Photo Blog with Waterfalls, Hiking, Outdoors, and other Adventures
Home base for the past couple of days has been Copper Falls State Park. I skipped them on this trip in favor of other destinations (see old posts here, don’t skip these if you’ve never visited before) but the weather did give me an opportunity for some fantastic night photography. Clear Sky Charts confirm this … Read more
Basecamp for the next several days is at Lost Lake Recreation Area campground. This is a small site in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest that sits on an 86-acre lake and is a fantastic spot for a quiet family vacation. I didn’t have much time left today so I did the only thing that seemed reasonable: … Read more
From Mastodon Peak I continued on the trail to Lost Palms Oasis. This is an in/out trail going about 3 miles each way. The trail winds through many different types of landscape – hills, sandy washes, patches of rocks, and just about everything in between. Damages from flash flooding in October has blocked off the … Read more
Final stop for the day was a race against sundown to hike the box canyon at Hidden Valley. One of the plaques along the nature trail details how this was once a forest covered in trees and is now relict or restricted to a smaller area than was once found. Not really much to say … Read more
December 2018. Government shutdown looming. Geminid meteor shower coming. Vacation days left that need to be used. Booked some quick tickets into Las Vegas with no firm plans other than seeking adventure. The universe guided me down to Joshua Tree National Park. Pitched my tent at the Belle campground (which I was lucky to get, … Read more
Part 2 of my visit to Rock Island State Park. You can view Part 1 here and Part 3 will be coming soon. Buckle up, this is a long post but worth it (in my opinion). Here we go! (Don’t forget to click on photos for a larger view with more detail!) Thordarson Trail After … Read more
Had a few hours until dark after setting up camp at Newport State Park and decided to head back into town & check out the area. While driving back down Hwy 42 I saw signs for Ellison Bluff County Park and noticed it was located off the western coast – directly where the sun was … Read more
After another hour driving, home for tonight is Council Grounds State Park. Thankfully this park is smaller and can be done in about an afternoon. I wasted no time setting up camp before setting out on the trails. Big Pines Nature Trail -> Unmarked Trail -> Red Trail Right from the campgrounds you can hop … Read more
Midday detours were complete and I was back at Interstate State Park for part 2 of my visit. Goal for the afternoon was to hike all the remaining trails which I was able to complete minus one or two small connecting paths. Eagle Peak Trail Starting from my campsite, I walked through the parking area … Read more
After leaving Artists Drive I didn’t have much daylight left but it still felt too early to call it a day. What to do next? A quick read of the park’s newspaper pointed me to Zabriskie Point which they claim is the best place to watch both sunrise & sunset in all of Death Valley. … Read more