Some Things Are Cool
"You don't know if you don't go."
The remote mining town of Kennecott and its supporting outpost McCarthy have their roots in the early 1900’s, long before the Wrangell St. Elias National Park was established in 1980.
In 1899 two prospectors bushwhacked their way into the Kennicott Glacier Valley and discovered what was then the richest copper deposit in the world.
Last Saturday I flew into Anchorage from Orange County after a quick lay-over in Seattle. Two days later I caught an eight-seater dual prop plane from Anchorage to Glenallen (186 miles / 300 km) and then squeezed into a Cessna mail plane to get from there to McCarthy (100 miles / 160 km). (more…)
About a month ago I went to Joshua Tree National Park with my brother and my cousins who live in Ridgecrest. We hiked the California Riding and Hiking Trail (weird name, I know) to Quail Mountain from the Juniper Flats staging area.
I made up a visual index of my best stories from the road.
This is where I recommend you start.
My favorite pictures from across the country, individually annotated and organized by state.
Short descriptions of the history and geography of each national park with a few recommendations on what to do.