Northern Lights in Kansas City: How to See & Photograph the Aurora Borealis
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are a rare and special treat for Kansas City. Sitting at Latitude ~39°N, KC is much further south than the typical viewing zones, like Canada or Alaska, and sightings of the aurora borealis are extremely rare. In an average decade, visible auroras might occur fewer than three times. However, we...
Voyageurs National Park in Northern Minnesota
It appears that 2022 is the year I visit national parks experiencing extraordinary flooding events. In the spring, massive flooding washed out vast parts of Yellowstone National Park just after I visited during record snow. And recently, I visited Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota just after historic flooding caused by heavy rains and snowmelt in...
Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge
I have been setting my sights on day trip destinations near Kansas City. I'm seeking places to branch out and shoot landscape and wildlife photography. I visited Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Missouri, about 90 minutes drive north of the city. Loess Bluffs is a birdwatchers' favorite thanks to its terrain of wetlands...
Four Seasons of Loose Park Photography in Kansas City, MO
One landscape photographer pro-tip I received was to choose a place near your home that you can return to again and again, at all times of the year, at all times of day, for photography practice. It teaches you how to look at a place from so many angles and in so many circumstances with...
50 Miles on the Flint Hills Nature Trail
My two fitness goals this year were to summit another 14,000-foot peak and do a 50-mile hike in four days. I completed Huron Peak in Colorado in August. My first attempt at the 50-mile hike was in May on the Knobstone Trail in Indiana but got rained out among other challenges. When it came time...
Stillness in Stratton, Colorado
It’s hard to stop moving. It’s nearly impossible to sit still, like a stone. Silence is hard to come by. To be truly alone is exceedingly rare. Except in rural America. Midwestern grasslands and agriculture still hold space for this experience. I’m alone at a tiny country cabin in Stratton, Colorado, just on the other...
Summer Camping at White Rock Mountain, Arkansas
My brother and I have been looking for a good excuse to use all the backpacking gear we invested in (hiking to the top of Pikes Peak was its inaugural journey), so we put a camping trip on the books for White Rock Mountain, Arkansas in the Ozark National Forest. Getting to White Rock Mountain...
Small Town America: Weston, MO & Atchison, KS
Without fail, October through December every year is a madhouse for us. As if the holidays weren't enough, both of our jobs tend to ramp up at end-of-year and everything moves at breakneck speed. Between the chaos of our day jobs and my dog Otto's terminal illness, it has made travel and quality time more...
One-Day Business Trip to Detroit
Some people say Detroit is a dead city. Some say that historic Motor City has been pushed past the point of no return after taking an economic beating in the last decade. But I spent just one day in Detroit on business, and I can personally attest that Detroit is very much alive, and very...
Dog-Friendly Minneapolis Road Trip!
Part of my beagle's bucket list was to take a short road trip. We chose Minneapolis because it is a short enough drive (about 6.5 hours - stop at the approximate midpoint in Des Moines for Zombie Burger) to do by myself from Kansas City, the weather is unbelievable in the summertime, and the city is...