hiking-Grand-Canyon

The Grand Canyon: Is It Possible To Hike To The Colorado River And Back In One Day?

Hiking Grand Canyon As our readers know, we often spend a lot of time writing about the grandeur and majesty we outdoor enthusiasts find when visiting the Grand Canyon, especially hiking to the Colorado River. John Wesley Powell, an explorer and geologist in the mid 1800’s,...
Tucson-hiking-guide

Paths of a Tucson Hiking Guide

My paths to becoming a Tucson Hiking Guide have been long, narrow, crooked and winding, like many of the trails I’ve hiked. The following is how I got started on this incredible journey. The young lady started hiking up Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail under a hammering...
reasons-to-visit-moab

Reasons to Visit Moab

Reasons to Visit Moab As our readers know, we often spend a lot of time writing about the splendor and majesty we outdoor enthusiasts find when visiting and hiking the park lands of Utah. Photographer Ed Doran waxed poetic about some of the reasons to visit Moab. “Magical rock...
rafting-in-dinosaur-national=moument

Rafting in Dinosaur National Monument – A Blend of Fun and Conservation

Rafting in Dinosaur National Monument We hiked through a narrow defile carved through red sandstone. The foliage in the canyon was lush, Boxelder, grapevines, Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir trees thrived in the moist environment. A clear stream murmured near the trail,...
hikes-in-Tucson

3 Incredible Hikes in Tucson

Hikes in Tucson The finest hikes in Tucson are arguably some of the best rambles in the world. From lush Sonoran Desert, the most fascinating of arid lands on the planet, to picturesque mountain ranges it’s easy to see what attracts hikers to southern Arizona. As you gaze upon...
surviving in the wilderness

Ten Essentials to Survive in the Wilderness

Surviving in the wilderness is an essential skill for any outdoor enthusiast. At Southwest Discoveries, we recommend a certain set of tools and level of preparedness before you embark on any outdoor adventure. Be it taking an adventure through scenic Moab, hiking trails i...
waterfalls-of-Oregon

The Waterfalls of Oregon

If Arizona is famous for majestic canyons, the Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon and Canyon De Chelly come to mind, Oregon is known for waterfalls. The waterfalls of Oregon are found in absurd abundance throughout the Beaver state. Hiker extraordinaire Bill Bens, who has accompanied...
Climbing-Mt.-Hood

Climbing Mt. Hood, Well Almost

The snow-cat rumbled to a stop amidst the barren rock and snowfields on Mt. Hood, Oregon’s iconic summit at 11,250 feet. It was an eerie sensation to be grinding along in pre-dawn blackness, we had to start our journey at 12:30 am to avoid melting snow and ice-fall near the...
Favorite Places to Travel

Favorite Places to Travel: Experts Reveal Their Top 3 Favorites

Baby Boomer Travel Experts (or Senior Travel Experts) Reveal Their 3 Favorite Places to Travel There are so many favorite places to travel in the world, including some of the most stunning landscapes located right here in our own country. Everyone knows it’s almost impossible to...
Top Baby Boomer Travel Blogs

Best Baby Boomer Travel Sites of 2017

Baby Boomer travel, specifically targeting the "Baby Boomers" demographic group born between 1946 and 1964, is an ever growing field of interest and expertise. Boomers are avid adventure travelers and life-long learners. They invented trends such as eco-tourism and many of them...
Finding Water - An Essential Skill

Finding Water: An Essential Skill for Survival

Finding Water is an essential skill for any outdoor enthusiast. At Southwest Discoveries, we make it a point to recommend a certain set of tools and level of preparedness before you embark on any outdoor adventure. Be it hiking trails in tucson, backpacking the great sand dunes...
Hiking Trails in Tucson

Hiking Trails in Tucson – Top Blogs To Read In 2017

Getting outside for an adventure on the many hiking trails in Tucson, Arizona is amazing. We are drawn to this region by its varied scenery, wide-ranging climate, and awesome beauty, rivaling, if not exceeding any other locale. While there are, many good websites focusing on this...
Hiking Bryce Canyon

Hiking in Bryce Canyon: 5 Reasons to Go

Hiking in Bryce Canyon cannot truly be summed up in words, though many of us outdoor and hiking enthusiasts try. A sprawling natural reserve and collection of giant natural amphitheaters located in Southwestern Utah, Bryce Canyon provides an incredible hiking experience and views...
Great Sand Dunes Colorado

Great Sand Dunes Colorado: A Must See Oddity

Great Sand Dunes Colorado, a National Park and Preserve located in the San Luis Valley along the eastern part of Colorado, was formed from the Rio Grande and its tributaries and was originally created as a National Monument in 1932, later established as a National Park in 2004....
Horseshoe Bend Hike

Horseshoe Bend Hike: Read This Before You Go

Horseshoe Bend Hike: read this before you go is a sign posted along the border of Utah and Arizona about 5 miles from the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and just before the horseshoe Bend trailhead. Carved out long ago by the Colorado river as it wound its way through the...
adventures in the southwest

Take a Hike: 7 of the Grandest Adventures in the Southwest

Adventures in the Southwest are trips of a lifetime that will challenge you physically and engross you spiritually, leaving an unforgettable and enduring impression of the richest wild places on the planet. The southwest contains literally thousands of amazing hikes. Therefore,...
Hiking Angels Landing

Hiking Angels Landing – Spectacular, Exhilarating & Terrifying

Despite its difficulty, hiking Angels Landing is the most popular hike among outdoor adventurers in Zion National park. One such hiking “over-the-top obsessed with hiking” enthusiast is Chelsea Alves, The Sun Kissed Hiker. Having been bitten by the hiking bug after just one hike,...

Adventuring in the Great Southwest – 50 Awesome Blogs

Getting outside and adventuring in the great southwest is an amazing, almost otherworldly experience. We are drawn to this region by its varied scenery, wide-ranging climate and awesome beauty, rivaling if not exceeding any other locale. Many places in the southwest are so...
Slide Rock State Park

Slide Rock State Park – Sedona’s Natural Waterslide

Slide Rock State Park in Sedona, AZ is a unique and must visit attraction for all outdoor enthusiasts. Located in beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, Slide Rock State Park, originally known as the Pendley Homestead, is a beautiful historic family farm and apple orchard and is one of the...
Hiking Antelope Canyon

Hiking Antelope Canyon: An Amazing Place To Visit

When it comes to picturesque Southwest adventures in Arizona, hiking Antelope Canyon has to be one of the highlights. Located on Native American Lands in Page, Arizona, Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon divided into upper and lower sections that are extremely popular with...