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Category: Camping & Hiking

Secrets and Surprises in Washington State

Secrets and Surprises in Washington State

We experienced déjà vu driving through eastern Washington on our way to North Cascades National Park. It reminded us a lot of North Dakota. There’s a similar abrupt change from farmland to rocky dry wilderness. We were initially worried that the free campsite we’d selected was in the middle of a giant wheat field. I’m talking wheat in all directions as far as you can see. Suddenly the wheat fields turned into rocky craggy formations. We found our camp in…

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Things Go Wrong on the Road – Glacier National Park Part II

Things Go Wrong on the Road – Glacier National Park Part II

Glacier National Park. The park that we were most excited to explore. Amazing lake hikes, beautiful waterfalls, and the most spectacular white peak mountain views. Glacier is also the park that kicked our asses. We cracked the radiator getting here. Our computer broke. Stan popped a tire on the bumpy roads and needed new brakes from all the mountain driving. And I suffered a mild case of Bell’s Palsy. Part I of our adventure had its ups and downs. Determined…

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Things Go Wrong on the Road – Glacier National Park Part I

Things Go Wrong on the Road – Glacier National Park Part I

We made it! Glacier National Park may be the place we were most excited to go as we traveled the country. 1 million acres. 130 lakes. 200 waterfalls. The Rocky Mountains. How can we go wrong? We decided on a primitive campground on the southeastern edge of Glacier National Park called Cut Bank Campground. It was down a 5 mile dirt road. We didn’t realize it was a super rough dirt road. While Stan makes for a cozy rolling home,…

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On and Off the Beaten Path at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On and Off the Beaten Path at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a must stop when in Tennessee or North Carolina. Hey, could 11 million people be wrong? That’s right in 2016 the Great Smoky Mountains was the most visited national park with over 11 million visitors. This was more than double the number of visitors at the Grand Canyon—the number 2 visited park. Our stay in the Smoky Mountains was full of wildlife, history, and some of the most amazing views we’ve encountered. There is…

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Mystery and History at Shenandoah National Park

Mystery and History at Shenandoah National Park

Arriving at Shenandoah National Park felt like being transporting into an eerie, moody mystery novel. The park was socked in by thick damp fog. The kind that’s more cloud than fog. Leaving all surfaces glistening with a cold wet sheen and reducing visibility to minimal amounts. As we wound our way further up the mountains, the tree-lined road slowly appeared out of the dense white background. From the overlooks we could see only hazy outlines of tree tops below, with…

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5 Ways to Save Money Camping

5 Ways to Save Money Camping

Camping is our primary lodging on this adventure for a few reasons: be in nature, we love to camp, and save money. Once you’ve made the initial investment for gear (or a van/RV), camping can be an inexpensive way to travel or get away for the weekend. However, there are a lot of expenses you may not think of that can add up quick. We’ve camped at just about every type of site through the years. We’ve found that these…

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The Bright Lights of Congaree National Park

The Bright Lights of Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park is a swamp, and it is awesome! Well, not exactly, technically it is a floodplain forest. But it really is awesome! The second National Park on the southern circuit of When You Wander may not be a swamp, but has some swamp-like qualities. When you think of a swamp you may think of mud, frogs, snakes, mosquitoes, and other nasty things. And you’d be right! Congaree National Park has all these. However, within its 26,276 acres Congaree…

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Ghost Towns, Critters and Free Camping in Mississippi

Ghost Towns, Critters and Free Camping in Mississippi

Finding a great campground to split up a long drive can be a relaxing and cheap way to get some rest and see a bit of local nature and history. Between Hot Springs, Arkansas and New Orleans we were looking for such a stop and freecampsites.net pulled through again with another great free camping spot. We made the Rocky Springs Campground on the Old Natchez Trace in Mississippi home for the night. One of three “primitive” campgrounds on the Natchez Trace…

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First National Park of the Road Trip : Hot Springs, Arkansas

First National Park of the Road Trip : Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our time in Hot Springs, Arkansas began like much of the trip thus far. Torrential rains, black skies, angry clouds, and flash flood warnings. I won’t go into too much detail for fear this blog is starting to sound more like a weather report than a travel story, but it is rather unnerving to have your phone blaring emergency alerts at you every few hours. We were able to snag one of the last four sites available at Gulpha Gorge,…

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Free Camping Adventures in the Mark Twain National Forest

Free Camping Adventures in the Mark Twain National Forest

This post about our camping adventure in the Mark Twain National Forest contains a little something for everyone: a helicopter, the 8 Preachers of Berryman Trail, foraging for food, sheriff’s deputies, local trackers, ax restoration, and lost hikers. No, this isn’t a plot line for a Walt Longmire Mystery. It’s just another day When You Wander with Tom and Liana. Mark Twain National Forest After leaving a rainy Hannibal, Missouri, we headed further south past St. Louis to the Mark Twain…

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