Picks and Pans – In and Around Bryce Canyon

PICKS: Driving on Utah Highway 12

One of the amazing things about this Utah place is that you can go from sandstone canyon to huge dirt dunes, through a lush national forest and come out into white slickrock that stretches for miles and miles. We did exactly that when we drove on Hwy 12 from […]

Picks and Pans – From Canyon de Chelly to Capitol Reef

PICKS: Monument Valley Drive

Having just seen Chevy Chase crash the family station wagon with cinematic aplomb into the middle of Monument Valley, I knew we were about to embark on one of the most classic American road trip routes through the southwest. Monument Valley, with its geological towers and spires rising dramatically up out […]

Picks and Pans – From Flagstaff to Canyon de Chelly

PICKS: Petrified Forest National Park Petrified Forest National Park is probably one of the coolest little national parks you’ve never heard of. We decided to stop off just because it happened to be on our way from Flagstaff to Canyon de Chelly, and weren’t really expecting much, especially given our previous encounter with petrified wood […]

Picks and Pans – West Texas and Southern New Mexico

PICKS: McKittrick Canyon hike in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Not only is Guadalupe Mountains National Park located conveniently close to Carlsbad Caverns, it also has some killer hikes and is strikingly beautiful in that desert kind of way. We decided on hiking McKittrick Canyon because we arrived too late for Carlsbad Caverns or the hike […]