Explore the journey — one trail, museum, meal, and memory at a time.
Salt Lake Museums
I spent a full day moving between the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Natural History Museum of Utah, drifting from modern abstraction to deep time. From Sol LeWitt wall drawings and recycled-tire sculpture to human evolution, dinosaurs, and the rock cycle, the day unfolded as a quiet conversation between art, science, and place—ending downtown over dinner with a friend visiting Salt Lake City on business.
Jefferson City-Missouri Capitol
From quiet mornings in Rocheport to the grandeur of Missouri’s Capitol, this visit to Jefferson City revealed a blend of history, art, and unexpected stories — from Benton’s mural to the mysterious extra star in the state seal.
Nelson-Atkins Art Museum
I explored the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, wandering its sculpture gardens, discovering Noguchi’s stone pieces, marveling at El Anatsui’s Dusasa I, and losing myself in Monet’s water lilies. This mix of outdoor whimsy, modern masters, and Impressionist calm made for one of my most rewarding museum stops.
Enchanted Highway
Driving the backroads to Regent, North Dakota, I found myself on the Enchanted Highway, a 30-mile stretch lined with massive scrap-metal sculptures dreamed up by Gary Greff. From geese soaring across a steel sunburst to a 100-foot dragon squaring off with Sir Albert the knight, each piece rises unexpectedly out of farmland. What started in the late 1980s as one man’s fight to keep his hometown alive has turned into a quirky success story that still draws thousands of visitors each year.