Tag Archives: Exploration

To The Top! (of Texas): Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Have you heard of the term “highpointing”? That is the name given to the quest of outdoorsman seeking to climb the highest peaks in each of the 50 states in America. At Guadalupe Mountains National Park in northeast Texas, we scratched one off of our list. The Guadalupe Peak trail provides passage to the rooftop of […]

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Art by Earth: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

As our adventures march on this year, they are, as a collection, becoming more and more surreal. One day we’re standing on the rooftop of Texas, and the very next we are standing inside of our home planet, 750 feet underground beneath the Earth’s surface in New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns National Park can most adequately be described […]

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Joy’s of Off-Season Traveling

It’s easy to see why the Great Smoky Mountains are the most visited National Park of them all. The park is located in a crossroads of sorts through the American southeast, straddling the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. Winding through the heart of it is one of America’s most famed and prized scenic byways, the […]

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Virgin Islands National Park Multi-Sport

About 60% of the island of St. John where Virgin Islands National Park is located is protected parkland, and that excludes the 5,650 acres of parkland area that is submerged beneath the water surrounding its shores. St. John is the least developed and smallest of the three best-known United States Virgin Islands, and with just a […]

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Backcountry Camping: Everglades National Park

Islands covered in mangrove trees, with their wrangling and tyrannical roots, are not made for walking on or pitching a tent if you get lost among them. They are also very difficult to navigate—even with a nautical map, compass, GPS, and coordinates to guide you. We decided our GPS didn’t work crossing mile 8 on […]

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I’m Going to Every U.S. National Park During 2016…

59 parks in 52 weeks  –  that’s fewer than one per week  —  and it’s all happening by road, save a few plane rides to reach island destinations. Everybody I’ve told seems genuinely excited for me. I am excited for me. And I am excited for Jon, my sig-O and better half, with whom I’ve […]

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What To Do With A Few Days In Santiago, Chile

I didn’t do a whole lot of research of what to do in Santiago before I got on a plane to go there because I didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend—just 2-and-a-half days and 2 nights. I showed up with a multitude of devices loaded with apps that I rely heavily upon when I travel (e.g. TripAdvisor); […]

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A perfect rainbow over Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia

South Georgia Island – The Land That Time Forgot

I started writing this article and found myself discussing the general history of South Georgia. While the basics of this lost-at-sea island are fascinating, at least I think they are, I know that what my adventurous readers are here for is a taste of the experience! So I’m going to share four that blow any overview out […]

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Hoisting a National Geographic / Lindblad Expeditions flag on the Antarctic continent with explorer Peter Hillary — life can be surreal. (Credit: Jonathan Irish)

Explorer Peter Hillary, The Earthquake in Nepal, and a Moment in Antarctica

This is me goofing off with explorer Peter Hillary — hoisting a flag as if we are conquering the great white continent after a wild expedition… Peter is probably most commonly recognized as the eldest son of the first man to summit Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary. They were the first father/son to both climb […]

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