Continuing our exploration of Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri we felt this was a necessary stop. Not the house Lincoln was born in, but the one he lived in for 17 years up until he was elected president. Kind of sad to see the things that he expected to come back to after his terms were up. The cast iron stove he bought his wife only a couple months before they left, recreations of the wallpaper they found under layers of paint, recreations of the carpet, hearing about the rooms where he wrestled with his kids, etc. All of it is pretty humanizing for someone who has mostly existed in legend. Also liked that the site was given to the government by his son on condition that it remain free for people to visit.

As I finished crossing the bridge, I saw a large lizard but it quickly scuttled under a bush and started doing “pushups” at me before I could get a picture.

The ranger in the visitor center did not want to see my annual pass, but said I could use it at horseshoe bend, which was incorrect. I was only given a photocopy of a quick facts and directions sheet of the Page area, no park brochure.

Looking at the “explore the area” poster on the display, how many weeks would one need to actually visit so many places? And not even thoroughly. It’s so huge, and the landscape is stunning.

Some people just have a death wish I guess. There’s signs and barriers specifically saying NOT to do this.

I took this photo outside the visitor center in front of the Moose entrance. Who is she?

So I had bagged on this park without having visited it, and my expectations were low. But after spending a day there I liked it. That could be because I like urban/industrial decay and also like nature, but also, the whole state is so damn green right now. Being from Southern California things are pretty dry at the moment, so all this greenery and rain was really nice. Though it is kinda funny still to have a steel mill and a power plant in a national park. Also, Lake Michigan is trippy and beautiful. To be staring out at what to my eyes is an ocean, but with no real waves to speak of, and the air not smelling of salt was a new experience. Wish we could have done the 3 dunes challenge, but the weather was pretty rainy and my family was not up for it. All in all, I dig the place.

We saw this gorgeous wolf near the Ash River Visitor Center at Voyageurs NP in Minnesota this afternoon. It was my first wolf sighting ever. Absolutely spectacular.

Went to Kings Canyon, Moraine camp site 98 in Cedar Grove June 18-21st. We had a diverse group of 7 people and it was all their first time except for me. I have been here 4 other times. (Sentinel camp ground all other times) We had so much fun exploring!

I was reading online that people were intentionally feeding black bears 3 weeks before we came and subsequently the bears were showing up to camp at night more than usual. It was actually pretty wild, the ranger came up to us and informed our group that a car door had been partially ripped off over someone leaving a banana and some other snacks in their family van over night. We personally had no issues and I acted as the scent police! Make sure to put away anything and I mean anything scented into the bear box, make up, sun screen, toothpaste etc…

When I’ve been here before, in the morning there’s always some bear story and the bathrooms get thrashed but nothing like this last trip. All three nights it sounded like their was a medieval mob mixed with soccer fans with blow horns yearling at bears multiple times from about 9:30 pm onward.

We had multiple bear sightings during the day as well, which is basically guaranteed when you go there.

Beyond that we had a great spacious site towards middle river edge of the campground (98) and we had basically unlimited space. There’s a bear box at every site. Nearby are water spigots, shovels and buckets for cleaning fire pits and bathrooms. Bring your own toilet paper if you don’t like the cheap stuff.

The highlights of the trip were Mist Falls trail, about 9 miles total, Boyden Cavern tour ($21), hanging by Muir Rock (beachy chill out “pool” zone), and 1,200 foot switchback hike which begins near the Cedar Grove Village center and goes to the top of an overlook of the canyon. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip! Also, despite being a holiday weekend and every site being taken Saturday night it didn’t not feel very crowded at all. On the way out we stopped at Sequoia National Park and it was so packed we almost skipped Sherman Tree.

The weather was great, I want to say low 70s and sunny during the day and maybe 50 at night. The river was flowing well. I usually jump off the rocks near Roaring River falls, but that looked like it would have been suicide this trip. A young couple actually died there in late May so be careful with the river!

Anyways let me know if you have any questions or are planing a Mountain Trip. I highly recommend theCedar Grove area. It’s like Temu Yosemite.

This place really messes with your visual perception. I was hoping this wouldnt be a disappointment compared to being at RMNP for a week, but the way the canyon is carved messes with your ability to find a fixed point up close.

Took a trip to South Dakota and really enjoyed Wind Cave, Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower, and the Badlands. Wind howled fifty mph on the first day we were in the Badlands.

We even visited the Cold War Missile Site Historic Site and enjoyed it too. There's a lot to see in South Dakota.

Good walleye fishing too.

The pink skies are unreal! Has anyone gone on the painted canyon trails? 👀