The Travel, Hiking & Lifestyle Blog
When we decided to visit the White Sands National Park, I was less than excited. I don’t know why. Fortunately, my attitude changed for the better when we pulled into the parking lot by the visitor’s center. I instantly found the white sand landscapes intriguing. The visitor’s center was not open when we arrived, but […]
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After spending the morning at Carlsbad Caverns, we decided to hike the Slaughter Canyon Cave trail in the afternoon. The trailhead is about 18-miles south of the caverns but still inside the boundaries of the national park. Interestingly, we learned about this hike from a total stranger who we met at the Carlsbad Cavern National […]
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We feel lucky to have hiked Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park and the Beehive at Acadia National Park in the same year! I personally don’t know anyone who can make that claim because they are on opposite sides of the United States. That said, I’m sure there are others who have also achieved this […]
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Our climb to Angels Landing in Zion National Park is a story we laugh about. We were determined to get to the trail early and hike to the top before the crazy crowds of people arrived. Zion National Park is an incredibly busy place. On a daily basis, the park seems to welcome in more […]
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We found amazing splendor at Bryce Canyon National Park. As first time visitors, the cathedral of spires and rock formations were beyond our imagination. Bryce Canyon was the fourth of eight national parks we visited on our trip and it was unlike any of the other parks we had seen. The splendor was undeniable. Sizing […]
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Today, we are in the southern section of the Canyonlands National Park called the Needles. After studying the maps and reading descriptions of the hiking trails, we chose to hike Peekaboo Trail at Canyonlands. As it turned out, this is one of the best hikes in the park according to people we spoke to. The […]
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This is our first trip to Utah to visit the Fabulous 5 National Parks and many of their state parks. Arches National Park was our first stop. It is an amazing place. Even though we took several pictures, it is hard to capture the size, beauty, and magnitude of these arches. We arrived early on […]
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Hiking to Alum Cave Bluff in the Smoky Mountains was an adventure, just like many of our hikes. The beginning of this trail is flat and goes through and old hardwood forest. Following the Alum Cave Creek for about a mile, we bragged about how easy the trail was and how fast we were going […]
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We spent several days in Yellowstone National Park this summer. Our goal was to experience as much of the park as we could while there. This meant each day we arrived to the park early in the morning and left late in the day. We learned quickly arriving early to the park has its advantages. […]
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On our last day in Yellowstone National Park, we opted to exit the park out of the east entrance. We got an early start that day and decided to have one more hike before leaving. We chose the Pelican Valley Tail. Over the course of the prior three days, we had visited most of areas […]
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A Cove is a relative flat valley between mountains or ridges. Interestingly, Cades Cove is in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountain Range and also part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is an 11-mile, one-way loop that winds in the valley. The wild life and an old community history can […]
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We did it! Our first bear sighting in the wild occurred and it did not happen when we were hiking. We will always remember the animals of the Great Smoky Mountains for this reason. Our sighting happened when we were safely in Alice! We had just finished our hike in the rain at Rainbow Falls […]
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The highest elevation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is Clingmans Dome standing at 6,643 feet above sea level. This peak straddles two states and is the tallest peak in Tennessee and the third tallest peak in North Carolina. Clingmans Dome is also the highest peak on the 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail that runs […]
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