Morning Hikes in Saguaro National Park’s East Side

During our recent weekend getaway to sunny Arizona, we spent some time in both the western and eastern sections of Saguaro National Park. Much of what I read online focused on the western side of the park / Tucson Mountain District. I think people prioritize that side because of the big cacti forests: While similar …

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Exploring Saguaro National Park’s West Side

After an incredible morning hiking to Seven Falls in the Sabino Canyon area, we made our way toward the west side / Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park. I had originally thought we'd spend the afternoon hiking in this area, but our long morning hike and a transition to cloudy skies had us altering …

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Hiking in Arizona: Sabino Canyon

We recently took advantage of a free January weekend and Alaska Airline points to chase some sunshine and hike among the saguaro cacti in Tucson, Arizona. This was my second time in Arizona but my first time to this part of the state, and I really enjoyed the laid back pace of this area. We …

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2021 Travel Recap

Our travels continued to look a little different during this second year of COVID-19, but we once again made the most of it by prioritizing domestic travel and trips that had us spending the majority of our time in the great outdoors. For me, this year's travel highlights included: Seeing many of our families and …

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U.S. National Parks: Top Picks from 2021

As we were outlining our 2021 travel plans, especially in the months before we were able to get vaccinated against COVID-19, we decided to once again prioritize visiting national parks and other sites where we could spend our time outdoors. This took us to: Joshua Tree National Park (California)Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)Montezuma Castle National …

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Montezuma Castle National Monument

A relatively last-minute add to our Arizona itinerary was Montezuma Castle National Monument. Brian and I had each added it to our itinerary in our respective research, and when we found ourselves with some free time during our stay in West Sedona, we decided to make a quick trip to see it. It turns out …

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Hiking in Sedona: Sugarloaf Summits

We arrived in West Sedona in the middle of the afternoon after a beautiful morning in Grand Canyon National Park hiking the South Kaibab Trail and cruising Desert View Drive. I have wanted to explore Sedona for a long time, but this was not the time to do it. We drove through downtown on our …

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