Travelers Wander. Tourists Follow.

There's a difference between visiting a place and exploring it, and that's the difference between a tourist and a traveler. The tourist arrives with a curated list. The traveler arrives with questions.

The tourist has already seen the photographs, watched the videos, and saved the Instagram posts. Their goal is to capture the same images everyone else has taken before them. The waterfall, the overlook, the ancient ruin, the famous arch. They know exactly where to get in line to capture the photo, because thousands of people have stood there before them. The objective is simple: arrive, take the photograph, post it, and move on to the next destination.

At some point in our lives we will ALL be a tourist, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you only have three days in a city on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, you want to see the famous places, take a few photographs, eat some good food, and go home. On a trip like that you're not going to have time for serendipitous exploration.

Having been a guide for over 40 years, I certainly understand the value of a guided experience. In May of 2026, I took a guided ATV tour with Kanab Tour Company in Utah. It was far better than simply renting an ATV and driving alone. Expectations were exceeded in every way. Not only did we get to see the specific bucket-list item I was after (the Great Chamber), but we saw a lot more because we took the most efficient route through a maze of trails, AND we went much faster than I would have driven without the experienced local guide in front of me. 

She did exactly what I used to do for people when I was a snowmobile guide in Colorado: here is where we can go fast, here is where we need to slow down, and here is where we can play in some sand dunes. She tested my driving ability at the beginning, saw I was capable of keeping up, and then she let it rip! She also helped with capturing that bucket-list photo of the Great Chamber. On this particular day I was being a tourist, and having a blast doing it.

The rest of that same trip was devoted to being a traveler, and travelers approach the world differently. They want to know what's over there. They see a road disappearing into the mountains and wonder where it goes. They notice a trail on an old map and want to follow it. They hear about a canyon that doesn't appear on the standard itinerary, or see an interesting formation in the distance, and resolve to hike there. Often, they aren't even looking for anything in particular. They're just "exploring" in the truest sense of the word. 

The traveler has a flexible itinerary and enough time for side trips. In some cases their only plan might be to check the weather forecast every afternoon, then decide which direction they want to go tomorrow. To experience an unhurried, months-long vacation like that is every photographer's dream come true.

The Rise of Backdrop Tourism

Something interesting has happened to travel in the age of social media. Travel has never been easier. A person can open a phone, choose virtually any place on Earth, and find the ten things an algorithm has decided they need to see.

A group of friends can pick a destination from a list of the world's most Instagrammable places, fly there, rent an Airbnb, spend a few days capturing photographs of their mobile wine-and-cheese party, then fly home.

Next year, they do it all again somewhere else.

In a sense, we're renting different backdrops for the same party.

The Eiffel Tower. Check.

A beach in Thailand. Check.

A waterfall in Iceland. Check.

A red-rock arch in Utah. Check.

The destinations and the hashtags might change, but how much of the actual place was experienced? That's the question.

Go Wide or Go Deep

What I love about exploring the Southwest is that it's one of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth, and the best experiences aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest signs. It's entirely possible to have a mind-blowing vacation without ever setting foot in a national park. In fact, some of my favorite discoveries have been places most people drive right past.

Travelers here encounter things the more casual tourists, who are laser-focused on the Mighty Five, sometimes miss completely. In the American Southwest, two of those things are the experience of absolute solitude—with no sign of civilization in a view that stretches for miles—and an almost overwhelming sense of silence and stillness. In the modern world, these things are increasingly difficult to find.

That dirt road might lead to an incredible canyon only locals know about.

A faint trail might lead to an ancient dwelling.

A seemingly ordinary cliff might contain a remarkable rock art panel.

An old map might reveal a route that hasn't been used in decades.

Sometimes you simply see something interesting in the distance and decide: I'm going to figure out how to get over there.

That's traveling. You aren't simply following somebody else's itinerary. You're following your own curiosity.

The Bucket List Isn't the Problem

There's nothing wrong with having a bucket list. I have one. The problem comes when the list becomes the entire purpose of the trip.

I've been to the Grand Canyon.

I've been to Horseshoe Bend.

I've been to Sedona.

I've been to Monument Valley.

Okay, but what did you actually experience while you were there?

Did you get off the main road?

Did you explore the surrounding country?

Did you learn anything about the people who lived there?

Did you find something that wasn't in the brochure?

Did you have an adventure? Or did you simply stand in the designated spot, take the designated photograph, and move on? There's a huge difference.

The Southwest Rewards Wanderers

The American Southwest is particularly good at rewarding people who are willing to wander. You can spend a lifetime exploring this country and still barely scratch the surface.

There are thousands of canyons.

Ancient trails.

Cliff dwellings.

Rock art.

Old mining roads.

Forgotten settlements.

Hidden springs.

Remote overlooks.

Strange geological formations.

And countless places that will never become Instagram famous—and are probably better because of it. You don't need to see everything. You just need to be willing to look beyond what everybody else is looking at. That's where the adventure begins.

Why I Created The Wanderer's Guide

I've spent more than 40 years exploring the Southwest. During that time, I went from being a pretty typical tourist to being a traveler. I learned that some of the best adventures begin with a very simple question: "I wonder what's over there?"

That's the spirit behind The Wanderer's Guide. While it includes all the most popular spots for tourists, it doesn't simply tell you where everybody else is going. It helps you explore the often overlooked spaces between those bucket list destinations.

The guides, maps and GPS tracks I've put together are tools for people who want to get beyond the obvious—to find interesting places, follow old trails, discover archaeological sites, explore remote landscapes and experience the Southwest for themselves.

You don't have to be an extreme adventurer. You don't have to hike 20 miles into the wilderness. You don't even have to leave the pavement every day. You just have to be curious  and willing to take the little side trail. Climb the hill. Walk around the corner. See what's there.

Because there's a big difference between going somewhere and exploring somewhere.

A tourist asks:

"What should I see?"

A traveler asks:

"What can I discover?"

The Wanderer's Guide isn't just a collection of destinations. It's an invitation to explore beyond the obvious.