Hot Springs NP in Hot Springs, Arkansas was delightful. A great retreat in the 2nd smallest national park (The Gateway Arch is now the smallest) to help us end our trip and definitely a unique experience to have a bath attendant lead you through the bathing process in a bathhouse that has been in operation … Continue reading Hot Water →

I was so unexpectedly surprised by the beauty and vastness of Big Bend and I 10/10 recommend this park that easily climbed into my list of faves. 2-3 days here is not enough to even scratch the surface of what this park offers and it's definitely on my list of must-return-to parks. Upon entering the … Continue reading Big Sights at Big Bend →

As I write, we're driving across the plains of Texas and we are on the last leg of this journey traveling northward for the last time after leaving Big Bend. We just stopped at border patrol and my husband had a hard time telling the agent where we were going as he forgot the name … Continue reading Batastic →

Southern Arizona is gorgeous! I have seen and felt for myself and now understand why people retire here. The evenings are cool and the dry heat makes you shiver when you get out of the pool even if it's 100 degrees out and sweating actually helps to cool you (my husband's shirts actually remained dry … Continue reading Wood you Look at That Cactus? →

My parents flew from Minnesota to join us for this one. My husband has wanted to see this since grade school. Dad suggested that we hold hands with our heads down, walk up to the rim and raise our heads together to see it all at once. It was a pretty good idea. We got … Continue reading I Shale Say, I’ve Never Seen Anything Like It. →

Uffda! Not the best time of year to visit the place which holds the world record for the hottest temperature. Furnace Creek in Death Valley reached 134 degrees Fahrenheit in July of 1913. We were hoping the weather would be a bit more mild by the time we reached the southwest in September but alas, … Continue reading Hotter than… a Hot Place →

As we made our way over to Pinnacles National Park (one of the "newer" national parks established in 2013) we were delayed for a bit as we had to get an oil change (15,000 miles and counting!) and restock up on supplies so we didn't get into the park until about 4 pm. There is … Continue reading Pinnacles and Island Peaks →

Kings Canyon and Sequoia are two great little national parks connected by the General's Highway that contain some of the largest trees in the world by volume. They were both full of surprises though instead of just trees and we had a great 3 nights spent in Three Rivers, CA exploring both of them. Three … Continue reading Canyons, Caves, and World Record Trees →

Ok, I think I'm finally ready to admit I'm getting a little "parked-out." I realized this first when I looked at all the granite when we reached Yosemite Valley and was like, "meh," and secondly when I couldn't come up with a clever title for this post. Also, we're already on our way to Channel … Continue reading Yosemite →

We had a beautiful clear sunny day to explore Lassen Volcanic National Park, home to the 4 different types of volcanoes (cinder cone, shield, composite and lava dome for all you budding volcanologists) which is a rarity. I love that this park is also far from the maddening crowds - hardly a fellow hiker or … Continue reading Hot or Not? →