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Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

08 Mar 19 Things to Do in the Florida Keys That Will Make you Fall in Love with the Islands

Posted at 09:15h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States

The Florida Keys are one of our favorite places—over the years, we have spent many a day exploring this tropical slice of Florida. While there are so many adventures we have yet to try in the Keys, we wanted to share our personal favorites with...

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Dry Tortugas National Park Day Trip with Viator, Florida Keys

03 Mar Day Trip to the Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys

Posted at 10:30h in Blog, Florida, National Parks, Outdoor Adventure, The Florida Keys, United States

“Even if you don’t normally get seasick, it’s a good idea to take a Dramamine today”, the voice over the loudspeaker announced. The waves were averaging between 3-6 feet, which means some waves have the potential to be much larger. We were in for a bumpy...

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Hemingway House, Key West, FL

24 Apr A Trip Back in Time at the Hemingway House in Key West

Posted at 07:10h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

Key West in the 30's was a very different place than it is today. Ernest Hemingway made the small island his home from 1931 until 1939, and it was here that he wrote some of his great works such as The Snows of Kilimanjaro, To...

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Road Trip through the Florida Keys

25 Oct Road Trip Through the Florida Keys: Essential Stops

Posted at 09:20h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

The Florida Keys are a special place. Rough on the outside, as many Caribbean destinations are, but underneath there is a welcoming charm, the type you can only get from an unhurried seaside town. Although the Keys are not technically in the Caribbean, you are...

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Historic Seaport, Key West, FL

23 Oct 10 Things To Do in Key West, FL

Posted at 09:20h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

Key West is so much more than partying and beaches--ok, well those do happen to be top activities on the island, but I want to share with you some of our favorite spots as well. Even though the island is less than 7 square miles,...

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East Martello Museum, Key West, FL

17 Oct Haunted Museum in Key West: East Martello Museum

Posted at 08:50h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

In a past life, the East Martello Museum was a military fort, but today it is home to a rather odd museum with bizarre and even some haunted exhibits and residents. The exhibits cover a good range of Key West history through historic artifacts, local...

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Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park in Key West, FL

15 Oct Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park in Key West, FL

Posted at 09:45h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

An almost hidden beach next to a fort from the Civil War era does not sound like the typical Key West scenery, but that's exactly what Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is. Expansive beaches are surprisingly few and far between throughout the Keys, but...

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Artist House on Fleming, Key West, FL

10 Oct Overnight in Key West: Artist House on Fleming

Posted at 09:05h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

Key West is home to many bed and breakfasts ranging from small and basic to grand and fancy, but most are cheaper than staying in a larger hotel. I like the quaintness and personal attention of a bed and breakfast, but we had yet to...

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Schooner Jolly II Rover, Sunset Sail, Key West, FL

07 Oct Sunset Sail in Key West: Schooner Jolly II Rover

Posted at 08:54h in Blog, Florida, The Florida Keys, United States, Urban Adventure

Sunsets in Key West are a big deal--every evening Mallory Square hosts a sunset celebration where thousands of people gather to watch the sun dip below the horizon. With gorgeous colors and the elusive green flair, more often than not, you will catch a great...

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Smathers Beach, Key West, FL

02 Oct A Photo Essay: Key West, FL

Posted at 08:01h in Blog, Florida, Photo Essay, The Florida Keys, United States

Somehow, Key West continues to draw me in with a tighter grasp every time I set foot on its sizzling shores. I have visited this tiny island paradise more times than I can count (and yes, I can count into double digits, thank you very...

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Another hike that we went on during our time in De Another hike that we went on during our time in Death Valley National was the Golden Canyon Trail with the Red Cathedral extension! We really enjoyed the landscape throughout this hike—it was another one of our favorite trails in Death Valley. The trail is 1.5 miles each way (3 miles round trip), and the last 0.5 miles of the trail, aka the Red Cathedral Trail, requires some scrambling, ledges, and low overhangs.

The Golden Canyon/Red Cathedral trail was so fun and we loved weaving through, under, and over tight rock formations. Plus, the views at the end of the trail were beautiful. Apparently, some scenes from Star Wars were filmed in this area, and I can see why—it looked like we were walking through an entirely different world!
At first, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National At first, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park doesn’t look like much, but when you learn more about this piece of land, it’s quite interesting. Badwater Basin is the lowest elevation point in North America, at 282 ft below sea level. The land here is made up of a salt flat that stretches nearly 200 square miles. If you look hard for the tiny white sign in the mountains in the 5th photo (straight up above the Cruise America RV) you can see where sea level is. Standing on the salt flat and looking up at the sea level sign really puts the low elevation into perspective! We couldn’t help but imagine standing at the bottom of the lake that once covered this area.

We walked about a mile out onto the flats and loved seeing all the salt polygons and unique formations all around us. The farther we walked the less people we saw, and it was quite peaceful during our sunset stroll. We ended up visiting Badwater Basin twice during our trip, and I already want to head back again. There’s just so much to see if you take the time to look!
When standing at the Zabriski Point Lookout in Dea When standing at the Zabriski Point Lookout in Death Valley National Park, you overlook stunning hills and canyons of the Badlands. And if you look close, you might see people hiking far out on the landscape. One of the trails that runs through this area is the Badlands Loop, and it is a fantastic option for a hike!  Wandering through the narrow canyons and up along the hills of the Badlands provides a beautiful vantage point of this colorful area. 

The Badlands Loop is a 2.7 mile trail that runs through the gulch and up along the top of the ridges. There isn’t much shade on this trial, especially if you hike it during the heat of the day, so try to avoid a midday hike here when the temperatures are high. There are several trails that intersect in this area; you can connect to both the Gower Gulch Trail and the Golden Canyon Trail to make it one longer 7.8 mile loop hike. We hiked Golden Canyon earlier on our trip, so this time around we just hiked the Badlands Loop. Photos 1-8 are from the Badlands Loop trail, and 9-10 are from the Zabriski Point overlook the day prior when the skies were much more cloudy!
We spent 2.5 days exploring Death Vally National P We spent 2.5 days exploring Death Vally National Park this past winter, and we sure packed a lot into our visit. Hiking the wide variety of trails was our favorite way to explore the park. All of the trails were fantastic, but the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes was one of our favorite stops. We visited the dunes several times during our three days in the park, and each visit was at a different time of day. We were there for sunset, at night to see the stars, and at sunrise. When we went for sunrise, we hiked our way out to the summit of the tallest dune. The summit is roughly 1 mile from the parking lot, although there is no formal trail to get there and back. 

Along the hike, we spotted someone painting the sunrise from the top of one of the dunes. We couldn’t help but stop and chat with her and Micah snapped a few photos—we absolutely loved her artwork! We also enjoyed finding lots of animal prints in the sand. Even though the distance was short, the hike was tough as the sand is very hard to walk on. It felt like every step forward equaled two steps back! But the feeling you get from conquering the tallest dune is well worth it. It’s a beautiful portion of the park to explore!
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