Buzzed by Condors at Pinnacles NP

Pinnacles National Park is not one of the more famous parks in California. Completely overshadowed by famous destinations like Yosemite, Death Valley, and the Redwoods, Pinnacles barely registered with us when we started thinking about our route through the state. Judging from the blank looks we received from family members at Thanksgiving when we mentioned … Read more

Surprised and Delighted by Point Reyes National Seashore

I realized during this stay that while we are usually awed by the sights we’ve seen on the road, we are seldom surprised. We were thrilled, but not particularly surprised, to see bison in the Black Hills and huge trees in the redwoods. Point Reyes National Seashore, on the other hand, really surprised us. We selected … Read more

Humbled by Giants in the Redwoods

Since we’ve visited botanical gardens across the country during our time on the road, it should come as no surprise that our itinerary included a week-long stay in Northern California to explore the extensive Redwood National and State Parks. And it’s equally unsurprising that we found the redwoods to be utterly majestic, breathtaking, impressive, and … Read more

Big City Living in Boise

Boise’s population of around 300,000 and its role as the capital of the state make the city comparable in some respects to Tallahassee, Florida, our home-state capital. But unlike Tallahassee, which is a relatively small town in a state with multiple major metropolitan areas, Boise is also the largest city in the state by a … Read more