• National Park Travel

    My Top 5 Favorite National Parks
    & Why I Love Them

    Every so often, I feel the need to share a post just because I want to – not because Google is going to show it to lots of people. Instead, I write stories like this one because I know that you and I share something in common: we love exploring and finding new places to call our favorites and recommend to our friends and family. After all, what is a blog if not a big megaphone to share my travel advice with (future) friends like you...

  • Itineraries,  National Park Travel

    How to Make the Most of One Day in Carlsbad Caverns National Park

    America's national parks have something for everyone. Whether you love historic sites, back-country trekking, or delving deep underground... there's a park for that! It turns out that I personally am partial to the latter: I have loved caves and caving since I was a child (along with mining and mineshafts, which is a weird thing for kids to love!). Unsurprisingly then, some of my favorite national parks have caves – and it's also unsurprising that Carlsbad Caverns National Park jumped right onto my list of personal faves since IT'S ALL CAVES...

  • Things to Do in Carlsbad Hero
    Destination Guides

    The 10 Best Things to Do in Carlsbad, New Mexico

    Located in the southeast corner of New Mexico, the town of Carlsbad is perhaps best known for the cavernous national park nearby that shares its name. Bisected by the Pecos River, this town of just 30,000 residents might not seem like it offers much other than overnight accommodation for national park travelers; in fact, there are more things to do in Carlsbad than you likely realize...

  • 10 Days in Alaska Itinerary Hero
    Itineraries

    10 Days in Alaska: How to Plan Your Epic Alaska Itinerary in 2023

    If there is one destination about which I receive more questions than any other, it's Alaska. At the core, everyone wants to know: how do you plan a trip to Alaska? What's the perfect Alaska itinerary? Since I started this blog, I've become a bit of an expert in Alaska trip planning and at times I publish so many stories that it seems like I'm running an Alaska travel blog! After all, I grew up in Alaska and I go back to explore my 'home' state at least once per year and twice in both 2021 and 2022...

  • Next U.S. National Park Hero
    National Park Travel

    Ready for a New National Park? Here are 10 Possible Spots

    As you may know from reading my site at all, I'm a huge fan of the national parks system in the U.S. I, like many, believe it to be one of America's best ideas – and I love traveling with the specific intent of visiting new national parks. Heck, Mr. V and I took a honeymoon road trip to explore national parks, and I plan an annual pilgrimage to a new park with my friend Marissa...