Tarantulas!
All through my formative years, my aunt and uncle had a pet tarantula. A strange choice of pet, no doubt, but Uncle Jim loves the Desert Southwest more than just about anyone else I know, so I guess it made...
Tag: hiking
Big Trip #2: Retrospective
Our final stop on Big Trip #2 was Asheville for one night, but I already listed our activities there on the Big Trip #2 Catch-up post, so I’ll skip it here and get to the trip analysis! Lessons learned The...
Asheville, NC hiking index
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...
Big Bend National Park: Visit #3
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...
Saguaro National Park
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...
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
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...
Joshua Tree National Park
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....
Four days in Flagstaff, AZ (visit #2)
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...
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...
One night in Monticello, Utah
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...