Great Sand Dunes National Park is one of the most fascinating places on Earth. I know — strong claim — but this place is truly unique. The hike to High Dune offers the perfect introduction to the vast dunefield, striking a great balance between effort and reward with breathtaking views of rolling sand dunes and the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains. In this article, I’ll take you on a hike into the dunes, weave in some story time and life lessons inspired by the sand, and share the essentials to plan your visit.

Monterey Bay, located on California's central coast, is renowned for its stunning marine life and spectacular whale-watching opportunities. In this article, I’ll take you on a tour to see these magnificent creatures, share insights on why Monterey is such a prime location to spot marine life, and provide everything you need to know before venturing out on a shaky boat into the ocean. While every tour is exciting, this one on a beautiful fall day in October 2023 was particularly special, as it featured an unexpected 'celebrity': the patchy white-gray orca, Frosty.

The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve is a remarkable place to admire the spring bloom of the stunning California state flower. A place that looks in summer like the sun must have burnt every trace of life to the ground and it is hard to imagine that there is any time during the year where something, besides maybe a cactus, could thrive there. In spring, however, nature proves otherwise.

The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a remote place in the heart of California's Central Valley that comes to life with wildflowers during spring, occasionally showcasing a superbloom in ideal years — as it was the case in 2023. The monument is a vast grassland that historically stretched across much of California’s Central Valley. Today, it is, in the midst of agriculture and the oil industry, the last remnant of this type of landscape in California.

Every year, starting in October, thousands of monarch butterflies embark on the journey of their lives, escaping freezing temperatures and seeking the shelter of the mild climate along the California coast. It’s a journey that none of the travelers have ever undertaken before—without a map, without a compass, and relying solely on their instincts. This repeated journey is made by a unique generation—a generation with lives so drastically different from those of their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and even great-great-grandparents. All of this happening simply because they were born in the fall.

Yosemite National Park is beautiful any time of year, but visiting in winter offers a chance to experience a true winter wonderland. If you visit from mid- to late February, you may also witness the phenomenon known as the firefall, when the last rays of sunlight hit Horsetail Fall at just the right angle, making it appear as if fire, rather than water, is falling down. Join me on a snowy hike along the Mist and John Muir Trails to Vernal and Nevada Falls, as well as the attempt to see the firefall. Plus, learn what to know before hitting the icy trails in Yosemite in Winter!

The Twenty Lakes Basin Loop is a stunning hike that begins at Saddlebag Lake and leads you through a series of breathtaking alpine lakes and scenery. Along the way, you'll be treated to impressive views of nearby mountain peaks. In this article, I’ll take you along with me on this hike, which I did in late summer after a particularly snowy winter. The lingering snow patches, which persisted until September, made the hike both tricky in places and exciting.

What was that? It sounded like someone or something broke a bunch of thicker branches and I immedetly knew that it was impossible that a squirrel, a mouse or even a coyote could have caused this. The trail was rather narrow at this point. To my left side, there were thick bushes that were hiding the river down in the valley below us. The sound was so close. It must have come from these bushes! I turned my head to the left and all I could see was fur in the midst of greenery, A LOT of brown fur.

While summer is slowly winding down in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere at the end of September, the hottest place on Earth is still sweltering under the scorching sun.