The Times and Travels of Nolan
Documenting trips I've taken and places I've seen.
27. That is the number of blog posts that I have written in 2023. In a way, it’s pretty impressive. My posts probably average 1,500 words or so, which means I’d be shocked if I had published less than 30,000 words. There have been several series to work on and a few weekend trips completed …
Continue reading “Blog Update: So Many Stories, So Little Time”
Below is the results of 15 minutes of dedicated writing each day (that I could manage to do so): Monday, July 17 We leave for Colorado in 2 days. I suppose I should have done more wedding-related packing today, because I did about… zero. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t gotten anything useful done, just …
It’s unbelievable to me that this is almost certainly the last blog post I will write before I become a married man. On Saturday, July 22, Elizabeth and I will finish our 2 long years of engagement in Estes Park, Colorado. I don’t know if I’ve even had time to unpack my thoughts and feelings …
Dawn light filtered into the cabin Elizabeth, Stephen and I shared. After a surprisingly decent sleep given how much I’d shivered, this morning felt like one to jump out of bed and greet the day with enthusiasm. I checked my phone and realized it was only 6:00 am. Now, you have two choices when it’s …
Continue reading “Pinnacles National Park: High Peaks Trail”
Every vacation has a few meals that go down in the books. Not every vacation features a restaurant with a name like “Wieners of Waterton”. I mean… come on! Wieners of Waterton! You kind of have to eat at a place with a name that bold. The restaurant promises to get you eating – what …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: Wieners of Waterton, Cameron Falls”
If I asked 100 people to name a national park in California, I imagine a few responses would dominate. There would be a huge group of “Yosemites”, quite a few people mentioning “Death Valley”, and maybe a smattering of others would mention Sequoia, the Redwoods, or Joshua Tree. I’m pretty confident none of those 100 …
Continue reading “Pinnacles National Park: Flying to the Bay Area”
That is not a typo. International boat tour. I’m not sure how many places in the world let you take a boat tour on a freshwater lake between two different countries (Niagara Falls, I guess?). But the Waterton Shoreline Cruise Company has the unique ability to offer just that. They’re based out of the little …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: International Boat Tour”
A cool visitor’s center can really elevate a park visit, especially a short one. I’ve seen some cool visitor’s centers in my day – the Canyon Visitor’s Center in Yellowstone, the Travertine Nature Center in Chickasaw NRA, and the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor’s Center all come to mind – but never before had I ever seen …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: The Bear’s Hump”
Another early morning. July 16 at the St. Mary Campground dawned bright and sunny, with a near-full-moon setting back over the Lewis Range to the west. And I awoke in desperate need of more rest than we were allowing ourselves on this trip. Some context, if you’ve forgotten in the near-full-year that I’ve been writing …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: Driving to Canada (eh)”
If you ask 100 people in the United States where the Flint Hills are, I’d be shocked if more than a couple of them could point to eastern Kansas. They’re a narrow range of hilly, rolling terrain aligned from north central Oklahoma into northeast Kansas. Due to the rocky nature of the ground, the Flint …
Continue reading “April 19, 2023 Storm Chase Log: Flint Hills Magic”
