I once read that the cost to visit all 8 national parks in Alaska would amount to $10,000. Now that we’ve been to 5 of those parks over SEVERAL years—3 of which are fly/boat-in only—we can see how the dollars add up. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in south-central Alaska was this year’s splurge…
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Because we drive around the country so much, we typically are visiting everyone in their homes, or at least their state. I’ve seen my mom a lot this year, but always in New Jersey. To change things up, she decided to visit us on the road while we’ve been in Alaska!! Her brother and his…
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What now is a few weeks ago (I’m behind on posts!), we embarked on another backpacking trip deep into Denali National Park! Last year, we did Unit 9, and this year Unit 6. Total trip mileage: 18.1 miles Time Spent in the Wild: 2 nights / 3 days Elevation Gain: 1,850 feet As I explained…
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Justin’s grandma, Barbara La Vigne, passed away this past week and I’d love to pay my respects to her by writing a little bit about our time on Earth with her! As soon as I met Grandma La Vigne and learned that she loved chocolate as much as I did, I knew that I would…
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Currently living/working in: Alaska!! We’re still doing outreach for the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Initiative, mainly in and around Denali National Park. It is fabulous to be back in Alaska; it just feels like home to us. We’ll be here until late August. Current mood: We seem to have a good handle on…
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Hello from Alaska! Catching up on our drive through Canada first … When we found out we’d be driving up to Alaska again and going through the Banff/Jasper area, we knew we wanted to do more than stop at all the pull offs along the Icefields Parkway. I mean, don’t get me wrong, these roadside…
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We just made it to Alaska, but before I get too behind, let me recap our first leg of the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Tour in Wyoming/Idaho (Teton Valley). We really love this area—and are reminded of that each time we return—but our 3 weeks there went way too fast! Official Stats: 21 days…
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Our work time in the Tetons went so quickly, and honestly, we could spend years and probably not hike every trail out there. And even though we didn’t have time to do an overnight backpacking trip this go-round, we knocked out 2 epic day hikes. Surprise/Amphitheater Lake Trailhead: Lupine Meadows Out and Back Mileage: 10.2…
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Currently living/working in: We’re back on the road this summer (until Oct. 15) as the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Team!!! So we’ve been in Teton County, Wyoming/Idaho since mid June (mostly Grand Teton National Park) and are leaving 7/5 to head up to Alaska, then will be in California most of September. Current mood:…
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This blog post is overdue and happened what seems like months ago! We are currently back on the road for Leave No Trace/Subaru for the Zero Landfill Tour, so this recap is focused on April-June. Ready, rewind. (***Warning, picture heavy & long!***) Much of the last 8 years as nomads, it’s been for work—starting with…
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Indiana Sand Dunes is the newest national park, designated as so in February. It used to be a national lakeshore. As a reminder, there are 419 “units” in the National Park Service and these units have about a dozen different names (monuments, historic sites, seashores, etc), with only 61 having the “national park” designation. We…
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It’s been a hot minute since we checked off any state highpoints, mainly because the 7 left are pretty difficult to climb (Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon for Justin & Washington for me) or difficult to get to (Nevada, Hawaii and Illinois). Charles Mound, Illinois, is arguably the “most difficult to get to” because it is…
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Currently living/working in: We’ve been on the road (for ourselves) while making several pit stops up the East Coast to see family and explore, and now back on the road headed back west. I will actually be writing a whole blog post about these comings and goings, but basically, it’s been a fun and busy.…
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Guest post by Justin! Most of you know by now that I came off of Denali, what was supposed to be a 25-day expedition. I’ve spent months prepping my gear, my mind and my body. I thought I was ready. But it turns out I was not. I want to be super human, I want…
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Well folks, you can stop worrying, because Justin is off the mountain. He is not hurt or ill. He just did not feel it at all this time and decided to end his climb. My dad had this saying and it has always been a favorite takeaway for Justin and I. Justin really dug deep…
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Folks, the day is upon us. Justin and his 4 teammates have landed at Denali’s base camp at 7,200 feet (Denali’s summit is 20,310 feet). The team sorted all their gear on Sunday and left it in the K2 Aviation hanger in Talkeetna, then stayed at an Airbnb in Talkeetna owned by a friend of…
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First things first. There are now 61 designated National Parks. Last time we visited a National Park, there were 59. The March signing of the public lands bill added 2 national park sites—one of which we’ve been to and the other we’ll need to add to our list. Just needed to update my numbers and…
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Currently living/working in: Most of April has been on the road in our van. Our Leave No Trace contract ended April 8, meaning we returned our work-provided Subaru Ascent and moved into our van until the next Leave No Trace contract. We are still juggling lots of content projects, but it’s been fun to be…
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We returned from our Eastern Caribbean Holland America Cruise with our niece, Sarah, and we have 2 revelations. 1st Revelation – We like cruising!! This was actually my 3rd, Justin’s 2nd, and truly, we enjoyed. Frankly, how could you not revel in a floating resort where meals appeared and dirty dishes disappeared like magic? Our…
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