Capitol Reef National Park

Sixty miles long and just six miles wide, Capitol Reef National Park is in the middle of nowhere Utah. We visited on Halloween which seemed appropriate given it has to be one of the least visited National Parks (this isn’t true, but it feels like it should be). Admittedly, after three weeks in Moab, visiting…

Moab Amazes: Canyonlands National Park

Bright in the morning on October 21, we drove into Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky district. Not much can get me motivated in the morning but the prospect of avoiding crowds certainly helps put a pep in my step. Canyonlands is known for Mesa Arch and all the pictures I had seen were…

Moab Amazes: Arches National Park

Arches National Park, what an incredible place! I’d like to say that we did everything there, but honestly, we didn’t hit up the Visitor Center (*gasp*) which is an act non grata when it comes to National Park visits AND we didn’t hike to Delicate Arch (because both of us had done it before). However,…

Stranded in Provo and the Moose’s Mating Call

We never planned to spend a week in the Provo/Salt Lake City area. Heck, we didn’t even plan to spend a few days there. Vaniel, however, had other plans in mind. He had been experiencing some electrical issues so we got him into a Dodge dealer ASAP while he was still under warranty. His “progress”…

City of Rocks: Where we met some amazing van lifers

Rule #1 of Van Life: Nobody shits in the toilet. Rule #2: Avoid weekend crowds at all costs. Rule #3: There are no other rules.  With only two rules, you’d think we’d have this locked in by now. For the record, Rule #1 remains unbroken. *clasps hands above head* We’ve had a few close calls,…

Returning to Smith Rock one year later

Smith Rock State Park, a picture-perfect climber’s paradise in central Oregon. It’s a unique place with views all around, beautiful water surrounding the rock, and some very enjoyable climbing. It’s also quite special for us as it is the first place we ever returned to with Vaniel. The first time we were in Smith Rock (September 2017),…

Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood, and scary lava tubes

Stratovolcanoes, lava tubes, blue skies, and sunshine. Sounds like another round of adventure with Vaniel! Ape Caves: The third longest lava tube in North America. Ape Cave was formed nearly 2,000 years ago from lava streaming down the southern flank of Mount St. Helens. (Thanks, WTA.) Here’s the thing about caves: turns out, I’m not a fan….

Hiking the Enchantments and more Washington adventures

Almost a year after we packed up our van and moved out of our tiny micro studio in West Seattle, we finally returned to Washington. We had a long checklist of everything we wanted to do and people we wanted to see and no plan whatsoever. #methodsofsuccess While we didn’t get to everything on our…

Grand Teton National Park… quite grand indeed

Within one week in Grand Teton National Park, we hiked 40 miles and biked 18 miles (or 26 miles if you’re an overachiever like Colin). We didn’t see everything, but we sure gave it our best. This blog will focus on our hikes because I’m not half as talented with a camera when I’m on…