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Category: Camping & Hiking

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve: Four Million Acres of Solitude

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve: Four Million Acres of Solitude

Lake Clark National Park isn’t an easy place to get to. Without any access roads or ferry service, a bush plane flight or boat ride is required to get here. However, we found it well worth the effort. In fact, traveling to and from Lake Clark was one of our favorite experiences on our entire Alaska road trip. The rugged beauty and wildness here are astounding. Lake Clark National Park is home to active volcanoes, craggy jade mountains, glacial rivers,…

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Backpacking Denali National Park: What You Need to Know

Backpacking Denali National Park: What You Need to Know

Backpacking Denali National Park is a bucket list item for many outdoor enthusiasts. It’s also a great way to see the park beyond the established roads and trails. In fact, there aren’t any trails in much of Denali’s 6 million acres, so backpacking here is a true wilderness experience. Upon arrival in Denali National Park, we didn’t have any plans to spend a night in the great outdoors. However, after a few days of witnessing the vast landscape of rolling…

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Exploring Glacier Bay National Park by Land (and Sea Kayak)

Exploring Glacier Bay National Park by Land (and Sea Kayak)

Where are the glaciers? That was our first question when we arrived at Glacier Bay National Park. As it turns out we didn’t have the typical experience here. In fact, we’re part of the 10% of park visitors that set foot on land in Glacier Bay National Park. The other 90% see the park from the deck of an Alaska cruise ship and spend just 8-10 hours in the park. Glacier Bay National Park is the first official national park…

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Guadalupe Mountains National Park: Hiking on an Ancient Sea Reef in the Sky

Guadalupe Mountains National Park: Hiking on an Ancient Sea Reef in the Sky

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is one of those parks that doesn’t get a lot of limelight. In fact, a few years ago, before we started our quest to visit all the US national parks, I hadn’t even heard of Guadalupe Mountains. It’s neighbor in New Mexico—Carlsbad Caverns—gets a lot more attention and when you think of a national park in Texas, it’s usually Big Bend that comes to mind. It may be due to its modest nature, but Guadalupe Mountains…

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24 Hours in Petrified Forest National Park

24 Hours in Petrified Forest National Park

Petrified Forest National Park is a place where you can travel through time and literally see layers of earth’s geological and human history. The petrified wood of the park’s namesake are actually fossils from the Triassic Period—225 million years ago. Traces of human habitation here can be dated back over 13,000 years. And within the last hundred years there’s a rich history of our modern society’s interest in the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Before I get into the details…

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What to do in Big Bend National Park in a Week

What to do in Big Bend National Park in a Week

I’m not sure if it’s the honeymoon period of the first couple weeks back on the road, but it’s safe to say I’m obsessed with Big Bend National Park. In fact, it quickly earned a spot on my list of top 5 favorite national parks. I’m sure the folks at Big Bend will be thrilled—after all, it’s a very prestigious list 😉 Pin this post for later > “Big Bend” refers to the 90 degree turn that the Rio Grande…

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Complete Alaska Packing List for Spring and Summer

Complete Alaska Packing List for Spring and Summer

Everything You Need to Pack for a Trip to Alaska In a month we’ll be leaving for the Last Frontier. This is our final Alaska planning post that we’ll be publishing pre-trip. You can find out how to plan your trip to Alaska here, and what to do to get your vehicle ready for a long road trip here. Today we’re sharing a comprehensive Alaska packing list before the peak travel season to help anyone else who is preparing for…

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Death Valley Travel Guide: Our Favorite Places (and Where We Wish We’d Gone)

Death Valley Travel Guide: Our Favorite Places (and Where We Wish We’d Gone)

Death Valley. The name alone conjures visions of a desolate wasteland strewn with the bones of unfortunate wildlife and a few lonely tumbleweeds rolling in the wind. While we did drive through a dust storm to reach Death Valley National Park, what we found was a place teeming with geological marvels, diverse terrain, and one of the cutest wildlife encounters we’ve had yet. Pin this post for later > Why is it Called Death Valley Anyway? Before we get into…

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Hiking the Ice Age Trail in Winter

Hiking the Ice Age Trail in Winter

Imagine a picturesque winter wonderland in the forest. Soft flakes falling from an inky gray sky. Snow dappled trees gently creaking and groaning. Rolling hills covered in fresh white powder. Add a few well clothing-layered strangers stumbling and tumbling up and down said hills and you have the setting for our hike on the Ice Age Trail last month. Pin this post for later > Reconnecting with our Home State Since leaving Portland to begin our nomadic journey almost two…

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5 Best Free Hot Springs in Mammoth Lakes, California

5 Best Free Hot Springs in Mammoth Lakes, California

Last fall we went on a hot springs adventure through the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. We’ve rounded up the best free hot springs in Mammoth Lakes that are easily accessible. In other words, we were able to drive to them in Stan the Tan Van, a low-rider adventure mobile. Also, did I mention that all these amazing pools are free? Yeah, this is definitely our kind of budget travel place. Humans have been visiting hot springs for thousands…

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