Author: Chris

Branson & Table Rock State Park In 1882, Reuben S. Branson came to the southern Ozarks where he opened a general store and post office, giving the community its name of Branson. One of...

The indigenous people called it Balbancha (“land of many tongues”) and they inhabited the rich delta lands between the Mississippi River (“Father of Waters”) and Okwa-Ta (present day Lake Pontchartrain) for the same reasons...

During the summer of 1926, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads created the first federal highway system, which included designating a network of existing roads connecting Chicago, Illinois and Santa Monica, California as U.S....

San Antonio San Antonio is one of Texas’s oldest cities. Long before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Payaya people. The city of San Antonio was founded in 1718 by...

In Big Bend National Park, roads end at the Rio Grande, the boundary between the United States and Mexico. Big Bend refers to the great U-turn the Rio Grande makes here through southwest Texas,...

During the Triassic Period, 225 million years ago, Arizona was a subtropical forest just a few degrees north of the equator. Back then, North America was still part of the supercontinent called Pangea that...

Once again in 2026, I returned to Arizona for the heart of the winter months. The days are sunny and warm while the nights are cool. During my visit this year, I returned to...

Located about 80 miles southeast of San Jose, Pinnacles National Park is California’s newest national park. The park’s unique geological features have formed over millions of years of volcanic history. Around 23 million years...

Hearst Castle – San Simeon, CA William Randolph Hearst was born in San Francisco on April 29, 1863. His father, George Hearst, was a farmer from Missouri who came to California during the Gold...