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Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Hiking Big Room Trail

Carlsbad Caverns is an absolute must-see for anyone visiting Southwestern USA. Located in the Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico, this fabulous cavern is an unforgettable scenery through one of the largest “chambers” in the world, the Big Room. What makes Carlsbad Caverns a fun place to visit is the self-guided tour; it is indeed possible to take a (long) hike without a ranger inside the cavern. This allows visitors to explore the cavern at their own pace – unlike in Mammoth Cave National Park. Continue reading “Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Hiking Big Room Trail”

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Tucson, the Organ Pipe Cactus and Saguaros (Arizona)

Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park are two amazing parks in Arizona dedicated to the beauty of the local cacti – yes, English uses latin plurals so it’s one cactus, two cacti, but cactuses works too. I honestly would have never heard of these strange parks if fellow travelers hadn’t told us about it. We stopped to both parks before and after a visit to the great little city of Tucson (pronounce Tooson). Continue reading “Tucson, the Organ Pipe Cactus and Saguaros (Arizona)”

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Two Easy Hikes To See the Redwoods In California

Redwoods

If you’re planning on visiting the Redwoods in California for the first time, don’t go the Redwoods National Park. The trees there have been replanted and are young, which is too bad because a lot of the beauty of the redwoods lies in their advanced age. Instead, drive to the State Parks: Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Continue reading “Two Easy Hikes To See the Redwoods In California”

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Climbing a Giant Dune In The Rain – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

We have one “people traveling in a van” problem that does not have a solution: rain. It has been raining SO MUCH since we started our road trip along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. See, our van is actually a car which is a great house when it’s sunny, but miserable if it rains for more than a day. Stuff gets easily wet, it doesn’t ever get dry, we are stuck inside our super small van. Continue reading “Climbing a Giant Dune In The Rain – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan”