I originally had planned this post to be a "48 hours in Yellowstone" post for people who are only able to visit for a short period of time, but in lieu of the recent floods and closures, I figured I can revamp this post to share about all the things you can still do even with the closures.
Grand Teton National Park has a large variety of hikes that you can do for any experience level. We stayed in the area for a little under a week so we got a chance to explore a few different hike options. String Lake Loop was one that we did on our third day in the park just as a short option to get moving.
The Grand Tetons is one of those National Parks that flies under the radar, but once you experience it, it changes you. When we arrived to the Grand Teton area, we quickly changed our plans from only staying a couple days to staying an entire week. Since we extended our trip, we were able to really slow down and enjoy our hikes. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls trail.
South Dakota is a truly underrated state. The entire western half of the state is filled with parks, monuments and endless wildlife. Rapid City specifically has tons of history and culture that is worth exploring. The town also acts as a perfect home base for exploring a variety of different parks all within day trip distance. Here are some of the best day trips you can take from Rapid City, South Dakota!
Badlands National Park is one that I had neither heard much about nor had at the top of any bucket list. After taking a full day to explore this park, I'm glad to say that the Badlands is well worth the trip out to explore. The park is located in South Dakota which I believe is a rather underrated state. Since we had traveled up from Florida and through endless states of corn fields, we were happy to see scenery changes, especially ones as out-of-this-world as the Badlands. You can absolutely spend more than one day exploring this park but if you have only 24 hours in the area, here's an itinerary to follow so you can make the most of you time here!
When you think of BBQ, Kansas City is definitely one of the top cities that comes to mind. When we were planning our big US road trip, we wanted to integrate BBQ into the trip as much as possible. Originally we had the trip carving along the south through Texas but when we flipped it to go counter clockwise instead, we instead got to treat ourselves to Kansas City!
Back in 2018, I was beyond excited to test out my new GoPro 5 for our big Iceland trip. Little did I know, that the file sizes were going to be too large for my computer to handle when I came home. I tried repeatedly to edit the footage only to have it crash on me over and over again and eventually just gave up.
After a few months of stagnancy, my boyfriend and I decided we were both in need of a quick getaway to refuel our adventurous souls. When he first suggested Newport, RI, I wasn't all that excited about it since I had been there a million times before! Kyle on the other hand had not explored Newport that much at all so I was down for the adventure!
Ginnie Springs campground was something that my boyfriend remembered fondly from his childhood. He reminisced about family camping trips and days at the drag races nearby. But years later, he couldn't WAIT to show me the beautiful water of Ginnie Springs. So it was fitting that we'd have the opportunity to go this year for his 30th birthday!
Maybe it's because we're just finishing up a pandemic or maybe it's my complete overwhelm by crowds sometimes, but Ginnie Springs campround was A LOT to take in. If you're like me and like to avoid big party crowds, here are some pointers.
It's been a while since I've written a good old fashioned Adventure Diary post! As much as I enjoy creating useful guides, it's fun to just share about good times with good friends! So when Kyle and I moved down to Florida for the winter, my friends from Mass and CT jumped at the opportunity to plan a weekend to come down and visit in January! Plus with two of our birthdays landing in January, it's a perfect excuse to celebrate!
