Excuses, Excuses

I realize I’m way behind on writing about the road trip. I didn’t have much access to the Internet for a month, couldn’t upload photos: excuses, excuses. I still intend to catch up, if for no other reason than for memories. In the meantime, Dan and I have moved to another country! That seems blog-worthy.…

Sequoia: You Know the Giant Trees but Have You Met the Marmots?

We had reserved a campground along the Generals Highway towards the northwestern entrance to Sequoia National Park, knowing we had a fairly long drive from Las Vegas. We had a few potential hikes in mind, and based on conditions after talking to a few rangers, we chose to hike near the center of the park,…

You’re So Money, Baby

I still have a tough time believing that Dan had never been to Las Vegas before this trip. We stayed in Downtown Vegas, leaving the Old Gal in a covered parking lot to enjoy the July heat wave on foot. We added Vegas to the itinerary in part because Dan really had to experience its…

Yosemite from Tioga Road: Don’t Plan on Dry Feet

Northern Nevada’s lack of campgrounds led to us exploring one of the most impressive waterfalls I’ve visited in recent memory. We drove into Nevada after meeting my aunt for a lovely dinner near Sonoma, in search of a campsite (seriously, CA state parks, $35/night??). After a few misses – one full campground, one dirt road…

Crater Lake and the PNW

Part of the idea for the national park focus of our road trip originated out of our day trip to Crater Lake almost two years ago. My dad took us for the day since he lives about two hours away, and the beauty of the park blew us away. We did a few short hikes,…

Northern California: Lassen Volcanic, Giant Redwoods, and More

We made a few quick stops in Northern California on our way to my dad’s A-frame in Oregon, before our halfway-through-the-road-trip stay at Crater Lake. The highlight for me was our first BEAR! Dan spotted it at Lassen, a little brown dot moving in the green of a valley kept warm by volcanic hot springs.…

Great Basin, the Forgotten National Park

Yet again, this park intrigued us because none of our guide books covered it in much detail, and we ended up loving it. (In fact, in our reading, we glossed over the park without even realizing its existence till we passed a sign near Valley of Fire.) Great Basin is in Nevada, just across the…

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Snake count 🐍, a perfectly harmless but four-foot long squiggle called a striped whipsnake (I had to ask Dan to look it up, aren’t phobias fun). I thought I remembered my parents taking our family to the Black Canyon when I was young; the park stuck in my head for some reason. When I asked…

Rocky Mountain National Park

On the heels of my crotchety Arches post, here comes my cranky RMNP suggestion: quiet campgrounds, free of screaming children, free of bros tripping on mushrooms, free of a capella groups practicing with acoustic guitar accompaniment, free of neighboring tents a-rockin’ in the early evening… Due to close quarters in the campground, we sought out,…

Weirdness Out the Window

Del Taco and Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Popeyes, Sonic, Sonic, Sonic. America is weird. Not the judgy, “that ain’t right” weird. The weirdness comes from the vastness, the difference that we all share. It’s a slideshow of fenced acreage and animals, stripped land and drive-thrus. Sitting in the passenger seat (Becka drives, which…