Summer of 2013, my best friend Eric and I went on a road trip, going west, with a few destinations in mind other than Yellowstone National Park. We decided that we should probably go there because Yellowstone is, after all, the United State’s first national park, one of the most…

Accessing an experience.

Tourists come to national parks in order to collect an experience, and for each person it takes a certain kind of action to catalog an experience. For many, that action is photography. If the tourist can walk away from a park with photographic evidence that they were there, then they…

Nature is terrifying. It is especially so if only a few feet from where you’re standing the ground suddenly drops hundreds of feet onto an array of oddly shaped rocks. I can imagine that being a parent and having several rambunctious kids running around a canyon rim with only a…

Dad and I drove through Wyoming, skipped northern Utah, and headed straight for Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is 8,000 feet above sea level, and, at its highest point, is 2,500 feet higher than the highest point on the east coast. The park is known for its clean and crisp…

After spending three days in the Black Hills area, Dad and I needed a break from the crowds that surrounded Mount Rushmore. We were barely a week into the trip and were already getting tired. Before we started packing we pulled out the road atlas and scanned it to see…

The first stop on our trip was Mount Rushmore, a national monument that stands out from the rest on my list of parks to visit. The monument is the quintessential photo opportunity of the American identity, an iconic image that’s been photographed millions of times, most of them indistinguishable. Everyone…

Every individual experiences this world a little differently, coming from particular perspectives, personal histories, and identities. My perspective comes from my identity as a citizen of the United States, born in the West and raised in the East. Additionally, my experience is shaped as a young restless student of both…