Super-fantastic Journeys

South Valley Park is an open space park in Jefferson County Colorado.  Consisting of 995 Acres this park sits in a unique valley on the west side of a rock uplift called the Hogback.  The park has numerous red rock formations similar to the rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheater or Garden of the Gods, just smaller.  There are two separate parking lots at the park.  The north lot is large and has lots of space, while the south parking spot is smaller but still has a good number of spots.  Restrooms are available to hikers at both parking lots.  The upper parking area also has picnic spots available after your hiking journey. There are 7.7 miles of Trail available in the park.  The trails create a variety of different loops of varying lengths.  Most of the trails in the park are rated as easy with a few sections that are rated moderate because of the increased steepness.  All Trails has eight different trails listed for this open-space park.  Connector trails also connect this park to other ope

Muir Woods National Monument is located just 16 miles Northwest of Fishermans Warf in San Francisco. Muir Woods is a stand of Coastal Redwoods protected over the years and allows visitors to walk amongst these giants.  Many of the trees in the area are 500 - 800 years old, and the tallest tree at the monument stands 258 feet tall.  The trees create their own climate below the canopy allowing many different plants and animals to live here that would not do well in the arid climate otherwise.  The Coastal Redwoods grow in Northern California, primarily between San Francisco and Oregon.  They thrive here because of the fog.  The fog will condense on the needles in the trees, then drip down into the forest below.  This process is how these giant trees get enough water to sustain the forest that they create. Being so close to San Francisco Bay area Muir Woods is a popular destination and requires you to make a paid reservation just to get parkin.  We made our reservations months in advance

 Fort Richardson State Park located near Jacksboro Texas provides hikers with four short hiking trails that feature different micro-ecosystems within the park.  The trails are not very long and are probably not noteworthy if you are traveling there just for the hiking.  If you are camping or already find yourself in the area then these trails will take you to some of the best spots in the park. I have ranked these hikes in my order of preference.  I visited in early November so the leaves were changing color and it wad for a really pretty day. I ended up hiking all four of these trails in one morning.  I arrived a little after nine o'clock and was off the trail by noon.  The trails do not connect so you have to move to a new trailhead to start each of the hikes. 1. South West Bank of Lost Creek Trail Distance: 1 mile Elevation Gain: 46 feet Moving Time: 29:13 Total Time: 32:32 Difficulty: East My Rating: 4 Stars AllTrails Link This trail  2. Rumbling Springs Trail Distance: 1 mile

 The rock formations around Sedona Arizona make it a hiker's heaven. The red rock makes exploring by foot an ideal way to experience the area and see the sites from new perspectives.  These are the hikes that I have completed in the Sedona area.  I have many more that I want to return to hike again on future trips to the area.  If you are here during the summer months I highly recommend getting up just before the sun and try to be out on the trail at sunrise.  The benefits of this are that the hiking temperatures are much more friendly and if you are lucky you will actually be able to find a parking spot at the trailhead. It is important to know that for any trailhead that is developed in the area, meaning it has a restroom, you are going to need to have a Red Rocks access pass.  The pass is $5 a day and multiple day passes are available.  Some of the more popular trailheads have a kiosk where you can purchase a pass with a credit card, but others may not have this convenience. The