bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

Category: Destinations

  • Asheville, NC hiking index

    Asheville, NC hiking index

    Read our many Asheville posts here! Hello! This is not a normal trip recap or planning post, sorry. We’re heading to our favorite quickie Airstream destination, Asheville, next weekend to meet our favorite people from Atlanta (who let us park the Airstream in their driveway when we visit)–but without the Airstream (gasp!) and without Bugsy

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  • Big Bend National Park (visit #3)–Big Trip #2

    Big Bend National Park (visit #3)–Big Trip #2

    We visited Big Bend in December 2018 during Big Trip #2. Read about our other visits here: 2021, early 2018, and 2016. 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

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  • Two nights in Alpine, TX (visit #2)–Big Trip #2

    Two nights in Alpine, TX (visit #2)–Big Trip #2

    We visited Alpine in December 2018 as part of Big Trip #2. Read about our first visit earlier in 2018 here, and our third visit in 2021 here. 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

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  • Four days in Tucson, AZ (visit #1)–Big Trip #2

    Four days in Tucson, AZ (visit #1)–Big Trip #2

    We were in Tucson at the very end of November 2018, as part of Big Trip #2. Read about our second visit in 2021 here, our third in 2022 here, and our fourth (and fifth?) in 2023/4 here. And I finally wrote a Tucson Favorites post! J and I have a past relationship with Tucson:

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  • Saguaro National Park

    Saguaro National Park

    We visited Saguaro National Park in November 2018 while staying in Tucson during Big Trip #2. 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,

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  • Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

    Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

    We visited Organ Pipe in November 2018, during Big Trip #2. 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 for its resemblance to

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  • Joshua Tree National Park

    Joshua Tree National Park

    We visited Joshua Tree in November 2018, during Big Trip #2. 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. The answer is yes.

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  • Four days in Flagstaff, AZ (visit #2)

    Four days in Flagstaff, AZ (visit #2)

    We visited Flagstaff in late November 2018, as part of Big Trip #2. Read about our first visit in 2016 here during Big Trip #1, and our third in 2023 here during our Tucson for Christmas trip. Flagstaff was one of our favorite cities on Big Trip #1, and we were excited to return for

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  • Grand Canyon National Park – South Rim

    Grand Canyon National Park – South Rim

    [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 THERE EARLY! Even in late March and mid-November, outside tourist season, the park got crowded quickly.

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  • Big Trip #2 catch-up

    Big Trip #2 catch-up

    We were on Big Trip #2 in fall of 2018. 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 later today. Maybe we should

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