Category Parks

Jedediah Smith Campground

In keeping with our tradition of shoehorning additional stops into an already busy schedule, we extended our trip by a day to camp in Redwood National and State Parks. Parts of it are national. Parts of it are state. As far as we can determine, there aren't any drive in camping spots in the National park, so we found an ideal spot at the State Park. The site is flanked by massive redwood trees, within hearing distance of a sonorous river, and a hop skip an a jump from bathrooms that don't stink. To me, the perfect spot.

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Mount Hood

Spiked cocoa from Timberline Lodge along the Fruit Loop of Mount Hood

Nearing the conclusion of our trip to Portland, we couldn't help but draw it out a little longer by taking the "fruit loop" around Mount Hood. As 84 got busier, we diverged onto 35 where produce stands sell fruit, nuts, vegetables, and other locally grown produce from the side of the road.

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Arches

Arches National Park vista

We wing things. That's what we do. I've made a map of places we would like to go to and then base our routes on our final destination and what mapped points fall between our current location and destination. Exactly how our trip plays out each time is something we play by ear. In this case, we had ten days to travel to Oregon. Half way in, we discovered that we would be swinging by Arches National Park. Arches ranks as one of the most exciting National Parks that neither of us has ever visited. So, of course, we went.

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Garden of the Gods

In what is clearly nature's escalation in geologic awesomeness for our exclusive delight, Colorado sought to out-do Kansas's Monument Rocks with the Garden of the Gods. This rock formation features slabs of earth turned nearly vertical to form a unique ridge of stone. On such a beautiful day, the park was swamped in tourists enjoying the first warm day after a surprise spring blizzard had piled the city high with snow only a week ago. In a way, we almost couldn't blame the other cars that had filled the parking lot. Of course everyone would want to get in on this beauty. We were content to drive the main loop twice before heading on.

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Joshua Tree

While we had already enjoyed a short hike with friends while staying in Palm Springs, we decided to circle back to for a night of camping after we bid the crew adieu. After an awesome hike, we settled in to a small camp site, set up our newly acquired inflatable glamping* chairs on the roof of the van to eat Bahn Mi and drink wine, and watched the sun set. Unfortunately, we, yet again, forgot to consider the elevation we were camping at and quickly retreated into the van as soon as the light show was over.

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El Morro

Hike past petroglyphs, historic route markings, and graffiti around the iconic cliffs of this box canyon at El Morro National Monument in New Mexico.

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Palo Duro Canyon

Palo Duro Canyon is the Grand Canyon of Texas. While, in this rare case, Texas size isn't the biggest, it certainly is still impressive. Back in the day, the steep walls of the canyon also made for effective fencing, as ranchers kept their steer in the canyon. Today, it is a park where visitors can camp, hike, and come for the occasional activity set in the park. We came for the hiking, but didn't say "no" to the opportunity of snapping a picture of a rare longhorn.

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Hot Springs, Arkansas

We are coming back here.

Hot Springs is a National Park.

Hot Springs has historic spas.

Hot Springs has a historic spa that continues to be open to customers.  I want to be one of those customers.  Sadly, we only had time to see, not soak.

Next time.

Next time.

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