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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Washington Hikes: Dirty Harry’s Balcony

It's been several weeks since we had time for a longer hike in the mountains. Yesterday we set out on a morning trek into the Cascades following Saturday's rain and snowfall, heading north to Snoqualmie Pass and a new-to-us hike to Dirty Harry's Balcony. With a name like that, I wasn't expecting this hike to …

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Wine Tasting Weekend in Walla Walla

The last couple years, we've done a quick weekend escape for the two of us ahead of all the holiday travel and festivities. It's been a relaxing getaway, usually to some place new in Washington, and enjoying the holiday lights, decor, music and food during these trips has helped put me in the holiday spirit! …

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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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