St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Good lord, I've been staring at this screen for 45 minutes (lie: I've been reading about dumb shit -- way too embarrassed to link it back here) and I still got nothin'. I have a theory though: it's difficult to write about islands, especially Caribbean islands. No one wants to read about crystal or turquoise waters nowadays, they want to see them. With that, let's welcome Ms. Turquoise and Ms. Crystal to the stage [applause]! Don't be shy now ladies, come on out...

Hot Springs, AK

I think it's clear where my mind is these days if I'm choosing Hot Springs, AK for this week's post. Enough winter, enough. Thankfully you're showing me some mercy tomorrow because it's going to be a balmy 59 degrees. Ten away from 69. If by some miracle the thermometer reaches anywhere near that lascivious number, undoubtedly I'll saunter about like I just had an afternoon delight. Kind of like this oblivious fellow...

National Parks, NM

Yes, you're noticing a pattern. I resort to my National Park posts when life is obstinate, forgive me. I can't believe I only wrote two posts last month. Two! That's pathetic. I'm trying to make up for it like my sleep. And to continue the candid nature of this conversation I'm having with myself*, I'll tell you how I learned of White Sands National Monument. Umm... I was kind of obsessed with this song when I was fourteen. Oh yes, a lifelong Boyz II Men fan up in this joint.

National Parks, WY

Nearly 50% of Wyoming is owned by the federal government. Learning this new piece of information, I wondered, who can be a Republican after visiting Wyoming? Big government can't be all that bad if a small portion of our landscape still looks and feels like a sepia-tinted photograph.

Grand Teton National Park

National Parks, TN

Sometimes I wonder if my aura is a vagrant cloud influencing the climate around me. When I went to the Sahara desert, it rained. When I went to the Hoh rainforest, it was dusty. And when I went to the Smoky Mountains National Park, I was tempted to light up a cigarette to capture the quintessential Smoky Mountain picture. You know the one, with sinuous fog and mirage-like mountains. I suppose this picture will do until another visit...

Of course, I'm being sarcastic. I was ecstatic the jeweled leaves weren't shrouded in the usual mist. The prismatic fall light of the northeast is incomparable.

National Parks, AZ

I love travelling alone, but I really love travelling with someone else. You're bound to compromise something, then kick yourself in the butt afterwards for being foolishly stubborn. In less masochistic terms, sometimes when you yield for another you grow as an individual.

My original cross-country itinerary didn't include Grand Canyon National Park. Looking at the pictures below -- what wasn't I thinking. I crossed it off my bucket list as a kid when I saw it from high, high, above. Thankfully, my friend bopped this old noggin' of mine, "We can't pass Arizona and not see the Grand Canyon?!"

Sunset at the canyon

National Parks, CA

Did you know California has the most national parks out of any other state? It has nine. Nine?! I'm surprised but shouldn't be considering it has everything else, beaches, mountains, sun, good Mexican for two bucks, I could go on. It's Marcia Brady of the fifty states. Is there anything this state doesn't have? Oh, wait, money. I didn't watch the show religiously, but Jan did seem like the smartest Brady. (It was probably the glasses --dumb TV stereotypes corrupting my young brain!)

Back to the nine national parks, thus far I've been to two. These are pictures from the second one, Death Valley National Park. The first national park I visited in California, in America to be precise, was Sequoia. I went there when I was seven or eight. If I cared about photography then I might be a professional photographer by now. Regardless, I was too busy estimating the possibility of Jack's beanstalk or if any of the giant sequoias could produce a giant peach. It's the best national park for kids because suddenly make-believe seems pretty darn real next to this. Yeah, slap me silly next time I complain about my childhood.

View from Dante's Peak

National Parks, WA

Why do people continue to move and stay in WA when the rest of the country asks, "What about the rain?" Well, you can literally hike in a national park after 5pm on a weekday. Weather permitting of course. Then again, after a few years, you don't even consider it.

Here are some driving times from three national parks to the nearest boisterous town or city:

Olympic National Park to Port Angeles - 7 minutes (according to Google!)
North Cascades National Park to Bellingham - 1 hour and 42 mins (drive is shorter if you're headed to the mountains)
Rainier National Park to Seattle - 1 hour and 44 mins

See, this is why I love WA so much.

Mt. Shuksan of North Cascades

National Parks, UT

Obviously I can't live in a national park, but I can live in a state which has the prettiest ones. And Utah definitely does....

Zion