The Times and Travels of Nolan
Documenting trips I've taken and places I've seen.
Congratulations to two of my graduate school friends, Kevin and Maddy! They got married this past Saturday, October 3rd in Lincoln, Nebraska. They had a beautiful ceremony at the First Presbyterian Church near downtown that brought tears to many people’s (Elizabeth’s) eyes, and they had a hell of a reception at a winery in the …
Continue reading “Kevin and Maddy’s Wedding Weekend: Part One”
Editor’s Note: This post is a transcription of a diary written while on-site at Glacier National Park. The diary has been lightly edited for readability. 7:30 PM: Back in my futon bed after what has been without a doubt our busiest day yet. It all started for me at the same time that it did …
Continue reading “Glacier 2025 Diary: September 22, Waterton Lakes”
Here in the good old United States, it’s impressive to come across a building that’s still standing from more than a couple hundred years ago. A few of them exist – mostly cliff dwellings or earthen structures from the indigenous cultures – but there’s a reason that when I visited Las Cruces/Mesilla with my parents …
On January 15 of this year, Sam and I played a round of golf at the Links at Norman. I’d just finished up my “top golf shots of 2025” post that I was extremely proud of and wanted to try something new for 2026. On the extremely short par-3 3rd, I dropped my tee shot …
It was a bit of a star-crossed journey, if I’m being honest. From Sorrento to Naples, our transfer car driver did his best to murder himself and everyone else in it. If you’ve never seen one of those big airport transfer vehicles before, just imagine being in something roughly the size profile of a small …
You know what was the coolest part of working in Alaska in August of 2024? The correct answer is “everything”. But it was especially awesome to go to Denali one weekend for work, and then get the chance to go right back to the national park the next weekend with my family. We spent a …
Continue reading “Denali National Park: Bus Tour With Family”
Once upon a time, when planning our trip to South Korea, Elizabeth wanted to split our time between countries. Despite the fact that we’d be there in the middle of May, forcing our trip to be a little shorter than otherwise (I can’t take that long off of work in the middle of storm season), …
Italy: a land of Elizabeth’s wildest dreams. You have the home of authentic pizzas, handmade pastas everywhere, and a strong belief in the power of bread and cheese. If you cut her open on any given day, Elizabeth’s stomach might be 60% composed of those items. But here in the homeland of Italian food, she …
Think of your ideal vacation. In all likelihood, it contains some combination of three elements: cool views, cultural significance, and relaxation. Everybody has their preference of which of those three elements to emphasize. For national-park-goers like Elizabeth and me, cool views take precedence. For James and Moriah, visiting Korea was mostly an opportunity to soak …
Reminder: this diary was handwritten on the night of September 21 and has been lightly edited in the transcription. 8:20 am – We’ve just departed from the Lewistown, MT Super 8. It was definitely nicer than the [Minden, ND] Days Inn, though I would rate that comparative rather than superlative. Sunrise this morning was beautiful …
Continue reading “Glacier 2025 Diary: September 21, Two Medicine”
