Category Archives: Travel

The Black Hills: Scenic Byways

Besides driving the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, we drove the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain. Needles Highway On the first day, we took the Needles Highway. Fortunately, we are driving an itty bitty van because the tunnels on this particular byway are narrow and short, less than 9 ft and 10 ft sometimes.Continue reading “The Black Hills: Scenic Byways”

The Teton Range: Stunning Views, Incredible Dispersed Camping

On our way to find dispersed camping outside of Jackson, WY, we drove through a portion of Grand Teton National Park and stopped to take pictures of a bison herd. The camping we were headed to is in the Bridger-Teton National Forest outside of the National Elk Refuge. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see anyContinue reading “The Teton Range: Stunning Views, Incredible Dispersed Camping”

Wind Cave National Park: In Pictures

While exploring the Black Hills, we drove to Wind Cave National Park. I have to admit I had never heard of it, but there are a lot more national parks than the ones that I knew about. We could not explore the cave (it sounds interesting) because we had Poppy with us. Instead, we walkedContinue reading “Wind Cave National Park: In Pictures”

Bison in the Badlands

We were excited to return to Badlands National Park after our first visit almost two years ago. We were there with our now-deceased dog Kelso and trying out a road trip in the Delica for the first time. Our first stop was primitive boondocking in Buffalo Gap National Grasslands outside the park. We drove toContinue reading “Bison in the Badlands”

Death and Beauty: On the Road Again

After two months in Ohio, we were back on the road in the van. It was exciting. We were headed west to parts already visited, but mostly not. We were prepared with an updated van interior, additional solar, and the lessons learned from the first four months of life on the road. One of theContinue reading “Death and Beauty: On the Road Again”

Living In a 4Runner With Poppy

Our decision to adopt Poppy was easy but came with a temporary problem – Mark’s dad was not open to us bringing a dog into his house, where we were staying, until the modifications were done on the van. Fortunately, I have a good friend who runs a farm sanctuary where I could stay withContinue reading “Living In a 4Runner With Poppy”

New River Gorge In Monochrome

Inspired by Leanne Cole I decided to start taking some photos in monochrome. Our destination was New River Gorge National Park & Preserve and it felt like the perfect place to try taking pictures in black and white.

An Unforgettable Day

We decided to spend a day or two in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mark had spent many a vacation there with his dad and brothers. After walking a trail in one part of the park, we decided to spend the night at the very popular Cades Cove campground. The next day turned outContinue reading “An Unforgettable Day”

Stranded In the Forest & the Interloper

It should come as no surprise that a couple days into our dispersed camping in Nantahala National Forest, the nighttime temperatures hovered in the teens. Once again the diesel heater came into use at night and in the morning. On our third morning, the diesel heater threw an error code indicating low voltage. We quicklyContinue reading “Stranded In the Forest & the Interloper”