Skip to content

Home
Life, Etc.
Running
Travel
U.S. National Parks

national parks, snark & occasional feelings

MARYLAND || TERRAGOES.COM

MARYLAND || TERRAGOES.COM

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Terra, a 30-something runner, writer and wanderer on a life-long quest to visit all 400+ U.S. National Park sites. Based in Richmond, Virginia, with two fluffy wolves and one cheap cat.

INSTAGRAM

terragoes

4 Years & I still miss you every single day. 💔

4 Years & I still miss you every single day. 💔

Happy Veterans Day to all my brothers and sisters

Happy Veterans Day to all my brothers and sisters in arms, to those who’ve served before me, those servicing alongside me today and those precious babies who are just starting their military careers. After more than 17 years of service, which has largely included shoving a camera in people’s faces, I’m still mostly having fun.

#veterans #veteransday #vet #army #pao #camera #soldier #nationalguard #inyourface #media #press #photography

Ubehebe Peak tops out at 5,678 feet. For reference

Ubehebe Peak tops out at 5,678 feet. For reference, that’s just 100 feet below the tallest mountain in Virginia. At the summit, there’s a logbook and a U.S. Geological Survey marker. I climbed Ubehebe on Oct. 12, 2020, and was the first person to sign the book since March. For the duration of my climb up, mine was the only car in the lot. I had the place to myself for full hours of the day.

That’s the thing about Death Valley that I love. It offers an abundance of remote adventure opportunities, of which the climb to the top of Ubehebe Peak is just one. It is not hard to escape a crowd in Death Valley, not difficult to find yourself alone inside of a canyon, on top of a mountain, standing alongside a creek bed. It is not impossible to be the only human inhabitant within a 10-mile radius.

More words about @deathvalleynps at terragoes.com.

#deathvalley #nps #parks #usnationalmonuments #california #ubehebe #mountain #hike #climb #travel #wanderlust #exploreca #Hiking #desert

So dramatic. #deathvalley #nationalparkgeek #usn

So dramatic.

#deathvalley #nationalparkgeek #usnationalpark #mesas #badlands #nps #park #wanderlust #explore #travel #california #scamper #views #nature

Desolation Canyon, Death Valley National Park - I

Desolation Canyon, Death Valley National Park - I don’t even know what led me to this trail, but I can tell you I found it and the view excellent until I managed to trip on my own feet & smash into the desert floor with my face and left hand. The result was a pretty serious nosebleed, one black eye, a couple sizable bruises on my legs, a hand that’s still sore a week later & a bruised & scratched up nose. As clumsy as I am, it’s frankly a little amazing I haven’t fallen and smashed myself before this. It rattled me, for sure, but I’m thankful it wasn’t worse, thankful it happened within cell range, thankful I was less than a mile from the car and thankful I got to see the incredible desert this year, that I was able to be in my most favorite place.

#desert #DeathValleyNPS #nationalparkgeek #nps #nationalparkusa #california #nationalparklove #californiacaptures #hiking #wanderlust #travel #exploreca #hikingtrail #desolationcanyon #views #adventure #nationalpark #deathvalley

“So, I love you because the entire universe cons

“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
⠀
& also me, to the desert.

I still have lots of stories to tell about my time

I still have lots of stories to tell about my time here, but today I climbed the tallest peak in @deathvalleynps, Telescope Peak. It’s the tallest mountain I’ve ever climbed, by a lot, and it only sunk me deeper in love with Death Valley. From the summit, I could look down at Badwater Basin, the lowest place on the continent, and look across the mountains and truly, it was epic. I am so happy, so free, so good.

I climbed most of this peak two years ago and have

I climbed most of this peak two years ago and have thought about it ever since. The view, the solitude, the magnitude of both, it was a big part of what pushed me to come back, because I wanted to summit this little peak, wanted to visit this special place again. Round two and magic still held.

This place makes me wonder if I’ve ever really b

This place makes me wonder if I’ve ever really been in love, makes me wonder if true love only exists between me and the wildest of places. Without a doubt, it is certainly more deserving of my love than most.

