Wyoming Hikes: Pole Mountain Loop

As we were scouting places to live near Cheyenne, Wyoming, we took the opportunity to ask some locals where we could find great hikes nearby. One recommendation that piqued our interest was the Pole Mountain area of Medicine Bow National Forest, which is about 35 minutes west of Cheyenne. The 55,000-acre area has countless trails …

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South Dakota Sights: Needles Highway and Custer State Park

During our recent trip to Wyoming and South Dakota, we spent a good deal of time in the great outdoors, hiking and exploring new national parks. While this was a particularly wonderful way to spend our mornings, we were open to other ideas to beat the heat in the summer afternoons. Our Rapid City AirBnB …

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Hiking in Badlands National Park

We spent the majority of our trip to Wyoming and South Dakota meeting with property managers to scout rentals in places where we thought we might want to move. However, equally as important was the time we dedicated to exploring the surrounding areas to see what we liked more holistically about each place. I was …

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Black Hills Hikes

Although I've been to the Black Hills National Forest before, our recent trip was my first time tackling a few hikes in the area around Spearfish, South Dakota. Brian found three hikes all accessible from a central parking area behind the Spearfish Canyon Lodge (don't accidentally park at the lodge, which is for customers only!). …

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Belize ATM Tour: What to Know

One of the highlights of our trip to Belize was exploring Actun Tunichil Muknal, the Maya archaeological site known locally as ATM. While there were many different cave excursions available throughout the Cayo District, the ATM tour was situated in the 'extreme adventure' category in our hotel's caving options and there was no question this …

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Sunrise on the Summit: Haleakalā National Park

When we decided to take a long weekend trip to Maui, there were two things we prioritized - driving the Road to Hana, and hiking in Haleakalā National Park. One of the most referenced national park experiences was viewing sunrise from the summit of Haleakalā volcano at 10,000 feet. You need a reservation for this …

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Hiking in Haleakalā National Park

An advantage of driving the Road to Hana and making a complete loop around the southeastern side of Maui was hiking in the small, publicly accessible section of Kīpahulu Valley Biological Reserve in Haleakalā National Park. The Effort to Protect Kīpahulu ValleyIn 1969 ... The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased close to 10,000 acres of land …

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