Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons

Lower Antelope Canyon

Having traveled to some amazing places in the U.S., we often see ads with jaw-dropping outdoor photos, and we know exactly where the photograph was taken. Nearly every shot of a grizzly bear standing at the top of a waterfall trying to catch salmon as they fly past his muzzle was taken at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park. And when a woman with a bottle of shampoo in hand flicks her luxurious hair in front of a sandstone backdrop that looks like it’s from another planet, we know the ad agency photoshopped her into Upper Antelope Canyon.

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Buckskin Gulch

After our first visit to Buckskin Gulch, we looked at each other and asked, “How could there be a place this amazing that we’ve never heard of before?” Dumb luck was on our side when we hiked it for the first time; the canyon was bone dry, which saved us from having to wade through the pools of stagnant water that usually greet hikers on their trek through the longest, deepest slot canyon in the southwest.

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Endless Summer in Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park

Every autumn when the rain starts falling in the Pacific Northwest, and the wind turns chilly, we can’t help but think of our trip to Big Bend National Park. It was the end of October when we visited, and hiking in the desert heat taught us that if we ever felt that fall had come too soon, all we have to do is visit Big Bend to get back to summer. The temperature reached 98 degrees on Halloween that year. (November through March are the park’s busiest months because daytime temperatures are mild.)

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