For the five years when our two kids were between the ages of 8 and 17, our family had one sacred summer ritual: climbing Half Dome in California’s Yosemite National Park. The George Family Summer Half Dome Hike became one of those cherished family rites that will bind us throughout our lives. But the beginning […]
This June day, I spent the morning squatting in a clearing just off Upper Terrace Road at Mammoth Hot Springs in the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park, hand-digging Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens). A hermit thrush serenaded me as I worked, its fluting song echoing through the nearby grove of Douglas-fir trees: first a long clear […]
As travelers begin summer pilgrimages to America’s cherished national parks, we at Off the Beaten Path take the opportunity to acknowledge the phenomenal work of our partner, National Parks Conservation Association. NPCA has worked fiercely and tirelessly on behalf of national parklands since 1919. In celebration of their centennial year, the organization posted a collection […]