Yellowstone National Park is the world’s first (and best!) national park. There are 9 lodges/hotels within the park, but the Lake Yellowstone Hotel was the first. It’s gorgeous and classy with its colonial, yellow exterior and perched right on the shore of Lake Yellowstone, but is it worth the hype? The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is the […]
Yellowstone National Park is the crown jewel of the national parks. And, no other lodging within the park is as iconic and recognizable as the Old Faithful Inn. It’s the largest log hotel in the world and practically everyone who has visited Yellowstone sees it because of its proximity to Old Faithful Geyser. But is it […]
Big Bend is not a “pop in for an afternoon” park. It’s remote, slow, and spread out. We spent two days here in April on a Texas/New Mexico road trip and left thinking, “We could’ve easily used another day.” What makes Big Bend so special is that it feels like three parks in one: desert, […]
If exploring the Southwest is on your bucket list and you don’t mind a bit of driving to get to some remote areas, a road trip through Texas and New Mexico to see Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, and White Sands is perfect for you! Not only will you get away from the crowds […]
Carlsbad Caverns is not the deepest, longest, or most massive cave in North America, but many claim it to be the most beautiful! The great Will Rogers said, “It’s the Grand Canyon with a roof on it.” Located in southeastern New Mexico within the Chihuahuan Desert, Carlsbad Caverns is certainly worth the drive. It takes […]
The Great Sand Dunes National Park is located at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in southern Colorado. This national park covers 30 square miles of dunes, alpine forests, and wetlands. It is home to the tallest dunes in North America, with the highest peak being around 750 feet above the valley. It’s […]
Solvang, California, is a small Danish-style town tucked into the Santa Ynez Valley. It’s a popular Christmas town, but it is really cute and charming any time of the year. Located about 2.5 hours north of Los Angeles, Solvang was settled by immigrants from Denmark, and it leans hard into its European roots. You’ll find […]
If you’re thinking about visiting California but want to get away from the craziness of Los Angeles, consider this 5-Day Itinerary (not counting travel days), which I did in December of 2025. This was a spectacular trip to see the California coast and countryside. We saw cute small towns like Solvang, famous attractions like Hearst […]
Hearst Castle sits high on a hill above California’s Central Coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and miles of rolling ranch land. It’s part palace, part museum, part fever dream of the Gilded Age. You’ll ride a shuttle up through a private ranch, tour the grand rooms of “Casa Grande,” wander the terraces and pools, and […]
Channel Islands National Park looks simple on a map, just a few little islands off the Southern California coast, but figuring out how to actually spend a day there isn’t all that obvious. You can’t just drive in, snap a photo, and move on. You have to book a boat, commit to a full-day excursion, […]