In the morning we hunt crabs, sniff in the directi

In the morning we hunt crabs, sniff in the direction of herons that land in the yard, bark at birds and watch boats go by.

🖤🐺 🐺🖤

Really love what they’ve done with the place. .

Really love what they’ve done with the place. .
.
.
#rva #streetphotography #blm #richmond #va

It’s time, y’all, time for a change. . . . . #

It’s time, y’all, time for a change.
.
.
.
.
#saytheirnames #blm #rva #blacklivesmatter #richmond #rvaprotest #virginia #streetphotography

Proud of this city, proud of these voices. Black L

Proud of this city, proud of these voices. Black Lives Matter.
.
.
.
.
#rvaprotest #2020 #blm #blacklivesmatter #rva #richmond

Escaped yesterday. ... #mountains #blueridge #virg

Escaped yesterday.
...
#mountains #blueridge #virginia #travel #local

Acadia National Park || The fog & the mist & the m

Acadia National Park || The fog & the mist & the melancholy mood of Maine was suiting me just fine, thanks. I’d climbed up Cadillac Mountain, and back down, too, on a fog-filled & rainy day. Later, I’d get a beer & a pile of wings at a local’s bar & they’d shout to one another about the audacity of me climbing the mountain on a day like that. They looked at me, shook their heads, and then tried to tell me about the moods of the weather, the way the fog moved, interspersed with a few true or tall tales of lobster fishing. -
In recognition and celebration of #NationalParkWeek, I’m scampering through my camera roll. This week, I’ll be sharing a few photos from my favorite parks, along with 100ish words on the park, the moment and me. #100parkwords ....... #nationalpark #parks #acadia #maine #wanderlust #explore #trails #hiking #CadillacMountain #nps

Even when the trail is new, the mountains are fami

Even when the trail is new, the mountains are familiar. These are the mountains that raised me, the ones that roll their way down the eastern edge of North America. They make up the oldest mountain range on the continent, formed some 480 million years ago. They are not the jagged, towering peaks of the west. They are ancient wisdom and quiet comfort. They make me feel infinitesimal and feral, encased and released, and they are the place I run to when the weeks are hard, when the noise is too much, when I just need to slip into a mountain embrace. /————————/ In recognition and celebration of #NationalParkWeek, I’m scampering through my camera roll. This week, I’ll be sharing a few photos from my favorite parks, along with 100ish words on the park, the moment and me. #100parkwords #nps #nationalpark #at #trails #wanderlust #travel #exploreva #virginia #scamper

In recognition and celebration of #NationalParkWee

In recognition and celebration of #NationalParkWeek, I’m scampering through my camera roll. This week, I’ll be sharing a few photos from my favorite parks, along with 100ish words on the park, the moment and me. #100parkwords
...
I finally felt like I’d caught the joy I’d been chasing. I was halfway back to the car, the sun was thinking about setting and the temperature was cooling. I was dirty, had slept on the ground the last four nights, and blessedly alone, slowing slipping into the feral wildness that comes so easily on these trips. I stopped on the trail. I wanted to capture me in that moment. I wanted to capture me after gazing across the magnificence of Zion Canyon from Observation Point, me after scolding a chipmunk for attempted snack robbery, me flooded and flushed with happiness.
#nps #nationalpark #zion #thegreatoutdoors #explore #travel #scamper #wanderlust #utah #zion #obervationpoint #usparksandmonuments #nationalparkgeek #parks

Three things: I really miss scampering. I really m

Three things: I really miss scampering. I really miss the desert. I’m still madly in love with Death Valley.
#latergram #scamper #deathvalley #nationalpark #explore #wander #nature #thegreatoutdoors #wanderlust #nps #nationalparks #latergram

Wildlife viewing, 2020 style. #catsofinstagram #a

Wildlife viewing, 2020 style.

#catsofinstagram #awfulcreature #COVID19 #stayhome #cats #cat #plantmama #plants #home

Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

Death Valley's Ubehebe Peak & the Tremendous Power of Solitude
How to Spend 20 Days in Italy
Self-Doubt & Caution at Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park

Goodreads

Find Something

Search for:

Categories

Categories

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2020 Terra Goes. All Rights Reserved.

Boston Theme by FameThemes