Winter adventures in Jemez National Forest

It happened that on Christmas vacations, we spent three days in Albuquerque. The shutdown closed the parks and monuments, winter storm threatened to close roads in the mountain, and Albuquerque wasn’t the worst place. These three days were the test of my planning skills. I rebooked the hotel, changed routes, and planned stops on a…

Mitchell Caverns

After being closed for an extended period, Mitchell Caverns reopened just a year ago. I tried to book them last year planning our southwest trip. And it was a shock for me that it was scheduled entirely until March! This August I called them again. They have very strict instruction on how one can book…

Joshua Tree National Park in day and a half

For four years we spent Thanksgiving weekend in Northern Sierra hoping for snow and hiking among the pines. And last year was a disappointment. I wore a thing flannel shirt all weekend long. It was so warm so all snow that fell in previous days melted without signs. Was it the reason for such dramatic…

Hazy Hike at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Fall Creek Unit

Sites in the post are closed due to CZU Lightning Fire Complex. Please check web sites on the latest info. It was a smoky November. So hazy, one cannot see ridges around the Bay Area. Even the coast had poor air quality. We spent two weekends in a row doing nothing, and I felt anxious….

Fall Road trip to Hope Valley

When I first googled “Fall Colors in California,” among all the Eastern Sierra locations, I saw Hope Valley. The place was somehow totally unknown to me. Then I started my research, and the trip idea appeared. Hope Valley rests at 7,000 feet south of Lake Tahoe on the eastern side of Carson Pass. The drive,…