Category: Trip Reports
“Airsick on a West Maui/Moloka’i Helicopter Flight” (Maui – September 4, 2003)
I knew the lady trying to sell us the chopper ride was lying to us when she tried to convince us that the Wall of Tears was the same thing as Honokohau Falls. But despite the fact that she BS’ed us…
“Double Dose of Hana” (Road to Hana – September 1, 2003 and September 3, 2003)
Hana Highway was the main reason why we chose to visit Maui. So we made sure we tried to see as many of its waterfalls as possible during this week – and it required two takes…
“Third Time’s A Charm for a Haleakala Sunrise” (Maui – September 1, 2003, September 4, 2003, and September 5, 2003)
Julie and I had grown tired of getting up at 3am. Julie was especially miffed as she had been under the weather since the first attempt to see the Haleakala sunrise. Now it was the day we were…
“Deer in the Daylight” (Zion Narrows – June 18, 2003 to June 21, 2003)
The drive proceeded as normal as the daylight continued and the summer heat started beating down with increasing intensity. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something running…
“Bagging Half Dome” (Half Dome Hike – June 7, 2003)
Now that the proposal was over, the task before us was the physical challenge. With logistics out of the way, we now faced the big hike we trained two months for. The moment of truth was upon us…
“Indecent Proposal” (Yosemite Day Trip – May 31, 2003)
I had to think fast when Julie anticipated that I would propose to her on top of Half Dome, and she thought it was too cliche. And so I decided upon Alder Creek Falls…
“Two Tickets to my Driving Record” (Southern Utah – May 23, 2003 to May 25, 2003)
As we entered the township of Hatch, the speed limit was reduced to 35mph so I lazily let the car roll to the required slower speed from the 75mph we had gone, but apparently it wasn’t slowing down…
“Tubing in the Subway” (Zion Subway and Zion Canyon – April 25, 2003 to April 27, 2003)
As Julie and I made our way up the slippery wet hardened sandstone floor, we were immediately met by a series of deep pools that conspired to turn us around…
“Hoodoo Voodoo” (Bryce Canyon – April 11, 2003 to April 12, 2003)
What we didn’t expect was that the hoodoos made some pretty interesting formations like the one that resembled Scooby-Doo, the cartoon character dog…
“Spring Rain” (Zion National Park – March 15, 2003 to March 16, 2003)
It turned out that we happened to show up just in time for a parade that was going through the main road in Virgin. We might have missed most of the parade, but the long queue of waiting motorists…
“Thanksgiving amongst the Havasupai” (Havasu Canyon – November 28, 2002 to December 1, 2002)
The weather forecast had said we would face bad weather today. It certainly looked that way yesterday in Laughlin when dark skies and swaying trees seemed to indicate the arrival of a big storm…
“Crossing Tahiti Nui” (Papenoo Valley, Tahiti Nui – September 9, 2002)
As the high clearance monster truck was slowly making its way over some ledges and boulders, the tour guide Noah stopped the 4×4 and got out. Then, he said, “one of the wheels is going flat…”
“On Our Own” (Tahiti Nui – September 4, 2002)
Almost an hour had passed since we arrived by ferry from Moorea. With each “truck” that passed by that wasn’t bound for Taravao, I was beginning to think that maybe this idea…
“High and Dry” (North Dome Hike – July 6, 2002)
Even at over 8000ft, the summer heat intensified, the breathing got heavier, and my nose kept bleeding. This was not the mountain high I was looking for…
“Locked Out” (Panorama Trail – May 31, 2002 to June 1, 2002)
It took a while to get the car shuttle set up for the one-way Panorama Trail. Plenty of drama as thunderstorms threatened to sabotage our planned hike. But even as we returned…
“Crossing the Streams” (Hetch Hetchy – May 31, 2002)
It was our first time in Hetch Hetchy. Greeting us were the sweltering early summer heat and full waterfalls. I wondered what that sign in front of the tunnel was far. We were soon…
“The Wild Wild West” (Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, and Grand Canyon – June 21, 2001 to June 25, 2001)
…we then passed by a memorial providing us with a sobering reminder of how screwed we’d be if a flash flood were to occur while we were inside the slot canyon. Given the thunderstorms…
“Thinking of Jabba the Hut” (Grand Staircase, Capitol Reef, and Arches – June 19, 2001 to June 20, 2001)
After hiking along the deceptively strenuous sandy trail for what seemed like an eternity, we could see the falls up ahead behind the foliage. Its sound grew louder as we got closer…
“A Cool Adventure in the Desert” (Zion Narrows – June 17, 2001 to June 18, 2001)
But just as we thought we could cruise effortlessly, we were stopped in our tracks by a deep-looking pool with a little waterfall off to the side of a seemingly impassable wall behind it…