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FAQ: What are some of your favorite drives?

November 15, 2016 By Marc Leave a Comment

Before we left our friends Vickie & Daniel gave us the book National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, a compilation of the best drives in the US as decided by National Geographic.

We’ve used this book quite a bit to help determine a more interesting way to get from point A to point B in some places. Other times we just land upon an awesome drive that we weren’t expecting at all.

I’ve been keeping a running list in my head of my favorite drives along the way. Here are the five most notable ones so far.

5. Iron Mountain, Route 16A, South Dakota
Iron Mountain Highway, South DakotaThe drive between Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore takes you through Custer State Park, where you can’t miss a massive bison herd, over rolling hills, through dense forests and huge grasslands, over several high mountain overlooks, through a few picturesque tunnels, and right up to a surprisingly impressive view of 4 presidents’ faces staring out of the mountain straight ahead.

4. Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Drive, North Carolina & Virginia
Blue Ridge ParkwayWe drove this parkway from South (Great Smoky Mountains NP) to North (Shenandoah NP) just after peak color-changing season, but still enjoyed the incredible tunnels of orange and gold through the vast forests of the Appalachians. Many (many!) scenic overlooks provide stunning vistas of the mountains and valleys—still very impressive even to these Rocky Mountain dwellers.

3. Highway 99 from Vancouver to Lillouet, British Columbia
Highway 99 near VancouverAs soon as you leave Vancouver to the north, you’re instantly torn between views of the stunning high mountain peaks to one side and the deep inlets of the ocean fjords to the other side. British Columbia’s coast is edged with fjord after fjord, each of which is surrounded by dramatic mountains that seem to rise right out of the ocean. Along this drive you’ll pass through even more majestic mountains, roadside lakes like glass, and Western Canada’s ski mecca, Whistler.

2. Icefields Parkway, from Jasper to Banff, Alberta
Icefields ParkwayWe live right next to the most impressive mountains in the contiguous United States, but we were mezmerized by the Canadian Rockies. The mountains may not be as tall, but they have been magically carved by thousands of years of glaciers and rivers. The resulting landscape is so imposing and extraordinary that a stop along any section of this parkway to see the glaciers right up close will leave you breathless.

1. Highway 1 & 101, the Pacific Coast Highway, Northern California & Oregon
Pacific Coast HighwayStarting north of San Francisco, this mostly 2-lane highway rolls over seaside hills, across meadows with happily grazing cows, next to cliffs that drop directly into the expansive ocean below, and through the most charming little coastal towns with beautiful cottages and fishing-boat-filled marinas, all the while within view of the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean. You can stop to watch the humpback whales on the sea, take a stroll on a rocky beach, or enjoy one of the many amazing crabmeat sandwiches (or Sarah’s favorite—fresh oysters). This drive will be hard to beat!

 

Filed Under: FAQs, Where We've Been Tagged With: adventure, Alberta, awe, Banff, British Columbia, California, camper, Canada, drives, driving, FAQs, glaciers, Jasper, lakes, North Carolina, ocean, road trip, South Dakota, trees, Vancouver, views, Virginia

FAQ: What’s your favorite hike?

August 29, 2016 By Marc Leave a Comment

We’ve been doing a lot of hiking on this trip. Some hikes may only be a mile or so. Others are over 10 miles and result in a few days off afterward. Either way, we’ve had some pretty amazing hikes. Here are our running favorites.

Sarah’s Favorite Hikes:

Hiking Partners1. Cascade Pass & Sahale Arm – North Cascades National Park
The views were amazing. There are glaciers and mountains and it was surprisingly awesome.

2. Skyline/Glacier Vista – Mount Rainier National Park
The trail was still snow-covered in June. Although there were a lot of people on the trail, we were impressed by the close-up views of Mt Rainier and the loud noises coming from the cracking glaciers on the mountain.

3. High Dune – Great Sand Dunes National Park
This was a tough hike in very soft sand up steep dunes, but the hike down makes you feel like a kid tromping down a hill so fast and trying not to fall down!

 

Marc’s Favorite Hikes: 

1. Cascade Pass & Sahale Arm – North Cascades National Park
This hike has mountains, views, glaciers, wildlife, meadows, and it was a distance just out of our comfort zone (10.5 miles) which pushed us a bit.

2. Grinnell Glacier – Glacier National Park
This was our longest hike so far at 12 miles. We passed the Chain Lakes and hiked right up to Grinnell Glacier and Grinnell Lake near the Continental Divide at Glacier. The views of the lakes, waterfalls, mountains, and rock layers were incredible.

White Sands and Bush3. Alkali Flat Trail – White Sands National Monument
It feels like you’re on another planet–the sand is so bright white and perfectly smooth, yet pressed enough to hike comfortably over most of it. The landscape was incredible. I think it was about 5 miles.

4. Guadalupe Peak – Guadalupe Mountains National Park
This was our first big hike on the trip. At about 9 miles and a large elevation gain to the top, it really pushed us hard. It has a special place for me just because of the feeling of accomplishment. The views were pretty cool at the top too.

 

We’ll update these as needed.

Filed Under: FAQs Tagged With: adventure, FAQs, favorites, hiking

FAQ: What’s your favorite place so far?

June 8, 2016 By Marc 2 Comments

Now that we’re about 2 months 8 months (updated) into our trip, one of the most common questions we get is “What’s your favorite place so far?”

I imagine this post may have to change later, but so far here are our favorite places to this point:

MARC’S FAVORITES

Favorite National Parks:Crater Lake
1) Crater Lake National Park
2) Yellowstone National Park
3) Everglades National Park
4) Acadia National Park
5) Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Favorite National Monuments/Other NPS Sites:
1) Gettysburg National Military Park
2) Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument
3) Dinosaur National Monument
4) Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
5) White Sands National Monument


SARAH’S FAVORITES

Favorite National Parks:Yellowstone
1) Yellowstone National Park
2) Glacier National Park
3) Crater Lake National Park
4) Carlsbad Caverns National Park
5) North Cascades National Park

Favorite National Monuments/Other NPS Sites:
1) White Sands National Monument
2) Assateague National Seashore
3) Lava Beds National Monument
4) Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument
5) Dinosaur National Monument

 

We’ll update this post (again) later if these lists change!

Filed Under: FAQs, Where We've Been Tagged With: FAQs, favorites, National Monument, National Parks, state park

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32,279 Miles to Berthoud, CO

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315 Days Total

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  • The End of The Road February 18, 2017
  • Be Home Soon January 12, 2017
  • Our Holidays and New Year January 9, 2017
  • New Orleans…A City Worth Breaking the Budget December 8, 2016
  • What’s In A Name December 4, 2016
  • Florida State Parks December 1, 2016
  • Everglades National Park November 29, 2016
  • Travel Log: Day 223-227 (11/16-11/20) South Carolina and Georgia November 21, 2016
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