Posted on April 15, 2018, 7:20 pm, by QT Luong, under
Recollections.
By the fall of 1993, I still didn’t own a car. Back then, the same UC Berkeley student group that I joined for my first trip to Yosemite organized a yearly outing to Death Valley during the Thanksgiving school break. I didn’t know what the place was about, but I had known its name since […]
Posted on April 1, 2018, 12:11 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Gateway Arch just became America’s 60th national park. Following my visit to photograph it, I elaborate on why it is an odd choice, try to understand why and how the name change happened, and voice my personal opinion about the new name. Why was Jefferson National Expansion Memorial renamed Gateway Arch National Park? In the […]
Posted on March 25, 2018, 12:57 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Thanks to my early visit to Gateway Arch National Park, it looks like as was the case for 58 and 59, I was the first to photograph the 60 national parks. This time it was only by a few days, as some of the people who had photographed the previous 59 national parks showed up […]
Posted on March 19, 2018, 6:50 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
On February 22, 2018, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial became Gateway Arch National Park, our 60th national park. Believing that the national park designation carries a special meaning, I greeted the news with perplexity. However, I traveled to St Louis, Missouri, that same week to try and extend my record of being the first to visit […]
Posted on January 15, 2018, 11:45 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Joshua Tree National Park is well-known for the namesake Joshua trees and rounded boulders. The Jumbo Rocks area, home to the largest campground in the park (124 campsites), contains some of Joshua Tree National Park’s most whimsical rock formations. The most interesting are unnamed, and their locations passed from photographer to photographer. You’ve seen the […]
Posted on November 17, 2017, 3:12 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Accessing lava flows along the coastal plain of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park required an arduous trek during my
Posted on October 27, 2017, 11:17 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Easily missed, but aptly named Fairyland Point offers quiet, a great view, and the trailhead for one of the best hikes under the rim of Bryce Canyon National Park. On the way to the renown viewpoints over the Bryce Amphitheater such as Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, and Inspiration Point, most visitors miss a turnoff in […]
Posted on October 13, 2017, 6:10 pm, by QT Luong, under
Resources.
I have seen quite a bit of confusion about how many national parks there are in America, and what distinguishes them from other public lands, including state parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and other units managed by the National Park Service. In this article, I break down the names of the public lands and examine […]
Posted on October 6, 2017, 6:11 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Isle Royale is a roadless national park more than forty miles long, and exploring it in depth on foot requires backpacking or long hiking days, which contributes to its reputation as an involved place to visit. A little known alternative way to explore the park is by water, which allows you to make short work […]
Posted on September 29, 2017, 9:08 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Carolyn and Rolf Peterson, who together have raised a family on remote Isle Royale, lamented that Ken Burns didn’t roam the national park, but instead just zeroed in on a single overlook. Which one did he choose? Lookout Louise. Expansive elevated views do not come easily on Isle Royale because of a combination of gentle […]
