adventures with a dog and an airstream
Early December must be one of the best times to visit Big Bend National Park. The campground and trails were quiet and sparsely populated, the weather was pleasant, and look at that color in the cottonwood trees! We had a...
Alpine is just the quirkiest little town waaaaaay out in the desert of West Texas, a 30-minute drive from also-quirky Marfa, and 100 miles from Big Bend National Park. It’s a fantastic base for trips into the National Park: it...
J and I have a past relationship with Tucson: J’s brother lived there for many years, through grad school and marriage and first real job and the birth of both of his kids, so we’ve visited a bunch. However, the...
Close your eyes and picture a cactus standing in the desert. I’m going to guess your imaginary cactus friend is a saguaro! Am I right? Saguaro (pronounced “sah-WAR-oh”) cacti, standing tall with cartoon arms, are all over pop culture, but...
This magical land of desert delights is an International Biosphere Reserve, home to virtually all the organ pipe cacti in the US. The organ pipe cactus, with is cluster of upright stems growing from a single low trunk, is named...
We finally got to California in the Airstream! Bugsy got a new state! (She’s up to 36 now!) For some reason–ignorance, I guess–we weren’t sure if Joshua Tree was worth rearranging our schedule and driving many extra hours to visit....
Flagstaff was one of our favorite cities on Big Trip #1, and we were excited to return for the many, many hiking and beer drinking opportunities! Campground Our home base this visit was Black Bart’s RV Park, a big park...
[FOR GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM, SEE HERE!] [This is the original GCNP post from Big Trip #1 in 2016, updated with details from our 2018 visit on Big Trip #2.] If you’re planning a visit to the Grand Canyon, GET...
Okay, so we’ve been back home in VA for a month now and I’m still writing about Utah and Arizona. It’s fun to relive our adventures in the Western sun, sitting here in gloomy Virginia where it’s threatening to sleet...
This wasn’t a well-planned stop. Our intention was to spend two nights in Monticello and have easy access to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park… but it’s still an hour drive to the Needles Visitor Center from Monticello, and...