The Times and Travels of Nolan
Documenting trips I've taken and places I've seen.
The quintessential Glacier National Park experience: driving up the long valley of Lake Sherburne on a beautiful, perfectly clear July morning. Pulling over along the way to spot bears in the distance. Driving into a beautiful, craggy mountains with snow shining on their flanks. And then embarking on foot on a journey that takes you …
Continue reading “Glacier National Park: The Grinnell Glacier Trail”
(This is part two of the post series covering our October 14 along the Oregon coast. Previously, I wrote about our drive up the Oregon Coast Highway from Newport to Pacific City). It had already been an incredible day by any measure. Volcanic beaches, seals, lighthouses, whales, arches, rocks, big waves, tiny rivers, and beer: …
Author’s note: Yes, I realize that I have like 5 different blog series going on right now. They’ll get done when they get done. Fortunately, Elizabeth and I have no major travel plans in 2024 so far, so maybe I can get caught up. I’m 26 years old now! Closer to 30 than 20, managing …
When I set out to start writing this close to two weeks ago, I’d planned on a super-post covering everything my parents, Elizabeth, and myself did on October 14, 2023 in Oregon. Over 2,500 words later, I realized that that was a fool’s errand. We just did too much, saw too much, and I have …
Blue Lagoon. It’s the great white (blue?) whale of all aspiring travel influencers who descent on Iceland. Located out on the Reykjanes Peninsula between Reykjavik and Keflavik, the Blue Lagoon is in a favorable position to catch everyone from casuals who are spending a couple of days in Iceland to hardcore travelers who stop there …
There are 50 states in the U.S. Over my lifetime, I had visited 39 of them. That put me 9 states behind my parents, who are looking to wrap up their trip to every state next summer in Hawaii. Before they can reach 50, they have to get 49. And to get to 49, they …
There are two different types of campgrounds. The first type is the campground that exists for the purpose of camping. You stay there with friends or family, maybe in someone’s RV. You make campfires and roast marshmallows. During the day, you swim in the lake. You tell your friends about the time you went camping. …
We approached our honeymoon sort of like it was a multi-step process. We had to build up to the greatest adventure of them all. If getting to Iceland was like the first step, and driving the Snaefellsnes peninsula was the next, and walking into a glacial ice cave was the second-to-last step in the adventure …
July 23, 2023. It was my first full day as a married man. How did I spend it? Perhaps relaxing in my honeymoon suite with my bride, enjoying our hot tub? Maybe with a romantic dinner for two? Nah, that’s not how the newly designated Meisters roll. We had a whole list of things to …
Believe it or not, there is ice on the island known as Iceland. This may come as a shock, I know. While glaciers are in retreat worldwide, it’s going to take a couple of centuries to melt some of the great icecaps on the southern end of Iceland. The locals have long made a tourist …
