The Olympic Peninsula is a place of contradictions — ocean fog, moss‑draped forests, mountains that trap clouds, and roads that lead you places you never meant to go. I’ve been camped near the Hoh Rainforest for several days, exploring the coast, chasing mountain views, and wandering wherever curiosity pointed my truck. This is the story
Leaving Glacier and heading toward the North Cascades in northern Washington felt like the start of a long, beautiful day — but also a long drive. Too long for one push, honestly. So I decided to break it up with a quick overnight in Sandpoint, Idaho. It wasn’t the exact halfway point, but it was
The first time I visited Glacier National Park was on a train trip from Seattle to Chicago. Amtrak times those long routes so the most scenic stretches unfold during daylight, and the quieter miles pass while you sleep. Their timing was a little off that day, but I had a window seat, my big backpack
Growing up in Miamisburg, Ohio, the word atomic was just part of the local soundtrack. Mound Labs — the old Monsanto nuclear research facility — sat right in town, and plenty of my classmates had parents who worked there. We knew they handled radioactive materials, but the message was always the same: it’s safe, it’s controlled, and the
My impressions of Idaho began long before this trip — a quick train ride years ago, a drive across the southern edge of the state, and a general sense that Idaho looked a lot like its neighbors. And in many ways, that still feels true. Much of southern Idaho blends visually with eastern Washington and
When I finally returned to Western Nebraska, I really wanted to spend some time with Raegan and Wyatt. I hadn’t spent much time with them in the run-up to graduation. And I had planned more time but the detour to Phoenix changed my timing. They understood. So we picked something they would enjoy together. I
Every graduating senior in the Schumacher family gets a scrapbook — birth to age 18 — a tradition that started years ago and has become a rite of passage. Natasha had done a great job beginning Brenna’s, but life on a farm with three kids, jobs, and 4‑H animals meant the scrapbook had fallen off
Leaving Torrey, I felt that familiar mix of satisfaction and anticipation — the joy of finally seeing Capitol Reef, and the quiet excitement of knowing the next chapter was waiting for me on the road ahead. My destination was Nebraska, where I’d promised to help Natasha finish Brenna’s graduation scrapbook. But first, I had a
Utah has five national parks — the “Mighty Five.” Over the years, I had visited four of them. In 2011, Natasha, Brenna, and I camped our way through Arches and Canyonlands, surviving windstorms in our tent and driving a rented Jeep far closer to canyon edges than any of us needed to be. In 2013,
Anyone who has been in my house since 2015 has seen the photograph. It hangs in a place of honor — a swirl of red sandstone, light pouring through a narrow opening, shadows curling like ribbons. I took it in Antelope Canyon on a trip with my son Jeremy, and it remains one of my
