While there are tons of routes to Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail is the classic one. But why is this one trek in Peru so special that more…
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Hiking
- “Mesa Verde was never unknown or a lost civilization. Just unknown to new settlers.” The narration in the park film at Mesa Verde National Park sheds light on…
- Despite being a massive 971 km², Capitol Reef National Park has really managed to keep a low profile. Unlike Grand Canyon, you’ll find uncrowded trails and plenty of…
- When it snows in April, you’ll watch fire-colored hoodoos disappear into thick piles of snow. Sharp fins climb out from the earth, slowly eroding with time. Descend into…
- When early Mormon settlers arrived in the place now known as Zion National Park, they called it “Zion”– the heavenly city – because of its exceptional beauty and…
- The Wave is something you’ll probably see on Instagram a dozen times before you ever know where it actually is. The desert-hued sandstone lines sweep continuously. They ebb…
![🌵 The Grandest Canyon 🌵 USA (2019) I was fully prepared to dislike The Grand Canyon. Of course, I’m not talking about the canyon itself. I more expected to be disappointed with what humans had built around something natural. Wild. Immense. After seeing the crowds at Machu Picchu or oversold hoards at Angkor Wat, I was skeptical that we’d be able to avoid the crowds. How would the US choose to cash in on it’s second most visited National Park?But I’ll come right out with it: my skepticism about the Grand Canyon was overplayed. It’s not the deepest, nor the longest, nor the widest canyon in the world. Yet I still came away believing that it IS the grandest. It’s the greatest masterpiece of the Colorado River, some 5 million years in the making. Walls of worn sandstone, shale, and limestone create a gradient of colors that drop down from the canyon’s rim. 446 km (29 km across at it’s widest point) is a big area to get lost in. All it takes is a walk below the rim or a detour off the shuttle route to have the world’s grandest canyon [mostly] to yourself.](http://scontent-ort2-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/c08e7e39dfb215fb66170abba016d952/5DE2E746/t51.2885-15/e35/s320x320/64586682_2340296216243565_2620258413058736904_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.cdninstagram.com "🌵 The Grandest Canyon 🌵 USA (2019) I was fully prepared to dislike The Grand Canyon. Of course, I’m not talking about the canyon itself. I more expected to be disappointed with what humans had built around something natural. Wild. Immense. After seeing the crowds at Machu Picchu or oversold hoards at Angkor Wat, I was skeptical that we’d be able to avoid the crowds. How would the US choose to cash in on it’s second most visited National Park?But I’ll come right out with it: my skepticism about the Grand Canyon was overplayed. It’s not the deepest, nor the longest, nor the widest canyon in the world. Yet I still came away believing that it IS the grandest. It’s the greatest masterpiece of the Colorado River, some 5 million years in the making. Walls of worn sandstone, shale, and limestone create a gradient of colors that drop down from the canyon’s rim. 446 km (29 km across at it’s widest point) is a big area to get lost in. All it takes is a walk below the rim or a detour off the shuttle route to have the world’s grandest canyon [mostly] to yourself.")
