National Parks

Gazing out into the Grand Canyon in mid-February is not ideal, but the sun shined brightly and traces of snow were beautiful on the red rock.

Teddy Roosevelt is forever linked with national parks and we just spent six weeks in some of North America's most beautiful ones!

The Prince of Wales Hotel was the perfect ending to a perfect road trip with a great vantage point for panoramic views, and lots of history.

Today was a very relaxing day in the Rockies with stunning mountain peaks, gorgeous glacial lakes and waterfalls. What more could we ask for?

Today we finished off GTSR from the eastern entrance at St. Mary back to Logan Pass. This was definitely another wonderful day!

We turned the two-hour drive from West Glacier to St. Mary Village into a six-hour day, with a LOT of beautiful distractions.

In this post we'll drive the lower elevations of GTSR to see fabulous waterfalls, amazing bridges, and take a peaceful walk in a forest.

Words cannot describe the beauty of Glacier National Park – from its lovely rivers at the lower elevations to Logan Pass at 6,646 feet.

On arrival day in West Glacier we traveled to McDonald's Creek Bridge, McGee's Meadow, and an old wildfire burn site which was amazing!

Our stay in Whistler was a short one, but we strolled, nibbled, and sipped our way around a loop which started right outside our hotel.

We love thundering waterfalls, and today's itinerary put the finishing touches on the Icefields Parkway, offering some of the best yet!

We love traveling off-season to avoid the throngs of people, but booking excursions in Jasper NP can be problematic with such a short season.

Our move from Canmore to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway was a pretty sweet route. As moving days go, this was definitely one of our best!

Along the Minnewanka Scenic Drive, wildlife sightings ramped up, we enjoyed a boat cruise, and Jim stepped out of his comfort zone for a bit.

Our stay in Canmore continues in soggy conditions, but a drive along the parkway from Banff to Lake Louise made for an extraordinary day!

This post picks up where the last one left off – with the second half of a loop to see some sites in Kootenay and Yoho National Parks in BC.

We've been looking forward to visiting the Canadian Rockies for years, so I don't think we'll be getting much relaxation on this "vacation".

We try to explore new and interesting things without driving too far, but sometimes we make exceptions. These were all exceptions, but worth it!

Between photo opps and narrow, winding roads, both sections of the park provided two days of entertainment and lots of pretty pictures.

Spending two nights in Sierra Vista set us up nicely for some day drinking, mine exploring, shopping, and yet another fantastic mission.

In order to make this trip more affordable, our itinerary [...]

With 3 overnights from TX to AZ, we stopped in Carlsbad, Bisbee, Tombstone, and the magnificent St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery.

Today we went to Bryson City, NC for a train ride along the Tuckasegee. On our return we stumbled upon the Mountain Farm Museum! What a find!

Today we took the Cades Cove Loop through GSMNP. With a backdrop of mountains, the road winds through a valley with lush and rolling hills.

This day started and ended with great views from our balcony – with lunch and shopping in between. And we are minutes to the Smoky Mountains!

After living in Arizona for four years back in the [...]

To start at the beginning of this series, visit The [...]

Grand Canyon is at the TOP of our favorites list in Arizona! [...]

Day 3 was a splendid day with a stop at Montezuma Castle and lunch atop the "J" mountain in Jerome. Both were relaxing and full of history!

Day 2 included two great stops that were pretty close to Sedona to make this a wonderful (relatively short) day.