Posts in North America

Meandering Around Music City; or, Three Days in Nashville: Day 2

I awoke Saturday morning and was pleasantly surprised to discover that I hadn't died during the previous evening's shenanigans. Looking around, however, I did notice the yellow mustard stain on my pants, which had been hastily discarded on the floor some eight hours earlier.

Meandering Around Music City; or, Three Days in Nashville: Day 1

I don't know why exactly, but we had it in our heads that we were going to leave town at some ungodly hour. And sure enough, there we were, packed and ready to go, backing out of the driveway just after 5 a.m. on Friday morning, Google Maps fired up and pointing us in the right direction.

That Time We Froze to Death in the Hills of West Virginia

Though I left the hallowed halls of learning for the final time a few years ago, even now, as an old man, I remember those days fondly. And I remember, especially, the first big spring break trip I took as a college student to southern West Virginia.

Washington, D.C: Cold-Weather Capers in the Capital City

This was January 20, 2009, and I was in Washington, D.C. for the first time. Standing on the National Mall for the first time. Seeing the Lincoln Memorial for the first time. Witnessing the inauguration of the president, a black man sworn into the highest office in the land — for the first time.

A World Away: The Northernmost Inhabited Place on Earth

Alert, Nunavut, is the kind of place I used to look up on my laptop when I was supposed to be paying attention during class in college, the kind of place that is so unusual or awesomely difficult to get to that it presented a natural magnetic attraction for me.

8 Incredible Shots of Alaska from Photojournalist Emily Mesner

For the past few months my friend Emily Mesner has been working as a media specialist for Denali National Park and Preserve in the Interior of Alaska. She has taken countless stunning photos during here time out on the Last Frontier and she was kind enough to let me share some of them on my blog.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 25, 2017travel, photo essay, photography, Alaska, Denali National Park and Preserve, The Last Frontier, Emily Mesner, photojournalist, Igloo Canyon, Igloo Mountain, Milky Way, George Parks Highway, Northern Lights, ToklatComment

These 9 National Parks Receive the Fewest Visitors Per Year on Average

You've heard of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion. You could name in which state you'd find the Grand Tetons, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains. But the most-visited national parks constitute just a fraction of the beautiful federally-protected lands that you can visit in the United States.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 5, 2017travel, travel advice, travel guide, national parks, United States, Alaska, Washington, Gates of the Arctic, Yosemite, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Tetons, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Bryce Canyon, Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, National Park Service, Great Basin National Park, Nevada, Lehman Caves, Wheeler Peak, White Pine County, Wrangell-St. Elias National park, Kennecott, Dry Tortugas National Park, Key West, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Fort Jefferson, Katmai National Park, Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Alaskan brown bear, North Cascades National Park, Alan Wake, Goode Mountain, Buckner Mountain, Mount Logan, camping, hiking, climbing, Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior, Wendigo Mining Company, Lake Clark National Park, Cook Inlet, Arctic Circle, Kobuk Valley National Park, Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, The Last Frontier, outdoors, natureComment

New York: 'The City Seen For The First Time...'

For four-ish days near the end of August 2015, I found myself in America’s largest city, the one they say never sleeps, trying to follow suit with that oft-used phrase while there. On the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, I recount my visit from two years ago and the time I spent at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

A Night in Notoriously Fabulous Niagara Falls

Once upon a time, almost three years ago in the fall of 2014, I witnessed the majesty of Niagara Falls for the very first time — from the American side in New York. This month, though, I discovered why people tend to say the view is better from the Canadian side.

10 Things I've Learned From Being a Travel Blogger for (Nearly) 10 Years

Writing and travel are two of my greatest passions in life, so you’d think combining them would send me into a state of euphoric delirium. The truth is that being a travel blogger means I am constantly thinking of ways to make content out of my travels, which can be draining at times. When you’re in a new place experiencing new things, it’s generally best to simply be in the moment and enjoy it, but there is always a little voice in the back of my mind reminding me that these posts don’t write themselves.

One Spooky Town to Visit in Each of the 6 New England States

Sporting some of the best fall foliage anywhere in the nation, New England is kind of the place to be when you start to feel that crisp, crisp air creep back in. The color-changing parade that falls across the region like a patchwork quilt every September and October is undoubtedly one of the biggest draws for anyone looking to put a fall getaway on the books, but let’s also remember that this is spooky season, and New England is hardly wanting in the arena of things that go bump in the night. From haunted houses and hotels to ghost-riddled cemeteries and ships, you can scare your pants off properly six ways to Sunday.

The Unassailable Allure of the Great Ghost Trains of Maine

Hidden in the 17.5 million acres of forest spread across the state of Maine are a number of abandoned sites. These include vacant paper mills, deserted homes, old forts, and underground bunkers. But one of the most interesting things you’ll find in the woods of northern Maine are a pair of long-forgotten locomotive engines, rusting away in the middle of nowhere.

7 Michigan Cider Mills That'll Help You Get in the Autumn Mood

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but summer is pretty much over. Pumpkin spice-everything is already lining the shelves at your local grocery store, the pumpkin-shaped Reese’s have sprouted from the soon-to-be leaf-littered ground, and, perhaps most importantly, football season is underway. Instead of fighting it, why not just turn the page and delight in all that the autumn season has to offer?

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