Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, February 2, 2012,
I stood outside the Wasatch Brewery, saddened. The darkened building was closed. It was the eleventh anniversary  of my mother's death and this particular pub held a sentimental spot in my heart for the occasion. Ten years ago my father and I traveled t o Salt Lake City to see the 2002 Olympics, buying tickets for the events shortly after she passed away. And it was the Wasatch Brewery where we spent our first night in town for the Games. We sampled the beers - the Polygamy Porter was outsta... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, January 26, 2012,
After driving several miles south on Interstate 17 in central Arizona, it occurred to me that I wasn't going to make it to the Montezuma Castle National Monument. There were no signs directing me to it from where I got on the highway at Camp Verde, so I didn't know where to go. I felt no regret, though, since I had already seen several of Arizona's ancient dwellings. I had a preconceived notion that all of the ancient cliff dwellings and Pueblos were largely concentrated in... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Monday, January 23, 2012,
When I was at the bookstore last, I picked up a copy of The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. It is apparently the authoritative book on the events and people surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb and its use. After a recent trip to Utah, of all places - standing where history was made at the Historic Wendover Airfield - I have become more interested in the history of the bomb and how it was developed.
The first atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy...
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Posted by Jason Hussong on Monday, December 26, 2011,
I had a fantastic year of travel. It was probably one of the best ever for me. And with it came recognition as one of the best travel blogs of 2011 by Washington Flyer. To sum up my annual adventures in a single story is like writing about your own year,  everything that has happened to you - all of the ups and downs and round and rounds - in just a couple of pages. It isn't easy. But for that opportunity, looking back on my year, I am most certainly thankful.
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Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, December 8, 2011,
In a country as vast and well connected as America, it’s hard to resist the lure of the open roads. With roads stretching across states and even from coast to coast, the world is your oyster if you’re looking for a scenic route to take. But if you were looking for the very best that America has to offer, you’d do well to head for Utah. Book flights and compare car hire, before setting off for a journey that will blow your mind and take your breath away.  Utah is a great state... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Monday, November 14, 2011,
The sun was high and hot in the sky, glistening off the salt flats in western Utah. It was not yet midday and I was already baking, hiding wherever I could find a strip of shade. There wasn't much to be had, though, at the starting line for the World of Speed races, so I made do squatting in the shadows of large pickup trucks. But while I didn't want to become lobster-red, I didn't mind a little bit of sun; I wasn't going to miss the exhilarating display of machi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Monday, September 26, 2011,
I stood nervously by the side of the track watching the drivers zip by, managing the tight curves I knew I didn't have the skill to handle. I wasn't worried about crashing, I knew I cou ld keep the car on the course, I just didn't want to make a total fool of myself amongst what I knew would be tough competition. I wanted my race at Utah's Miller Motorsports Park to end repectably, unlike my previous go kart experience so many years ago. I pulled sharply off the cou...
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Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, September 22, 2011,
Stradling the border between Colorado and Utah, Dinosaur National Monument sits on the far western - or eastern, depending on your perspective - side of the state. It is for this reason that I had not traveled there - the drive from Denver was just too long. But this past week I finally made the park I coveted for so long,  getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the new visitor center and museum before Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar attends the grand opening on Tuesd... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Wednesday, September 14, 2011,
It is no secret that I love the national parks of the United States. I make it a point to go to as many as I can each year, driving to most thanks to my parallel love of road trips. And after seeing so many impressive places through the years, I figured it was high time I put together a list of the locations in the western United States which touched me the most. The impressive natural beauty, peaceful nature, and uniqueness of these spots ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, February 10, 2011,
For years now, I've been counting all of the counties I visit as I go through each state. I used to do this with the help of an online program, but quickly became disinterested in it and reverted to the old method of highlighting a printed map. It may not be the fanciest of ways, but it's what I like since I can do it while on the go. And I've done this for the last several trips I've taken, including the one for my book. 
