The Well Worn Shoes

Wanderlust Welcome

  • Home
  • Start Here
    • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Disclaimer
    • Affiliate Disclaimer
  • National Parks
    • Acadia
    • Yellowstone
    • Great Smoky Mountains
    • Grand Canyon
    • Utah National Parks
    • Badlands
  • Dog Friendly
  • Road Trips
    • One Day In Guides
  • Destinations
    • United States
      • New England
      • Southwest
      • South
      • Mountain West
      • Midwest & Great Lakes
      • Mid-Atlantic
    • Canada
  • Gear
  • Shop
Roaring Forks: 11 Reasons To Visit

May 11, 2021

Roaring Forks: 11 Reasons To Visit

Is Great Smoky Mountains National Park Dog Friendly?

April 6, 2021

Is Great Smoky Mountains National Park Dog Friendly?

Luray​ Caverns vs. Skyline Caverns

December 11, 2020

Luray​ Caverns vs. Skyline Caverns

When Skyline Drive Is Closed At Shenandoah

November 6, 2020

When Skyline Drive Is Closed At Shenandoah

One Fall Day In Shenandoah National Park

November 3, 2020

One Fall Day In Shenandoah National Park

9 Tips For Adults Only Trip to Wizarding World of Harry Potter

August 31, 2020

9 Tips For Adults Only Trip to Wizarding World of Harry Potter

One Day in Cherokee, North Carolina

August 10, 2020

One Day in Cherokee, North Carolina

  • ← Previous
  • 1
  • 2

On the Blog

  • Destinations
  • History
  • National Park Love

Join the List

The Well Worn Shoes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Connect

Utah has a mountain where you’re allowed to just…d Utah has a mountain where you’re allowed to just…dig for your own topaz. And somehow nobody talks about it.

Topaz Mountain is exactly what it sounds like, a stretch of high desert where you show up, pick a spot in the rhyolite, and crack rock until little crystals fall out. No guide, no fee, no gift shop. Just you, a hammer, and the slowly dawning realization that you’ve become a person who collects rocks on purpose.

Came home dusty, sunburned, and weirdly thrilled about a handful of crystals. 

10/10, would dilly-dally through the desert again.

📍 Save this for your Utah list 🔨💎✨
Bryce Canyon is the rare national park you can gen Bryce Canyon is the rare national park you can genuinely do a lot in one day! I only had 1 day at Bryce and here’s what I did…

Sunrise at Sunrise Point, the Queen’s Garden → Navajo loop down into the hoodoos, the overlooks at midday, and Silent City glowing at golden hour. That’s the whole day, no wasted miles.

📍 Save it for your trip to Utah 🏜️
(Fair warning: it’s the kind of place that ruins you a little for regular scenery 😉)
spent a summer on the Maine coast and now every ot spent a summer on the Maine coast and now every other place has to file a complaint 🌊🌲🦞⛵️
Everyone shows up to Airport Mesa with a tripod an Everyone shows up to Airport Mesa with a tripod and a plan. I showed up late as usual, sprinting to beat the sun ☀️ 

Went the wrong way on the trail, realized the sun was not going to wait for me, and full-on trail-ran the last stretch to catch it.

Made it with purple cheeks and maybe four minutes to spare. Sat down, tried to look like I hadn’t just hauled it up a mesa, watched the rocks go orange.

10/10. Would panic-jog again.

Save this for your Sedona list 📍 and send it to whoever you’d absolutely make run for a sunset
Arkansas, you got me. 🌲 Arkansas, you got me. 🌲
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2026 The Well Worn Shoes · Theme by 17th Avenue