Bryce Canyon Sunrise

December 1st, 2020 Today we’re starting a new journey in Bryce Canyon National Park. With the sun rising, this unique landscape of hoodoos and pine trees is starting to illuminate. More tomorrow,Kelly Photos of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together. This series features travel photos from my archives, shared

Bali Beach Sunset

November 20th, 2020 Today we’ve come down from the mountain and journeyed to Bali’s west coast just in time for sunset. Hear the waves and feel the breeze. What a glorious place in the world. More tomorrow — I’m bringing the fire.Kelly Photo of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic

Into the Slot Canyons, Part 2

November 15th, 2020 Yesterday, we navigated through Dry Fork Slot Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. Today, we’re continuing on the trail through Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons. Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon starts with a 12-foot climb at its entrance. Shallow depressions in the sandstone can be used as hand and foot holds but they’re so smooth, they’re of little

Into the Slot Canyons, Part 1

November 14th, 2020 To those of you celebrating today, Happy Diwali! Wishing you health, happiness and joy during this festival of lights! *** Today we’re hiking into the slot canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. To get here, we drove 25 miles down dusty, dirty Hole In the Rock Road. From the parking area, we hiked a mile

Yellowstone’s Old Faithful

November 13th, 2020 Old Faithful has captivated audiences for decades. When we arrived to view it last month, several hundred people were sitting in its half-circle amphitheater (socially distanced, for the most part) awaiting its eruption, which happens reliably about 20 times per day — hence the name Old Faithful. Lucky for us, our timing was fortuitous — we only

Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring

November 12th, 2020 Picking up from yesterday’s daily post, today we’re taking a walk around Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring. To understand what an anomaly the spring is in the context of the surrounding landscape, it’s helpful to look at the aerial map view: The spectrum of colors catches the eye, and the white deposits of the silica-rich water extend all

Edge of the Firehole

November 11th, 2020 To all our veterans here in the U.S. and around the world, including my father and grandfather, thank you for your service. My freedom to write and to roam comes from all of you. Happy Veterans Day. ** Tonight I’ve gotten caught up watching a Nova special about the construction of Petra in Jordan. Interested in watching?

Black Sand Basin Hot Springs

November 10th, 2020 Good guesses on yesterday’s mystery post! What I like about the photo I shared is that it looks as if it could be a close-up or it could be from an airplane. In truth, it was captured while walking on the boardwalk next to Excelsior Geyser in west Yellowstone. We’re still in the park! Over the next