I've laid things out on my kitchen table, as I prepare to ...
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Posted by Jason Hussong on Tuesday, July 27, 2010,
A year ago I purchased an annual pass for the U.S. National Park Service, (left) and made it a  point to hit as many places as I could during the life of the pass. I wanted to get out and experience more of the natural world around me, as well as learn about the history of important events and places that I maybe didn't know about before I purchased my pass. Some of the places I had visited before, like Rocky Mountain National Park (above)here in Colorado, but overall I'd give it the big ol...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Sunday, April 18, 2010,
More than anything else I found myself saying "another time" as this trip through the Colorado Plateau was more of a highlight tour than a real get to know you trip. In all these places I  stopped thus far I really spent no more than four hours in any one park. I wanted to spend a lot more in each of them, but there just wasn't time as I wanted to see as many places, at least the highlights, in the little time that I had; so everything else had to wait for "another time." Sadly enough, Zion...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Monday, April 5, 2010,
I was ready to kick back and relax after a long day of driving to Bryce Canyon National Park. Sure, it was a beautiful drive and I had an absolute blast doing it, but I was looking forward to a relaxing night at the hotel reading a book or watching a movie as I looked forward to exploring a b  it of the canyon the next morning. So, with that said, imagine my surprise when one of the park rangers told me that I could see the park in its entirety in about three hours. Yep, that's three hour...
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Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, April 1, 2010,
I tend to be a bit of a planner, something I get from my father. My brother reminded me of this after seeing the "office" room in my house when he was out here this past fall for a visit. In my Las Vegas road trip I thought I did an excellent job of planning all the stops out and was positive I hadn't missed a think. Well, when I was looking at my national parks book in Blanding, Utah on a stop one night, I realized I totally skipped over something unintentionally: Natural Bridges National Mo...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Wednesday, March 31, 2010,
The Grand Ciricle is a series of national parks that can certainly be visited one at a time, but are many times put together in one great, or grand rather, trip around the Colorado Plateau throughout Utah, Arizona and Colorado. On this road trip I visited the four that are traditionally included in the Grand Ciricle - Arches, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and Mesa Verde - along with a few others that are more than worth a look. The first stop one I stopped at was Arches National Park. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Sunday, March 28, 2010,
I was rather disappointed in the second stop on my trip, particularly as I spent two days checking the place out. But, in truth, I probably cheated my visit to Canyonlands National Park by not spending more time there; the place is so massive that it requires a great many days, particularly backcountry camping, to truly appreciate it. I didn't have that kind of time though as I wanted to fit in as much as I could on my drive, even if it meant only seeing the highlights of places, so I had ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Thursday, February 18, 2010,
My father and I had so many great experiences at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics it's not even funny. To sum them up in three brief entries is impossible as I created a whole scrapbook of the  event, and still could've put more in there about what we did and saw. From watching Americans Casey Fitzrandolph and Kip Carpenter win gold and bronze, respectively, in the men's 500m speed skating to the fun times we had out in Park City, Utah, there's just so much that I could say. But really, noth... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Wednesday, February 17, 2010,
If I had to choose one event to see at the Olympics it would be ice hockey. I grew up in Minnesota and thus grew up an ice hockey fan. I became interested in the sport too late to play, which is about 8-years-old in Minnesota, but  held on to that love nonetheless. So, when my father and I purchased our ticket packages for the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, I knew I had to make sure I had some good puck in there to go with all the other events we'd see. And no, that didn't just mean me try... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jason Hussong on Tuesday, February 16, 2010,
A lot of memories are flooding back to me from my 2002 trip the Salt Lake City Olympics with my father thanks generally to the Vancouver Olympics currently taking place in British  Columbia, Canada. There are so many great things that I experienced while there that it's difficult to talk about them in one post; I mean, I volunteered during the Olympic torch ceremony here in Denver, I road tripped to the games with my father, and I experienced the rush of seven separate events. Heck, I was even...
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