So, we’ve been back in Boston for over a week now. I debated not even chronicling the final leg of the trip, but leaving it in Memphis felt like an unfinished job, so here we go: the final 13 days of the Great American Road Trip, coming at ya. After a fun night on the town in Memphis, we headed north into yet another new state: Kentucky. The destination was […]
We’ve come quite a way during the last five days, through significant distance and landscape changes. After nearly a week exploring the glorious parks of Southern Utah, we headed east to Colorado. We spent our first night there in Grand Junction, just over the border and about 90 minutes from Moab. The next day we headed out early to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, where we had no trouble […]
On to Eastern Utah: Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. I had visited both as a teenager and was looking forward to experiencing them again. We arrived at Arches around 9am after a two-plus hour drive from Capitol Reef. Our first stop was Delicate Arch, one of the most iconic symbols of the national park system. The arch is about a one and a half mile hike (three miles round trip) […]
After a great day in Zion, it was on to Bryce Canyon. We were stuck with a walk-up campsite in Bryce, and since they supposedly fill by midmorning we accepted the fact that we were in for another early start. Luckily, the parks are not too far apart. After securing our site in North Campground, we headed out on the rim trail, which was easily accessible from our site. The […]
It seems that everyone who visits Zion National Park has good things to say. Having now been there, it’s not hard to see why. My husband and I arrived late in the afternoon after a night in Las Vegas, where we were recovering from a five night camping stint. We were too late to claim a campsite in the park (Zion only has two campgrounds: Watchman, which is by reservation, and […]
Kings Canyon and Grand Sequoia National Parks are technically two separate parks, but they share a border and are often referred to as one. So, if you’re going to visit one, you might as well pop into the other and check both off your list. Arriving from Yosemite, we went to Kings Canyon first, where we stopped in at the visitor center and checked out General Grant, the second largest […]
Yosemite is another one of those marquee national parks that really doesn’t need a hard sell. I’m going to sing its praises anyway, because it is truly fantastic. My husband and I arrived in the afternoon after a night in Lake Tahoe. Neither one of us was in particularly high spirits, perhaps due to leaving a luxurious hotel in Tahoe and being faced with five nights of camping in a […]
Our return route to Boston currently includes 16 national parks. The second on our list after Redwoods was Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. I’ll be honest: I had never heard of Lassen before planning this trip – it’s definitely a less frequented park. It may be smaller and lack some of the grandeur of the marquee parks, but Lassen is definitely worth a visit. The extra time we […]
On the road again! As is always the case, my time at home in Portland was far too short. On this trip, it was a mere three days – poor planning on my part. My hope is that the excitement of getting back on the road will help counter the sadness of leaving my parents and a place so steeped in happy memories. We took off to the coast and […]
In the weeks leading up to our cross-country road trip, I often got asked the same question: “What are you looking forward to most?” This is a toughie. Being a travel junkie, I pretty much look forward to seeing any new place, even if it doesn’t seem interesting by typical standards. Camping in Ohio? Driving through Indiana? Visiting state parks in Northern Minnesota? Yup, I looked forward to all of […]