Tag: national parks
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Two days in Blowing Rock, NC–Big Trip #1
We visited Blowing Rock at the end of Big Trip #1, in spring 2016. Read about our second visit in September 2023 here. Blowing Rock was our last camping stop of the trip. While we had mixed feelings about the adventure coming to a close (a regular-sized bed! and a regular-sized bathroom! and our friends…
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Badlands National Park
We visited Badlands in May 2016 during Big Trip #1. We moved an hour east to a little campground in Interior, SD, for a night to more easily access Badlands National Park than we could from Custer. Interior is a funny little town with not much to offer, but that was ok because our campsite…
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Two days in Estes Park, CO–Big Trip #1
We visited Estes Park in May 2016 during Big Trip #1. We really wanted Estes Park to be a charming little mountain town. It’s the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, and has a compact, walkable downtown area… that’s full of t-shirt shops and candy stores and tourists. Even in mid-May, the tourists were out…
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Rocky Mountain National Park
We visited RMNP in May 2016 while staying in Estes Park during Big Trip #1. We visited Rocky Mountain National Park on our first Big Trip, in 2016. Due to road closures and trail conditions, we weren’t able to experience the park nearly as much as we had planned, so look for an update here…
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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
We visited Black Canyon while staying in Montrose in May 2016 during Big Trip #1. Where we stayed We kind of ended up visiting Black Canyon by accident! Read about our time in Montrose, CO in this post. What we did Black Canyon National Park is more about driving than hiking. We drove through the…
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Two days in Montrose, CO (visit #1)–Big Trip #1
We visited Montrose in April 2016 during Big Trip #1. Read about our second visit in 2020 here, during Big Trip #3. Originally, we had wanted to spend a couple nights at Ridgway State Park, exploring the trails there and around Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, but the snow event that forced us to…
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Mesa Verde National Park
We visited Mesa Verde while staying in Cortez in April 2016 during Big Trip #1. Mesa Verde National Park does not offer extensive hiking; it is mostly about the views and tours of the ancient cliff dwellings. We did a few short hikes and one of the scenic drives, stopping at overlooks to ogle the artifacts. We did not tour any…
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Canyonlands National Park
We visited Canyonlands in April 2016 during Big Trip #1. As we surveyed the vista at the first overlook at Canyonlands National Park, we said to each other “this is my new favorite park.” Canyonlands is enormous; we were in the main Island in the Sky section, with arches, domes, and the canyons, the magnificent canyons. We…
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Arches National Park
We first visited Arches in April 2016 during Big Trip #1, then again in November 2018 during Big Trip #2. Arches National Park is a geologist’s wonderland. On our first visit, we got there early, perhaps too early for good photography, but early enough to beat the crowds at our first couple stops. This is…
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Capitol Reef National Park
We first visited Capitol Reef NP in April 2016 during Big Trip #1, again in November 2018 during Big Trip #2, and again in October 2020 during Big Trip #3. Had you heard of Capitol Reef National Park? We hadn’t until we started researching our first Big Trip, and much like another National Park we…
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