-mile turnoff to the lake. It’s a beautiful hike through stands of quaking aspen, some of which sported leaves already turning gold. It is, however, a narrow, uneven, rocky trail and would be easy to take a fall if one is not watching their step. No, I didn’t fall, but one little girl I watched almost did, because she was wearing sneakers with no tread and not paying attention to the trail.

At this time of year, Stella Lake looks more like Stella “Pond.” You can even see a sort of “bathtub ring” of different colored grass and bits of driftwood around the lake to indicate a higher water level during an earlier part of the season.

The mountains you see behind you are Wheeler Peak, to the right, and Doso Doyabi (formerly Jeff Davis Peak), to the center.

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September 15, 2021 · 5:27 am

Traveler’s Checklist To Yosemite National Park

*A Boardwalk Leading Line Across Cook’s Meadow, Yosemite National Park (California)*

Whew! I’m finally back from a 2-week trip to Yosemite and Great Basin national parks! It was a great trip, although I am now totally sick of so much driving. I captured great photos and have plenty of material for articles for the National Parks Traveler. As a matter of fact, the first article is the Traveler’s Checklist for Yosemite National Park, published in today’s edition of the Traveler. Whether it’s your first or your fourth trip, there might be something in the checklist that piques your interest.

To read the article, click on the photo above.

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July 21, 2021 · 4:59 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist For Yellowstone National Park

*Black Growler Steam Vent and Ledge Geyser in Porcelain Basin, Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)*

Whether you’re visiting Yellowstone National Park for your first time or your fifth time, you should check out my latest Traveler Checklist published this morning in the National Parks Traveler. This list provides you with ideas and suggestions for things to see and do during a visit, when the best times are to see the park, and so much more.

To read the Checklist, click on the image above.

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July 7, 2021 · 6:54 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist For Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

*A Stormy Mid-Day Along Bryce Amphitheater, Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)*

Whether you’re traveling to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah for your first time or your fifth time, you might want to check out my latest Traveler Checklist published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. The Checklists I pin are not about reminding you to remember your toothbrush and toothpaste, but rather ideas and suggestions on what you can see and do in specific national parks, in addition to alerts of which you might need to be aware.

To read the Checklist for this national park, click on the image above.

This image was captured during my road trip move from TX to WA state. I spent several days in Bryce Canyon National Park. On this day – it was mid-morning – I was hiking along the Rim Trail around Bryce Amphitheater, heading toward Inspiration Point (the rim of this amphitheater in the background). I’d made it to Inspiration Point and realized it was going to rain and maybe I needed to head for cover. A clap or two of thunder told me that I needed to skeedaddle, because being out in the open in the high elevation is a recipe for a lightning strike. I just made it back to the cabin area of Bryce Lodge as the downpour began, and lightning did, indeed, flash more than once during that time.

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June 16, 2021 · 5:04 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest Checklist. This one offers tips and suggestions for things to see and do while visiting Mount Rainier National Park, in Washington state. To read the article, just click on the image.

This image above was captured back in the autumn of 2018. I’d moved to central Washington three months earlier and wanted to get out and explore the park. I’ve visited Mount Rainier a number of times, but this was the first time since moving to the state.

I’ll have to wait on visiting this park or any other for a while. I even had to cancel (and in part reschedule) plans I had to visit three national parks in California. Two days prior to the trip, my left eye suddenly became so veiled that I couldn’t see a thing out of it. Talk about scary! As such, I returned home yesterday from eye surgery this past Monday (June 14). Thankfully, no detached retina, but I did have retinal tears that needed to be lasered back into place and some filmy hemmorrhaging that needed to be removed. I can see again, for which I am thankful, but for the next 2-3 weeks must behave like a bump on a log. No stress, strain, no lifting anything heavier than 10 lbs, no bending over, no housework, no nothing. Although I’m used to being busy, I can certainly behave in order to keep my newfound eyesight. Photographer or not, the eye is a delicate and wondrous instrument and should never be taken for granted.

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June 3, 2021 · 5:17 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Crater Lake National Park

*A Crater Lake Sunrise, Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)*

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest Checklist – this one is for Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. These park checklists are not to remind you to bring your toothpaste and toothbrush, but rather they are filled with tips on things to do, see, prepare for, and plan for.

If you are thinking about traveling to this particular national park, then click on the image above to read the latest checklist.

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May 26, 2021 · 7:00 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

*The promise of a summer storm over the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)*

If you are planning a trip to Arches or Zion national parks in Utah over the Memorial Day holiday, then you’d better brace for crowds. No duh, right? However, if you are looking to spend time in a less-visited park that has some amazing scenery and geology, then why not take a look at Petrified Forest National Park, in Arizona. As a matter of fact, the National Parks published my latest Traveler Checklist today. These checklists I write are not the kind reminding you to bring along your toothpaste and not to forget the toothbrush, but rather what you might do during a visit to the park, what to watch out for, and maybe where to get a decent coffee or meal.

To read the checklist, click on the image above.

This image was captured shortly after my arrival at the Painted Desert portion of the park during my road trip move from TX to WA. It was summer, which is the monsoon season out in that part of the U.S., so storm clouds floated over the park, threatening to create a downpour. Never happened, though – may have been cloudy, but was dry as a bone over the landscape.

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