Time keeps on ticking

Trip Advisor is great at laser targeting potential wallet-flushing theme parks, hotels, and dining experiences. But if you’re looking for public lands, rock formations, abandoned mines, ghost towns, and the such I advise asking a local. Generally, the older the better, who else knows all the locations, history, and has time to deal with a few meddling kids and their dog. If only the campervan more resembled the Mystery Machine, and Ruth looked a little less (judgmental Schnauzer) and more Scooby Doo. Read more

Raft the Colorado River

I’ve spent most of my vacation and holiday time hiking, climbing, kayaking, or rafting locations that were illustrated in my childhood Boy Scout handbook. Yet there’s a twist. Those images were cartooned and often inaccurate, leading younger me to believe I could one day enjoy a campsite in front of Delicate Arch. Or that climbing Everest was something any fit young man could accomplish with a knapsack and a thermos of Campbell’s Soup. Read more