National Park Adventures

A collection of 50 posts

RV Life Season 2

We tried a self-guided Tetons audio tour

Our small-town Independence Day celebration marked our final day in the Yellowstone region, and on July 5th we left Idaho and ventured into Wyoming, to spend a week and a half camping inside Grand Teton National Park. We wanted to maximize our time, but we were feeling overwhelmed. Grand Teton

RV Life Season 2

Driving the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway in Caribou-Targhee National Forest

Between our visits to eastern Idaho and western Montana, we spent a lot of time trotting up and down US route 20 on the boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The road travels through the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and offers plenty of historic pull-offs that teach about the area, including its

RV Life Season 2

Lost in Yellowstone!

When we posted about our Yellowstone adventure last month, we left one story out. We got lost! Now, for all of you who have been to Yellowstone, I know what you're thinking. The whole main section of the park is made of two loop roads. How could we

RV Life Season 2

Glacier National Park: What we enjoyed, what we wish we'd skipped, and what we hope to do next time

We travel fairly quickly in our nomadic life, and in visiting the US national parks, we often talk about "scratching the surface." This is our way of visiting a park for a few hours or a couple of days, seeing a few sights, and then moving on. We

RV Life Season 2

Ebiking Going to the Sun Road, Part 2

We ebiked Going to the Sun Road from west to east and shared our experience. Read it here! On our first full day staying in the Glacier, Montana area, we seized an opportunity to ebike Going to the Sun Road, something that we've been looking forward to since

RV Life Season 2

Our Bucket List Ebike Ride: Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park

Our 2023 travel itinerary has remained fairly flexible. We have our general route, but oftentimes don't book reservations far in advance. Many days, we wake up not knowing where we'll sleep that evening. It's all part of the adventure! However, when we have a

RV Life Season 2

We went to Yellowstone on a whim

Our Saturday excursion to Bear World left a lot to be desired and a lot of free time in the afternoon, since we only stayed at the "wildlife attraction" for less than an hour. We found ourselves sitting around, bored and disappointed, but that's not how

RV Life Season 2

The Grand Canyon: South Rim and Desert View

The great part about the Grand Canyon is that you can't visit there without being dazzled by the views. You don't need to take any long hikes or go below the rims. When we went, the North Rim was not yet open for the season; in

National Park Adventures

I was an emotional wreck seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Turns out I'm not alone.

Before we launched back on the road for 2023, I told Anthony, "I want to see the Grand Canyon and I want to see Glacier National Park. Everything else is just a bonus." That just shows how high of a priority the Grand Canyon was. I had never

RV Life Season 2

Blooms Galore at Joshua Tree National Park

After struggling to get into our tight spot at Joshua Tree, we only hoped it would be worthwhile to be staying inside the National Park. Up until this point, we had never stayed in a park itself, but instead parked ourselves outside park boundaries. Joshua Tree marked our 9th National

Campground Reviews

We couldn't park! Too tight a squeeze at our first National Park campsite

The long-awaited solar installation was complete, and we were taking on the Southwest, boondock-style. After finishing the install at our solar contractor's Arizona ranch, we had two weeks before we were due back in the state, and so we took advantage. First, we traveled up to Nevada to

National Park Adventures

The Sonoran Desert: Saguaros and Beyond

We had left Big Bend only days before we reached our second National Park of the year, Saguaro. Located in the Sonoran Desert, these cacti are only found in this part of the world, due to the fact that this desert has two rainy seasons, producing enough water for these

RV Life Season 2

The "rowed" that leads to Mexico

Our final day in Big Bend had arrived, and we had been waiting all week for a special celebration. Anthony's birthday was the following day, and since we'd have a 320-mile drive ahead of us, it meant birthday time would need to take a backseat to

RV Life Season 2

Big Bend Under the Sun and Stars

We've noticed that in large National Parks, planning excursions ahead of time is overwhelming. We look at the "Things to do" section on nps.gov but there are so many options. Plus, before we're actually in the Park, we don't yet have

Country Life

Eat my dust! Full speed ahead in Big Bend National Park

We've got even more Big Bend posts coming your way! Subscribe so you don't miss when we drop a new post! Just sign up in the box at the bottom of the post or anywhere you see a "subscribe" button. As we drove into

Country Life

We Took a 3.5 Hour Train Ride Through a National Park

Our natural disaster recovery has been a long road, and it was looking to get even longer. We suddenly needed to pivot and continue heading west from New York, instead of making our way back east to New England. We left Niagara Falls and drove towards Indiana, where we would

RV Life Season 1

A Summer to Remember in 2022

Before we set off on the RV life, we learned a lot about RVing by watching YouTube channels. One channel is Keep Your Daydream, a popular channel filled with vlogs, tips, and more. Since 2013, the Leach family has written down a Summer Fun List, with the whole family contributing

RV Life Season 1

Spacious Skies: Celebrating 4th of July at an Aptly-Named Campground

Driving up I-81 through the Shenandoah Appalachians, we couldn't believe that just 9 months before, we were towing for the very first time along this same road. Thankful that those awkward days were behind us, and equally thankful that the weather was less gloomy than in October, we

Country Life

Summer Days in a Summer Town

Our quest to escape the heat had us doing some last-minute rearranging of our campsite bookings. We were originally planning to spend 4th of July weekend in West Virginia, but everything got bumped earlier has we shortened our stay at Dale Hollow Lake in Kentucky. Making last-minute changes during a

RV Life Season 1

We Visited the Longest Cave System in the World!

We had a strange reason for traveling to southern Kentucky, but one of the best parts about RV life is getting to create our own journey as we go along. To our pleasant surprise, the Dale Hollow Lake area was fantastic. Granted, we could have dealt with less hot, sticky

RV Life Season 1

We heard about the crowds in the Smokies. So where were they?

You can't hear about Great Smoky Mountains National Park without learning that it's the most visited National Park, and that trailheads fill up at the crack of dawn for the popular hikes, and that driving anywhere will take you extra time due to cars parked alongside

RV Life Season 1

Day Hiking the Smokies

We love hiking and thought the RV life would bring us ample opportunities to lace up our boots. However, between the relentless heat that seems to catch up to us wherever we go, and the fact that this is just normal, busy life, we haven't hit the trails

Country Life

Scenic Drives: The Best Way to See the Smokies?

Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers over 522,000 acres of land. That statistic alone is bound to be overwhelming to visitors spending only a finite amount of time in the park. We had three weeks to explore the area, but we opted to not just venture into the park,

RV Life Season 1

Fireflies, Deer, and Bears: Oh My! Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

There's something oh-so-satisfying about adding a new National Park pin to our pin board, and we just had to choose a black bear pin to represent Great Smoky Mountain National Park. After all, they are the ambassadors of the Smokies. But did we actually spot any in the

RV Life Season 1

Celebrating in the Smokies: Pigeon Forge

RV life gives us lots of gifts. I was born on Memorial Day, which means that my birthday weekend is always a weekend full of prior engagements and traffic jams. Birthday trips are few and far between because who wants to travel on one of the busiest travel weekends of