[ad#Google Adsense]Gleaming like arctic snow, the sand dunes of White Sands National Monument are anything but cold. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert just north of the border with Mexico, and have created the world’s largest gypsum dune field. Gypsum typically forms large crystals. There is a [...]

[ad#Google Adsense]The Paiute Indians call it Mukuntuweap, “straight up place.” An apt name considering massive canyon walls soar to enormous heights to be framed by a shockingly blue sky. Today, we call it Zion National Park. Amazingly, all the natural beauty and wonder in Zion National Park was carved by water! The North Fork of [...]

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is far more developed and more frequently visited than the North Rim. Nearly five million visitors a year come from all over the world. For good reason! There is nothing else like it in the world. The view is so spectacular and awe inspiring, you’ll have trouble believing [...]

The Grand Canyon has had many admirers over the years. We aren’t the first to be in awe of its natural beauty. The oldest human artifacts in the park are nearly 12,000 years old and date to the Paleo-Indian period. Ancient people have continually occupied the park since that time, and there are more than [...]

The first time you look out over the Grand Canyon, you will find it almost impossible to believe. It’s so big, so deep, so impressive, it can’t possibly be real. In fact, lots of people say that the vast vistas look more like a photograph than reality. It’s not uncommon for people to feel a [...]

[ad#Google Adsense]Frijoles Creek begins on the snowy slopes of Cerro Grande Peak and carves its way down through the Pajarito Plateau for over fourteen miles before entering the winding Rio Grande, and drops about 4,000 feet. Tucked into a deep canyons cut by the creek are the pueblo dwellings of an ancient people built between [...]

Hoodoo! Sound spooky? In truth, a hoodoo can have a spooky, eerie, yet whimsical, quality. What is a hoodoo? Hoodoo is the geologic term for the pillars of eroded rock that make Bryce Canyon National Park such a special place. Paiute history says the hoodoos are the Legend People who Coyote turned to stone for [...]

[ad#Google Adsense]Strange to think that the tallest sand dunes in the United States are actually high in the mountains, but it’s true. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, elevation 8,000 to 13,000 feet, has more than 30 square miles of sand dunes. That’s something like five billion cubic yards of sand. So how did [...]

[ad#Google Adsense]There are 637 peaks in Colorado that are higher than 13,000 feet. More than half have no names or names that are not officially recognized by the USGS. In contrast, every peak over 13,000 feet in the Alps has a name. The neat thing is, if you know a peak that has no name, [...]