USA West

Almost all my photos of Olympic National Park are of Tween Traveler climbing on things. Olympic is an enormous park. It has alpine and rain …

Albuquerque was both the first and last stop on a spring break New Mexico road trip that also included Taos and Santa Fe. It’s a …

We loved Santa Fe pretty much the moment we rolled in to town, and I imagine that’s how most people react. The Old Town is …

Taos, an artsy town in northern New Mexico, receives a mere 13 inches of rain a year. We had the bad luck to encounter a …

Sitting adjacent to Aspen in a picturesque mountain setting, Snowmass Village, Colorado has always been a great winter ski destination. But recent updates to Snowmass …

We would have never guessed it was spring in Lake Tahoe as we climbed out of the car on a May weekend. While the ski …

In a bookstore in Portland, Oregon we spotted a book called This is Portland: The City You’ve Heard You Should Like. It pretty well summed …

Updated June 2020 Have you ever had a vacation where you booked a quick stop in a place, arrived, realized you really like it and …

We had never heard of Page, Arizona before planning our recent trip to the Southwest. It turns out Page is a good size town planted strategically …

We went to Zion National Park without knowing anything about it other than that everyone who has been says it’s stunning. Well, it is stunning, …

Updated August 2021 As my family walked toward the first scenic overlook we came to at Grand Canyon National Park, I was more interesting in …

Californians take Sonoma Valley’s wine country for granted for romantic sojourns and girlfriend getaways. But it’s also one of my favorite family destinations. It’s one …

Driving up the mountains on my way to Tenaya Lodge in early December there was still a lot of gorgeous fall foliage to see. As we …

Updated for Covid 19 The Christmas season in Denver offers a month-long series of family-friendly parades, special holiday performances, lots of local shopping, and the …

Autumn is a perfect time for a family weekend getaway to San Diego. The weather is fine, attractions are less crowded, the beaches are still …

Bryce Canyon would seem like a big enough reason (literally) to visit Garfield, County Utah. But there’s more to the area than that stunning National …

Updated March 2020 US Route 101 is one of the most breathtaking roads in America. it winds along 363 miles of the Oregon coast and is …

Here’s the cool thing about driving around or across Alaska: While our 49th state has nearly 700,000 square miles of real estate, it does not …

Park City, Utah is almost better known for its star-studded Sundance film festival than for its skiing these days. So we wondered how it would …

Updated January 2020 We went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to visit friends for Thanksgiving. It was a quick trip over a holiday with no skiing …

We love spending time on the Monterey Peninsula with our kids. We regularly make the drive 2 1/2 hours south from San Francisco. Here are …

Denver is the gateway to all the amazing hiking and skiing that the Colorado Rockies offer. But before you head to the state’s great outdoors, …

Parents sometimes hesitate to visit Los Angeles with kids. Hollywood, trendy restaurants and velvet-rope clubs don’t scream child-friendly.  But there are a lot things for …

Thanks to SeaWorld and the renowned Zoo & Safari Park, San Diego is a rather obvious kid-friendly destination for a weekend getaway or a longer …