Category United States of America

Sutro Heights And Baths

Sutro is a name that can be found across San Francisco but it is most notable in the sunset district where Ozymandias-like ruins of the mining tycoon are now overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the Pacific Coast.

Sutro is a name that permeates San Francisco. Roads and civic works were named in commemoration of this mining engineer turned Mayor. But of all of these commemorative locations, there is a set that was our favorite place to take visitors when we lived in San Francisco and continues to be one of my go-to stops whenever I'm in town: Sutro Heights And Sutro Baths.

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Mount Tamalpais

Mount Tamalpais towers over the north bay, with vistas of both the Pacific Ocean and the Bay. Along with hiking, it is an ideal stop for sunset.

While we were on the other side of the bay, another box on my "to do" list was to hike Mount Tamalpais. The mountain towers over the bay with breathtaking panoramic views. Tamalpais towers 2,576 ft from sea level. It's summit is part of Mount Tamalpais State Park.

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Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay. This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge. This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves. It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive. Oh, is it worth it!

We were looking for a place to sleep. There is no shortage of options along the California/Arizona border. Snowbirds flock to expansive RV parks for the warm weather. But we weren't interested in parking in a lot, staring into the windows of neighbors right next to us. No, we wanted something rugged and beautiful. We wanted the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

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Blue Skies Over Texas

We rolled into Texas late at night and crashed outside of Dallas.

Back in Texas, we finally saw the sun and were treated to blue skies. Up until this point, we had traveled under constant cloud cover. At the beginning, I loved the moody atmosphere set by the clouds. But, after enough shots were abandoned due to the lack of any color at all, I was ready for some brilliant blue to set off my shots.

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New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

New Orleans Pharmacy Museum explores the history of medicine from leeches to voodoo and everything in between.

Medicine may be one of the most expressive examples of how society has progressed and improved over time. Doctors have done a lot of crazy and down right dangerous things in the attempt to heal people, whether their malady is real or perceived. When I asked a doctor friend "at what point in history was visiting a doctor more likely to help the patient than harm?" he didn't have to think hard. He immediately replied: with the invention of penicillin.

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