Exploring Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park

Now that we live in the South Sound, we've been building lists of things to do in Tacoma and beyond that we simply didn't prioritize when we lived north of Seattle. I used to roll my eyes at Clevelanders who stuck to their east side or west side - as if it was such a …

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Washington Hikes: Carter and Madcap Falls

We set out yesterday morning to hike Narada Falls to Reflection Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park. However, despite arriving just as the gate opened, there was absolutely no parking left at Narada Falls when we arrived. I either sorely underestimated the popularity of this hike, or I simply underestimated the number of people who …

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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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Winter in Grand Canyon National Park

After an amazing morning hiking Bright Angel Trail and a mid-day siesta to avoid the hail storm that was passing through, we decided to spend our first afternoon in Grand Canyon National Park exploring Hermit Road. Hermit Road is usually closed to personal vehicles. During peak season, you have to take one of the park …

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Grand Canyon: Hiking Bright Angel Trail

Our first day in Grand Canyon National Park we decided to tackle the toughest hike on our list - the iconic Bright Angel Trail! Bright Angel Trail is a 9.3-mile trail down to the Colorado River. The National Park Service recommends that day hikers only go down 6 miles before hiking back out (for 12 …

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Washington Hikes: Rampart Ridge Loop

Last weekend the sun was out, Mt. Rainier was towering overhead, and we took advantage of the break in the weather to squeeze in a Saturday morning hike before I needed to be home, accessible, and on-call for work. We set out for the Rampart Ridge Loop trail from Longmire in Mt. Rainier National Park, …

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Joshua Tree National Park: Black Rock Hikes

Our final day in Joshua Tree National Park we hiked more than I think I've ever hiked in one day -- 12+ miles, logging more than 34,500 steps! After our previous day exploring the central areas of the park, which are definitely the busiest areas of the park, it was wonderful escaping to the much …

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