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[Mesa Verde National Park, Sep 5, 2023] People love to hate Gateway Arch National Park because it’s a man-made structure. But they forget several other parks preserve man-made structures, such as Dry Tortugas and Mesa Verde. For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. The park protects what they built, including several spectacular cliff dwellings that are open to… Read More

[Rocky Mountain NP, Sep 3, 2023] The morning started out back at the newlyweds’ cabin for a wedding brunch. It was nice to see everyone in a more casual setting and with no sign of the rain from the night before. In the afternoon, I couldn’t resist returning to Rocky Mountain National Park, which I had just visited the year before. There were afternoon thunderstorms again in the forecast – quite common… Read More

With Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dead Horse Point State Park in the vicinity, Moab is a place where you can get a lot of bang for your buck. You can easily spend more days here, especially if you want to visit the most remote sections of Canyonlands. But 3 days will be plenty to explore, especially if you’re comfortable with 5 to 10 miles of hiking per day. You can… Read More

[Arches National Park, May 1, 2023] My flight out of Salt Lake City was not until 3:30 pm. Even though I had a long drive from Moab – about 3.5 hours – I was determined to squeeze in some last-minute sights in Arches in the morning. I decided to check out Devil’s Garden. Located at the very end of the park road, this trail offers someone for everyone. If you want to… Read More

[This blog post will be continuously updated with new information. Last Updated Mar 13, 2024] 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