Teaching you how far you can travel!
Popo Agie Falls Trail can be found just a few miles outside of Lander, Wyoming, an easy hike with a big reward!
This trail is highly rated on AllTrails with a solid 4.7 and we would agree, in fact, we gave it a 5-star rating. It is rare to find a trail that is so close to a city that is this beautiful but not crowded. The only thing that would make it better is if it was a loop trail and not an out and back trail but that is just getting too picky.
Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site near Thermopolis, Wyoming, is a short hiking loop that connects you to our ancient ancestors.
We arrived early in the day to beat the crowds and it paid off. I doubt this site ever gets truly crowded but that morning we had the whole place to ourselves for about an hour. Due to COVID-19 the visitor center was closed but that did not take away from the experience.
All total the site contains at about 283 different petroglyphs on 92 individual sandstone panels, some of them dating back 10,000 years.
More info can be found on the Wyoming State Parks website.
The Pawnee National Grassland in Eastern Colorado is not a place you are likely to find in a brochure for Colorado. It is dry, flat, has few trees, and zero mountains, but that does not mean it is not worth a visit.
As Joyce and I started to venture out from COVID-19 quarantine we thought the Grasslands would be a great place to start because it is not popular and has plenty of space to maintain social distancing. Plus with its lack of trees it was a great place to take our new drone out on its maiden flight.
If you’ve never experienced grasslands you can think of it as a grassy flat desert. On the drive out it looks like a whole lot of nothing but when you look closer you’ll discover an amazing ecosystem and hints of the American Wild West. The Pawnee National Grassland is a popular destination for bird watchers because it is home to Burrowing Owls, Long-billed Curlew, Western Meadowlark, Swainson’s Hawk, American Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, Mountain Plovers, Lark Bunting, and many other unique bird species (Click here for PDF guide to birding in the Pawnee National Grassland).
But if birds are not your thing, don’t worry, as you are almost guaranteed to see a few, if not many, Pronghorn – the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Often you can spot them without even slowing down or leaving your car. If you do pull over to try and get a photo most will quickly run as they are quite shy.
By far the biggest attraction to the Pawnee National Grassland is the Pawnee Buttes. Two buttes that rise about 300 feet above the grasslands that can be seen from miles away. Hiking the Pawnee Buttes trail is a great reason to get out and explore the grassland. It is a pretty easy hike with little elevation gain but bring plenty of water and sunscreen because you’ll not find any trees. Also the weather out there can change quickly so go early to reduce your chances of getting caught in an afternoon thunderstorm.
On our recent trip (see video) we camped near the trailhead and woke up to very thick, unexpected, fog. As the sun rose the fog quickly burned off and we were on the trail before 9AM. Some areas near the trailhead are closed in Spring due to nesting birds but you can still get a great hike in and it does not limit your access to the buttes.
The trail is basically an out and back trail with a loop around each butte. You can skip the loops and still get a great hike in. It was a Monday morning in May and we probably saw about 10 people on the trail the whole day which made for a very peaceful hike. The air was warm and filled with sounds of many bird calls. Being able to see to the horizon in all directions is truly and American West experience.
When you find yourself looking for a bit of an “off the beaten path” Colorado adventure, consider heading to the Pawnee Buttes Trailhead.
The Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area surrounds the Bighorn Canyon and Lake and spans the border between Montana and Wyoming. With a lake that stretches for 71-miles and canyon walls towering up to 2,500 feet, this relatively undiscovered area is a spectacular place to enjoy a day (or more) of boating or kayaking.
There are several campgrounds and boat launch points along the canyon as well as fourteen hiking and interpretive trails. Keep an eye out for abundant wildlife, including peregrine falcons, bighorn sheep and black bears or visit one of the four historic ranches to learn about some of the area’s fascinating former residents.
Only a short detour on the road to Yellowstone from the east, this area is a relatively undiscovered beauty. There are both north and south entrances, although it’s not easy to get from one to the other as there are no direct roads. From Wyoming you can visit the Bighorn Canyon Visitor Center and access the recreation area near the town of Lovell. From Montana on the north end, visit the Yellowtail Dam Visitor Center near the town of Fort Smith.
Our trip took us to the north end where during the summer (from Memorial Day through Labor Day) pontoon boats are available for rent at the Ok-A-Beh Marina. Although the northern portion of the recreation area sits on the Crow Indian Reservation, the National Park Service maintains a road to the marina via a continuously renewed lease with the Crow Tribe and public access is allowed (along with lakeshore camping) from the lake to 30’ above the “full” water level.
Thank you to Visit Southeast Montana, Visit Billings, the Bighorn National Recreation Area, the National Park Service and the Crow tribe for hosting us.
Recently, we had the opportunity to spend some time in the Caribbean – a great place to be in January I must admit. We originally booked a 4-night stay on the island of Sint Maarten. However, as we researched the area and built a 10-day trip around those reservations, our curiosity got the best of us and the trip expanded. In the end we spent time on two additional islands as well as visiting both the Dutch and French sides of Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin. All three islands – Anguilla, Saba & Sint Maarten – were magnificent and distinct, but perhaps the most unexpected was Saba.
Before we started researching this trip, we’d never even heard of Saba and once we were there it was obvious that this beautiful 8 square-mile island composed of several lava domes and a dormant volcano is one of the Caribbean’s best kept secrets. Just under 2,000 people call the island home and only a few hundred more visit each week, most just on day trips from Sint Maarten. With European small-town charm, a hilly rugged landscape and a void of sandy beaches, Saba isn’t your typical Caribbean island.
Last month as part of a two-week trip to Europe with my mom, I (Joyce) spent a week on the Rhine River on a Viking river cruise. We traveled from Switzerland, through France, Germany and The Netherlands and quickly discovered there is good reason the middle section of this busy river is known as The Romantic Rhine and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The approximately 60 miles of German countryside between Mainz and Koblenz is beautiful. Undulating forested hills and vineyards stretch out in all directions and the shores are scattered with picturesque villages. The undeniable highlight are the over 60 castles, fortresses and cloisters that dot the hillsides.
We were able to spend about 3 hours on a lazy morning cruising this section of the Rhine, with a glass of local Riesling in hand. Amidst a bit of a whirlwind of a trip, this relaxing morning was a highlight. With such amazing scenery at every turn, I decided to take the opportunity to try my hand at creating my first video to share. All the footage used here was handheld (which I’m afraid will be painfully obvious), shot with my phone – a Moto G6 – and edited in Adobe Premier Pro. Still photos were shot with our Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 and edited in Picmonkey.
