Valle Grande Overlook

Valle Grande Overlook - View of valley to the west

Leaving Bandelier National Monument it was again decision time. I wasn’t quite ready to give up my exploration of this part of New Mexico so I drove further west on NM-4 through the mountain pass near Los Alamos with some idea of camping in the Santa Fe National Forest. Along the way I came across … Read more

Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center

Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center - View of the Rio Grande River and Gorge

The Rio Grande Gorge and bridge were more impressive than I imagined. I was almost completely unprepared for this leg of the journey, so next destination was the Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center to get more information. The first large sign on the outer wall of the visitor center details how the Rio Grande starts … Read more

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge - Views of tall mountains in the distance

The scenic byway along US-64 south of Wheeler Peak was a great drive, and Taos is an interesting town but due to all the road work it wasn’t ideal to stop and walk around. So I kept driving a bit further northwest to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. There is a parking area but it … Read more

Hot Springs Waterfall

Hot Springs - Direct view of the "waterfall" cascading down the cliff

Made a quick stop in Hot Springs, South Dakota as something caught my eye as I was driving down the main street. Lots of construction so I had to drive past and then park in the Centennial Park lot and walk down the paved path that runs parallel to the Fall River. Not pictured but … Read more

Falls of the Big Sioux River

Falls Park - View of falls from atop the observation tower

I’ve been through Sioux Falls only one other time back in 2016, and that was only to sleep and pass on down the road. Before leaving this time I thought “there must be a waterfall here somewhere, else the city wouldn’t be named like that.” A quick online search later and oh boy did I … Read more

Potosi Point

Potosi Point - Bald eagle flying back towards shore with a fresh fish catch

The endpoint of this weekend’s group expedition was at Potosi Point, a small peninsula that sticks out into the Mississippi River and has a small boat launch at the end. Our group of Toyotas broke into two groups to start the day to keep our length on the trails manageable. Group #1 arrived first and … Read more

Wyalusing State Park – Wisconsin Ridge Campground

Wyalusing Wisconsin Ridge Campground - View across the Wisconsin River valley

Went on a weekend trip with my friends from the Tacoma World forums. Home base was the Wisconsin Ridge Campground at Wyalusing State Park in Bagley, Wisconsin. We had most of the sites in the 140-150 range looking down along the Wisconsin River valley. Here’s my site – I parked all the way behind the … Read more

Willow River State Park – Willow River Spillway

Willow River Spillway - View from below/side

After years of waiting, the dam at Willow River State Park has been rebuilt and the far west area of the park is re-opened. I have been trying to access this spot for a long time as supposedly there are rapids below the previous dam that were quite nice. Access is now very easy via … Read more

Birch Creek Falls

Keil Birch Creek Preserve - Cascade style falls along Birch Creek

After visiting many falls across the state it isn’t often I get to see a new place without much detail about it found on the internet. Thanks to a tip from Bob at waterfallswisconsin.com I found myself at Kiel Birch Creek Nature Preserve & State Natural Area in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Supposedly there are some nice … Read more

Big Falls (Seymour) from East Shore

Big Falls (Seymour) from East Shore - Main falls long exposure

My strange day continued, though it has been somewhat productive. I tried to find a falls at a nearby lake but ended up at a totally different park by a river only to find my GPS pin was wrong. Then I drove through Rusk County trying to find another more secluded falls but it was … Read more