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Monthly Archives: December 2025
[Kenai Fjords National Park, Jul 27, 2025] We started our first full day in Seward at Resurrection Art Coffee House. The former church dates from 1917 and was converted to a coffee house in 1992. Locals and visitors alike are drawn to the unique architecture, the local art on the walls, and the yummy coffee and pastries. The line took 45 minutes, but the matcha latte and blueberry scone I got were… Read More
[This blog post will be continuously updated with new information. Last Updated Apr 23, 2026] As more and more national parks institute timed entries, reservations and lotteries, planning your national park trip requires more advance planning than ever. I have yet to see all this information in one place, which inspired me to do it! To compile it, I visited each national park website in addition to relying on my own experience… Read More
[Seward, AK, Jul 26, 2025] Last year’s Alaska cruise did its intended job – it inspired me to plan my own trip! I felt intimidated by it due to the costs and logistics involved, but with some Alaska experience under my belt, I was ready to strike out on a self-planned trip. Kenai Fjords and Denali are the most accessible. Planning Kenai was easy – the nearest town, Seward, is only a… Read More
[Devil’s Tower National Monument, Jun 21, 2025] Somewhere along the way of planning this trip, I realized that we would be just a couple of hours way from Devil’s Tower, an impressive collection of columns rising almost 900 ft into the sky. The town of Sheridan, WY, was another 1.5 hours west. It was a good place to spend the night because it put us within a coupe of hours of Billings… Read More
[Custer State Park / Black Hills National Forest, SD, Jun 20, 2025] It was going to be another hot day in Custer, so we had to start our day much earlier. With highs forecasted in the 90s, I wanted us to start our 7+ mile hike to the tallest peak in South Dakota as early as possible. We hit our hotel’s breakfast as soon as it opened at 6 am and managed… Read More
