The giant Saguaro cacti are an iconic symbol of the American southwest, and this park is full of them! The desert has its own harsh kind of allure and we found it in abundance here.
Read MoreGrand Canyon National Park - Arizona
We rang in the the 2021 new year in a style perfect for us, by visiting Grand Canyon National Park. Even though it was a little busy, we consider ourselves lucky to get a glimpse of the canyon with snow on the ground.
Read MorePetrified Forest National Park - Arizona
225 Million years ago. That’s when the trees that would eventually become the Petrified Forest lived. As humans, it’s hard to wrap our brains around that kind of time scale. It was wild to walk amongst these fossilized tree trunks and think about all that has happened since they fell.
Read MoreMesa Verde National Park - Colorado
The first National Park that we visited that was primarily archaeological in nature, Mesa Verde left us inspired and awestruck at the engineering capabilities of the ancestral Puebloan people.
Read MoreBlack Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado
One of the lesser known, and least visited National Parks, Black Canyon of the Gunnison turned out to be one of our favorites. A massive winter storm dumped over a foot of Colorado snow on us, testing our RV cold weather preparedness. We survived, and were rewarded with the experience of seeing the park blanketed in snow.
Read MoreCanyonlands National Park - Utah
Canyonlands National Park is like the movie Inception, but with canyons. There are canyons inside of canyons and the deeper you go, the more canyons there are. The hikes were breathtaking due to both their beauty and the terror of having a three year old with us that loves to make sudden moves. Nonetheless, we loved this lesser known park that is just southwest of Moab.
Read MoreArches National Park - Utah
Arches National Park contains an unbelievable assortment of natural stone arches, but that’s not all we found there. We visited this park a few times over several days and found several hikes and features that the whole family enjoyed.
Read MoreGoblin Valley State Park - Utah
This state park was recommended to us by several different people, and we sure are glad we decided to check it out! With hoodoos as far as the eye could see, and the ability to simply explore the valley without the confines of a trail, Goblin Valley ranked among our favorite destinations so far.
Read MoreCapitol Reef National Park - Utah
Capitol Reef was the third of Utah’s “Mighty Five” on our agenda. We were struck by the coloration of the rock walls and unusual geology this park had to offer. We even managed to squeeze in a hike through a slot canyon!
Read MoreBryce Canyon National Park - Utah
From hoodoos and fins to natural bridges, Bryce Canyon National Park is a dramatic landscape. We walked along the rim of a canyon that’s not technically a canyon and tried to wrap our minds around the natural forces that created such a wild terrain.
Read MoreZion National Park - Utah
One of the more well known and popular National Parks, Zion is known for its red-walled canyons combined with lush green plant life. We got a few surprises at this park, and we also found some hidden gems.
Read MoreGreat Basin National Park - Nevada
This National Park is one of the most remote places we have visited so far. The trek through the Nevada desert rewarded us with surprising Fall colors, and gnarly 4,000 year old trees. This isn’t a park you experience on your way to something else, but if you choose to plan a visit here, we’re certain you will enjoy it.
Read MoreOlympic National Park - Washington
Olympic has three distinct ecosystems that each could warrant their own National Park. We were battling smoke and poor air quality from a particularly severe wildfire season, but we were still able to get a short visit into each area of Olympic. Also, we successfully moochdocked for the first time!
Read MoreMount Rainier National Park - Washington
Mount Rainier surprised us with its scale and beauty. Owen surprised us with his top notch zip-line ability. Our first stop along the West coast was a great success!
Read MoreAll Around Montana
We spent most of August meandering around Western Montana. We visited cities, and we dry-camped in fields near epic mountain ranges. Check out the full article to see where all our adventures took us.
Read MoreGlacier National Park - Montana
Driving on Going-to-the-Sun road was an experience all it’s own, but the dramatic mountain vistas and crystal-clear, glacier-fed lakes were on another level entirely.
Read MoreYellowstone National Park - Wyoming / Montana
Yellowstone was the first National Park ever created. It remains one of the most popular parks, and with good reason. The park is huge, and contains an astonishing number of breathtaking features. We spent five days on the West side and then decided to spend another two on the North side. Needless to say, Yellowstone impressed us.
Read MoreCraters Of The Moon National Monument - Idaho
This National Monument is found in rural Idaho. The small gateway town of Arco happened to be a perfect stopping point on our travels. We are so glad we stopped here! Craters of the Moon is an incredible, other-worldly landscape. Fittingly, the monument has a partnership with NASA to prepare astronauts to travel to the moon and Mars.
Read MoreTravel in the time of COVID-19
Yes, we are traveling during a global pandemic. It requires some special planning, flexibility, and acknowledgement that the world now is not as it was before. Learn about our thought process and approach to traveling in the time of COVID-19.
Read MoreGrand Teton National Park - Wyoming
“Grand” is an understatement when describing Grand Teton National Park. Our family especially loves the mountains, and Grand Teton was nothing short of spectacular. As an added bonus we learned one of the peaks next to Grand Teton is Mt. Owen. As you might imagine, Owen enjoyed this fact.
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