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Lassen: A winter wonderland amid volcanoes
Most visitors come for the volcanoes; we came for the snow. What we found at Lassen Volcanic National Park was our very own winter...
philips923
Mar 3, 20243 min read
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The Everglades: Where else can you see endangered crocodiles and alligators on the same day?
“The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.” Joe Podgor wrote those words in a park brochure about 30 years...
philips923
Apr 20, 20233 min read
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Biscayne
Ninety-five percent of Biscayne National Park is underwater. So if you want to see it, you’re going to need a boat. The Biscayne National...
philips923
Apr 20, 20232 min read
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Hot Springs
"Where can I get eggs benedict?" asked the lady in line at the Park Ranger desk at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. This may be the...
philips923
Oct 9, 20222 min read
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New River Gorge
Why did we come to West Virginia during one of our recent road trips? To visit America's newest National Park, of course. Designated as...
philips923
Aug 28, 20223 min read
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One day at Great Smoky
I took many family vacations as a child in and around the hazy blue mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. But somehow I had never...
philips923
Aug 28, 20222 min read
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Carlsbad Caverns
We hiked 75 stories down into Carlsbad Caverns for the best geology lesson ever. Meandering down switchbacks along the 1.25-mile natural...
philips923
Aug 28, 20222 min read
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Indiana Dunes
Who knew there were beautiful sandy beaches in a National Park 30 minutes outside of downtown Chicago? Well, maybe Tom Petty, as he sang...
philips923
Jul 17, 20221 min read
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Gateway Arch
I'm not really sure why this landmark in downtown St. Louis is designated as a National Park. But it is. We like cities. We like National...
philips923
Jul 11, 20221 min read
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Mammoth Cave
We explored the world's longest cave, Mammoth Cave, which has 400 miles of explored passageways and an estimated 600 more. The rocks...
philips923
Apr 22, 20222 min read
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Black Canyon, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde: Colorado's Other National Parks
Our family stood in awe as we looked 1,800 feet down into the dark, metamorphic walls of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The wind...
philips923
Jul 25, 20216 min read
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Guadalupe Mountains
Located in very remote northwest Texas, just a few miles from New Mexico, Guadalupe Mountains is all wilderness and desert. Water is...
philips923
Jun 7, 20212 min read
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Seven Reasons to Visit Big Bend
When we told our friends we were going to camp at Big Bend National Park over Spring Break, the most common question we got was: "Where...
philips923
Apr 18, 20215 min read
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Badlands
We only spent a couple of hours in The Badlands. But it was a few hours that we will never forget. This national park is easy to access...
philips923
Jul 12, 20202 min read
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Mount Rushmore
It took 400 workers 14 years to carve the faces of presidents Washington, Jefferson, (Theodore) Roosevelt, and Lincoln on Mount Rushmore....
philips923
Jul 9, 20202 min read
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Devil's Tower
You may recognize this odd natural formation from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind (filmed here as well as in our hometown of...
philips923
Jul 8, 20201 min read
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Glacier
I've never seen rivers and creeks so blue and forests so dense as what we found at Glacier National Park. The Crown of the Continent, as...
philips923
Jul 6, 20202 min read
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Yellowstone
Only 18 miles separated our campsite in Grand Teton from Yellowstone National Park, yet Yellowstone seems like it is in a completely...
philips923
Jul 2, 20203 min read
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Grand Teton
We were hiking along a fast-flowing stream with waterfalls when we came to a clearing and saw one of the prettiest lakes we have ever...
philips923
Jun 30, 20203 min read
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Shenandoah
We went off the grid - no cell phone, no internet, no GPS, no TV - and stayed in a rustic cabin at Skyland Resort, built in the 1890s....
philips923
Jul 13, 20191 min read
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