Park Stories

White Sands February 22–23, 2025 It’s a short trip, we know, to spend just one night on a weekend in a park. It leaves a lot on the line for that one…

Virgin Islands February 3–6, 2025 Sometimes, the journey to and from a national park feels just as long as the time spent in the park, and the remote location of Virgin Islands…

Hawai’i Volcanoes January 18–20, 2025 Back in April of 2024, my first visit to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park left me a bit lacking. We didn’t experience any volcanic activity—the very namesake of…

Guadalupe Mountains At 8,751 feet, Guadalupe Peak of Guadalupe Mountains National Park holds up the roof of Texas. This mountain desert getaway offers rugged beauty at all levels. The backcountry bowl…

Carlsbad Caverns October 4, 2024 It’s a short but welcome notice that my special-use permit to photograph the infamous bat flight has been approved, so I shift plans and head up a…

Big Bend October 2–4, 2024 Big Bend National Park is a 12.5 hour drive almost due south of us and so to maximize our time in the park we leave early enough…

Rocky Mountain September 30, 2024 The hour is early. It’s 4 a.m. and we must leave our home in Monument, Colorado, to drive up the front range to Rocky Mountain National Park…

Yellowstone September 9–12, 2024 It’s 5:00 a.m. and we take to the road for a ten hour drive from Colorado to Yellowstone National Park. Recommended for it’s abundant wildlife, our first stop…

Sequoia August 31–September 2, 2024 We are driving back from the eastern backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park on our way to Sequoia National Park. Turning up Generals Highway, we make our…

Kings Canyon August 29–31, 2024 Our visit to Kings Canyon begins with a backcountry foray from the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After landing in Fresno, California, we hop in…

North Cascades August 20–23, 2024 Leading up to the trip, we watch the status of several wildfires in the Cascade mountains, keeping a close eye on the weather. We land in Seattle…

Great Smoky Mountains August 7–8, 2024 It’s the afternoon and we are driving east on Interstate 40 from Nashville, Tennessee, to our friend Dan’s house in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Arriving in…

Mammoth Cave August 5, 2024 After a two hour drive from Nashville, Tennessee, we find ourselves pulling into the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center roughly thirty minutes before our cave tour. Upon entry…

Redwood July 27–30, 2024 The commute from the Medford Airport has us a little concerned as vast acreage of upland forest is left decimated by wildfires. But as we near the coast…

Lassen Volcanic July 25–26, 2024 Typical of California summers, smoke from a wildfire hangs in the distant air. We have our eyes glued to the horizon the entire drive down to Lassen…

Crater Lake July 23–25, 2024 The roughly two hour drive from Medford to Crater Lake rolls by in patches of charming farmland and forested mountainside. Upon arriving we stop in at the…

Theodore Roosevelt June 9–11, 2024 Leaving home mid-morning, we drive the ten hours to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit arriving at the Painted Canyon Nature Trail just before sunset. Upon entering…

Channel Islands May 23–24, 2024 After flying in late the previous night, we rise early to drive through the L.A. traffic to the Oxnard Marina where we are to board Island Packer’s…

Hot Springs May 15–16, 2024 Our trip lands us in the quaint town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, mid-afternoon. With only 24 hours to fully explore the park, our first item of business…

Hawai’i Volcanoes April 28–30, 2024 Venturing to the Hawaiian Islands is no small feat, but when flight prices dropped we had to take advantage of the opportunity. Having boarded our flights to…

Grand Canyon February 11–13, 2024 We’re starting off our tour of Grand Canyon National Park with a bang—perhaps even the highlight of the entire trip according to our expectations. Having just visited…

Yosemite January 4–6, 2024 An worthwhile method of escaping Yosemite’s hoards is to visit during the off-season. Not only does this offer a quieter experience, but oftentimes a cheaper one at that….

Acadia October 11–14, 2023 It’s 10:23 p.m. and we just landed in Bangor after a long 9 hour travel day. It’s dark and foggy at the airport as we pick up our…

Glacier September 16–19, 2023 Like most trips, we land in a regional airport (Missoula, in this case), rent a car, and must still drive three hours to the park. Pulling into the…

Bryce Canyon August 27–28, 2023 A little after sunrise, we begin the drive up the Mount Carmel Highway from Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon. The Utah sun is shining clear and…

Zion August 25–27, 2023 In August, Zion National Park is hot. So hot in fact, Park Service warn visitors by demonstrating the ability to bake cookies on your car’s dashboard. That’s hot….

Mount Rainier July 13–15, 2023 This trip holds special significance since it coincides with our participation in the Mount Rainier Half Marathon. Arriving into Seattle late at night, we rent a car…

Great Sand Dunes June 9–10, 2023 Our plan was to spend two nights camping in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, but after a rare campsite in Pinon Flats Campground opens…

Wind Cave June 3–4, 2023 By cutting our successful trip to Badlands National Park short by a day, we are able to squeeze in a jaunt over to Wind Cave National Park….

Badlands June 2–3, 2023 Located 464 miles north, we wake early to make the most of a short weekend in Badlands National Park. We watch mountains give way to foothills give way…

Arches May 11–13, 2023 All packed up we drive out from Castle Rock, Colorado, to Moab, Utah, for a mountain biking, park-seeing adventure. Though there are no mountain bike trails in Arches…

Mesa Verde August 6–8, 2021 Though in our homestate of Colorado, the drive down to Mesa Verde National Park is just far enough to warrant a weekend stay. So after a beautiful…

Denali June 1–5, 2021 On our pre-dawn drive upstate from Kenai Fjords National Park, we drop the rental car off in Anchorage and grab a taxi to the Alaska Railroad Depot. At…