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PARIA CANYON 40 miles from White House Trailhead to the canyon’s mouth at Lees Ferry. Usually a three-day backpack. The highlight is the confluence and Buckskin Gulch.   Buckskin Gulch. Rated the #1 slot canyon on the Colorado Plateau.  COYOTE BUTTES … Continue reading →

The Anasazi arrived in about 1000 AD and built dwellings from stone and wattle/mud under overhangs. Tree ring analysis of logs from ruins showed a drought from 1276 to 1299. By 1300, all the canyons were empty. They migrated south … Continue reading →

Wyoming YELLOWSTONE National Park Grand Prismatic Spring Lower Yellowstone Falls. 308′ high. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Old Faithful Geyser Devil’s Tower, Wyoming rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River. It is the world’s largest example of … Continue reading →

Colorado Plateau. This area is the uplift through which the Colorado River flows. It covers the SW corner of Colorado, NW New Mexico, South Utah and North Arizona. 300 canyons enter the Colorado River giving an almost endless variety of … Continue reading →

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has three components. 1. ESCALANTE CANYONS. The most popular area of the monument. The Escalante River was the last discovered river in the continental US. Calf Creek Falls Goblin Valley  Little Wild Horse Canyon. Go up … Continue reading →

Tassili N’Ajjer is in the far seatheast where Algeria borders Libya and fuses with the Sahara. It is one of the most spectacular landscapes on earth – orange sand dunes, rugged canyons, arches, rock formations. It may also have the … Continue reading →

A 6-hour bus ride south through hilly terrain covered in thorn trees and cacti (a cross between saguaro and organ pipe) brought me to Tupiza (pop 23,000, elevation 3200 m) in the southwest corner of Bolivia. It is about 40 … Continue reading →

Patagonia is a geographical region at the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. It includes the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, glaciers in the west and deserts, tablelands, and steppes … Continue reading →

Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground.  Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes. Buried karst in … Continue reading →

CHINA  November 2014 This was my first trip to China. I flew from Xian to Jiuzhaigou Airport. A 40 km bus stopped for 4 hours in Huanglong National Park and continued to Jiuzhalgou NP making it very convenient to see … Continue reading →