Joshua Tree National Park is a strange beast; and not just because of the alien-looking trees that give the park its name. Arriving at the park, it's not immediately obvious what makes it National Park worthy. There’s no deep canyon to peer into, no snow-capped mountains to summit, no herds of bison roaming along the plains.
Yosemite welcomes over 4,000,000 visitors every year. You wouldn’t believe that number if you visit in the middle of February, though. Roaming the park in the dead of winter gives you the same feeling of being alone with unspoiled nature as John Muir felt when he first wandered into Yosemite valley over a century ago.
On a recent visit to Utah, we ended up getting to Arches National Park right at the tail-end of the of the recent government shutdown. That meant the parks were “open” (because it’s impossible to physically close a 120 square mile swath of red-rock canyons) but not exactly “open for business.”
One year after our big move to Portland, we thought it would be fun to argue over our favorite spots around the city. A few six packs and more than one awkward “agree to disagree” moments later, we arrived at this roundup of our favorite places to eat, drink and explore in our new home.
Resolutions are meant to be a challenge, but they’re also an opportunity to open yourself up to something new. Sure, you can lose weight by going to the gym or save money by opening a savings account, but the resolutions that tend to stick are the ones in service of a larger goal.
Ski season is in full swing; the powder is fresh and the aprés are flowing. Whether you’re heading up to your local hill, or packing for a weekend of storm chasing, we’ve got a little inspiration and advice to get after it from one of the best skiers we know.
Around this time of year most of us set our out-of-office email replies and hit the road to travel home for the holidays. But for some, life on the road makes “home” a more complicated concept.
Natives to the PNW know that a backyard isn’t a fenced-in plot of land with a well-manicured lawn, but rather anywhere a pair of hiking boots can carry you. For the Rumpl X Yakima, we wanted to pay tribute to our new mountain home; Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge.
