Writing — Page 18

A trip through Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California, where active hydrothermal features, steaming fumaroles, and a still-recovering volcanic landscape make for an otherworldly experience.

Exploring Olympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, where temperate rainforest, rugged Pacific coastline, and alpine wilderness coexist in one extraordinary park.

A visit to Yosemite Valley, where Half Dome and El Capitan frame a landscape so dramatic it almost feels engineered, and the waterfalls are at their thunderous peak in late June.

A trip to Death Valley, the hottest and driest national park in the United States, where the alien beauty of salt flats, sand dunes, and painted badlands stretches in every direction.

Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, where Trail Ridge Road cuts through alpine tundra above 12,000 feet and elk wander through meadows at dusk.

Oregon's tallest waterfall drops 620 feet in two tiers along the Historic Columbia River Highway — the most visited natural site in the Pacific Northwest, and for good reason.

A 176-foot waterfall right next to the Historic Columbia River Highway, with a short trail to Ponytail Falls where you walk directly behind the cascade.

Idaho's Niagara — a 212-foot waterfall on the Snake River that's wider than Niagara Falls, hidden in plain sight in the middle of southern Idaho's high desert.

A roadside pull-off at 7,562 feet on Nevada Highway 431 with one of the best panoramic views of Lake Tahoe — two dozen parking spots, zero admission, infinite sky.