Exploring the American Landscape
Beaches and more
Our home away from home for the month of July is the Big Sandy Mush, a secluded valley located about 15 miles northwest of Asheville. European settlement of the valley dates back to around 1800, but the mountains ringing the valley kept it fairly isolated. Generations of residents raised all their own food, kept cows … Read more
We had two goals for our travels in the summer of 2022: get away from the heat and humidity of Florida, and explore a part of the country that was new to us. How did we do? So-so. Heading north from Florida in mid-June, we encountered a massive heat wave that kept us roasting in … Read more
Our stop in West Virginia included a fun milestone: we visited our 100th National Park Service unit! NPS units include more than just parks — they include historic sites, monuments, battlefields, and more — but in this case our 100th was also America’s newest national park: the New River Gorge. But first, let’s review how … Read more
One of the best decisions we made in planning our 2022 summer travels was booking a full week at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on the northwestern shore of Michigan’s lower peninsula. Our campsite was fabulous and the park offers more than enough activities to keep us entertained. Normally I mention our campsite at the … Read more
In this part of Michigan, the indigenous Odawa (or Ottawa) and the French fur traders have conspired to turn the spelling of words and the pronunciation of those words into concepts that are loosely related, at best. Trust me when I say that everything is pronounced “MACK-in-awe” and that it’s easier to just say “Mac.” … Read more