Travel

The cherry blossoms of Japan are legendary. Sure, the food is delicious, and the sake is to be cherished, but the cherry blossoms are beauty beyond words. Stunning white and pink blossoms begin to show in Spring. Southern Japan blooms first in early March, then Tokyo flowers mid-March through early April, and finally, the harbinger of spring...

My incessant pestering of my friends, Ashley and Jason, had finally paid off and we were on our way to Hurricane Ridge to play in the snow. They had been avoiding this journey for a month. Often their reasons were things like, “it’s cold,” and, “there’s snow.” But my persistence really wore them down, and my friends decided to...

Few things bring people together faster than living in a car. The conversation goes like this. Person 1: “Where you do live?” Person 2: “I live in my car.” Person 1: “That’s great! You wanna drink some beer and go climbing later?” Person 2: “Sweet! Yeah. I’ve got some green too, so we are all set.”

Huge peaks in the distance, massive animals proudly strutting the fields, and sheep with horns so big the obvious fact must be mentioned in their name. The visual impact is so great, you might miss the tiniest critters whose diminutive stature makes them a challenge to spot. Their desire to go unnoticed generally leads to most of...

When Ethel and I arrived in the Grand Tetons, it was early spring. Snow still covered much of the area which caused most of the roads to be closed. The only grassy areas of the park were in the lower elevations which concentrated all the animals into the fields. Looking over the herd of elk and bison...

After spending many days far off the beaten path on forest service roads, my arrival to Gardiner Montana was a much-anticipated event. It was going to have all the amenities! A paved road, a restaurant, even a bathroom that wasn’t a tree. I was excited for the comforts but wasn’t exactly wielding high hopes for great wildlife...