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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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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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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Washington Hikes: Kautz Creek

The weather has been rainy and windy lately, but we decided we'd hit the trail this weekend anyway. If we wait for nice weather at this time of year, we'll never get outdoors! We pulled ourselves out of bed and set out for Mt. Rainier on Saturday morning in the pouring rain. We kept telling …

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Hiking in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

We concluded our weekend in San Diego with a mid-morning hike around Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. While I had read parking could be an issue, we ultimately lucked out and found a spot in the visitor center lot, giving us quick access to the trails we wanted to explore. Razor Point / Big Basin …

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Things to Do In and Around Denali National Park

We spent Labor Day weekend driving from Fairbanks to Denali National Park and then onto Anchorage before flying back to Seattle. Although this added some expense - one-way rental cars are not cheap! - I'm glad we did it this way so we had the opportunity to experience both cities and the very different experiences …

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