Apostle Islands and Wisconsin’s North Shore

Our eastward trek across the southern shore of Lake Superior will involve several relatively short stops, and the first of these was in Bayfield, WI to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The Apostles are a group of 22 islands clustered around the tip of the Bayfield peninsula in northern Wisconsin, and they have been … Read more

Underground Wonders at Carlsbad Caverns and Foggy Hiking at Guadalupe Mountains

East of El Paso, in a remote corner of the Chihuahuan Desert, two national parks straddle the border between Texas and New Mexico. Since we were in the area, we made sure to plan a visit to the almost-adjacent Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Camping at Guadalupe Mountains The only campground … Read more

Finding the Wild in the Black Hills

Although we are in the high summer season, and the Black Hills were filled with tourists in the weeks just after Memorial Day, we managed to find many, many locations of relative solitude and incredible beauty in this large wilderness. Custer State Park The focal point of our visit to the Black Hills was Custer … Read more

Mandatory Visits in the Black Hills

Southwestern South Dakota — a place I had never visited and frankly never even considered as a vacation destination — has a dense concentration of places we have loved. Were it not for the thought of subzero winter conditions, I think Ken would be ready to move here in a heartbeat. After our awesome five … Read more