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[Leavenworth, WA, Dec 24, 2023] Due to the lack of snow even this late in December, we decided to go for a hike. At first we tried the little snow area close to town. But even though there wasn’t a lot of snow, the trails were closed for hiking. We could only go on them on showshoes, but there wasn’t nearly enough snow for that. Our plan B was a well-rated trail… Read More
[Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Oct 11, 2023] For our only full day in the park, we wanted to do the best hike in the park, 5.5 miles one way to Mt LeConte. At 6,593 ft (2,010 m) it is the third highest peak in the national park. There are three other subpeaks above 6,000 ft (1,829 m) on the mountain, and we were going to reach them all: High Top, named… Read More
[Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Oct 10, 2023] Once upon a time, the 6 of us lived in LA and ran every Saturday together to train for the LA marathon. Four of us knew each other from business school, and the other 2 were Olivia’s friends that eventually became ours, too. Over the years, a few of us have moved away, so when an opportunity to get together arises, we don’t pass… Read More
[Gary/Porter, IN, Sep 12, 2023] Indiana Dunes National Park is one of the youngest. It got upgraded from a National Lakeshore in 2019 to become the nation’s 61st national park. It runs for about 20 miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, in northwestern Indiana. The closest big city is Chicago, IL. If you’re coming from there, be aware that Chicago is on Central time, while Indiana Dunes is on Eastern… Read More
[Four Corners Region, CO, Sep 6, 2023] Due to the cliff dwelling tour schedule and the closure of the Wetherhill Mesa section at Mesa Verde National Park, we found ourselves with a full free day in the remote southwest corner of Colorado. What to do? I had already done the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton. Although the weather wasn’t that great when I did it, I still figured there must… Read More
