So Okay, Beaches Are Pretty Great

So Okay, Beaches Are Pretty Great

Despite the fact that I grew up on beaches in San Diego, they don’t generally draw me in these days. I’m not that person who, when dreaming of travel, immediately pictures sand and surf. But. When you’re in California, like I am, you have to go to...
Capturing the Green in Vail

Capturing the Green in Vail

On this last Scamp through Colorado, I was constantly awed by how green everything was. Green means water, and in Vail, on one hike, it meant a mud bog hidden under a patch of plants that Sam found irresistible. (I lost a bunch of photos in the switch to my new...
You Say Caldera, I Say Crater

You Say Caldera, I Say Crater

Visiting the Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico reminded me of my Ireland trip, where people who know the area assume their directions will be sufficient. They are not. I got there at 7:45 a.m. and was second in line. They only have 12 walk-in...
Hiking the Jemez

Hiking the Jemez

New Mexico doesn’t have the 14ers that Colorado does, but still, we’ve got some pretty great mountains like the Jemez, which I spent some time in a few months ago. (Jemez is just west of the weird and interesting Los Alamos.) Sam and I parked Sadie at the...
Pilgrimage for the Faithful

Pilgrimage for the Faithful

New Mexico is nothing if not complicated. Just east of Espanola, a small town south of Taos  infamous for its drugs and violence, sits El Santuario de Chimayo, a place of religious pilgrimage and healing. I’m not a religious person but have always been drawn to...