pretty palm springs

Oh Palm Springs! 

You are without a doubt one of my favorite places in the world. When I realized that this city was so close to our planned visit to Joshua Tree, I knew that we had to make a side trip here because Palm Springs has always been on my wishlist. But what was meant to be a half day detour quickly turned into two full days. 

I've posted here and there about some of the things that we did while in Palm Springs, but I wanted to do one full post with everything from our time there because I love this posh laid back city.

Touring Tennesse

In my mind, there is no better way to celebrate than with a trip. Anyone else agree? We pretty much travel to mark every good occasion. And last week was one worth celebrating.

After presenting and defending his doctoral thesis, Tom put the finishing touches on his dissertation last Wednesday, which means that he is officially finished with his PhD in finance. Woohoo! Then on Thursday, we hopped in the car and made the 8-hour drive to Nashville Tennessee because first thing Friday morning, I took the first half of my dentist licensing exam and PASSED! We have so much to celebrate and be grateful for after all this stress being melted away, so instead of driving straight home Saturday-we decided to make a trip of it and add in a few stops through Tennessee with camping and hiking our way through some of the state parks there. It was only 24 hours, but we made the best of this time and took the opportunity to see something new. Here’s a glimpse of our time Touring Tennessee.

day trip diaries: Phoenix

Visiting Phoenix, Arizona was a sweet unexpected treat during our Southwest Road Trip. After our time in Joshua Tree, we had planned to leave California and cross over into Arizona to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon before flying back home through Phoenix. So initially, our itinerary included nothing beyond a brief tour of the Phoenix airport.

But there was a change in the weather for the worst that made our plans to camp at the Grand Canyon not the best idea. Also, it felt like we were trying to squeeze the Grand Canyon in and this is not something that you want to rush through. Ultimately, we decided to save it for another trip and just head into Phoenix a little sooner since we were already booked with flights and a hotel there. We simply extended our hotel stay and spent 2 nights and 1 full day exploring the Phoenix area. It's not like us to change our travel plans last minute like this and be so spontaneous, but I'm glad that we did. 

the top of mount san jacinto

Wherever we were in Palm Springs, we could see the mountains. And we of course had to make our way to the top. 

 The city of Palm Springs California is located at the base of a valley, but is surrounded by mountains on all sides. You have the San Bernardino Mountains to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the South, the Little San Bernardino Moutains to the East, and the San Jacinto Mountains to the West. We took the best route up to the top of the mountain with riding the world's largest rotating aerial tram up the top. 

hiking to a secluded beach

The best kind of hike is a birthday hike! I didn't think we would be doing any hiking this year since we spent my birthday in Martha's Vineyard, but I was surprised to learn that there are a lot of great options there. So after a morning bike ride to a lighthouse, we headed off to spend our afternoon on a quick 3 mile hike to a secluded beach. Of course we got a little lost along the way, so those 3 miles quickly turned into 5! 

desert oasis

After spending a day hiking through the desert in the hottest place on Earth, it was nice to stumble upon this hidden gem of a desert oasis in Palm Springs.

Pressure from the San Andreas Fault created underwater springs that support the palm trees in this area. It's kind of crazy to be wondering through the desert to suddenly happen upon a lush forest of palm trees.

camping in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park...it's where the cool kids go. It's just an hour away from Palm Springs, California. And it's the perfect quick detour on the route from LA to Vegas. Never have I been to a place with so many hipsters and professional photo shoots. It's the place to be. But the true cool kids do this park just right with camping here. At least we think so. 

We spent 8 nights on the West Coast, staying in some pretty nice hotels, but nothing beat camping under the stars in Joshua Tree.

sah-wah-roh

This pretty place was one of my favorite stops along our Great Southwest Road Trip, which is funny because it wasn’t originally on our itinerary, or even our radar until the day we went. We got lucky enough to stumble upon Saguaro (pronounced sah-wah-roh) National Park on St. Patty's Day, which turned out to be the perfect spot amongst the desert greens.

We were supposed to visit the Grand Canyon, but the weather had us changing our minds and our plans at the last minute. At first, it felt like this was going to be a downgrade that we would have to make the best of. Instead, it turned out to be a favorite spot that we visited. We both agreed that changing our plans was for the better and we got to spend the day falling in love with this hidden gem. 

a secret hike in Joshua Tree

We managed to visit 3 desert national parks across 2 different states during our Great Southwest Road Trip. Each one had a completely unique environment. But without a doubt, the award for best hike goes to Joshua Tree National Park. 

I plan most of our trips, but I put the Husband in charge of finding us some great hikes to do in Joshua Tree and he nailed it by finding an off-trail hike to Eagle's Cliff with a great reward at the end. 

death valley national park

Welcome to the hottest place on Earth! ☀️ 🌏 

Lucky me, I got to visit with the hottest guy I know. 💍 

And lucky for both of us that we visited during late winter when the temperatures are still tolerable.

After our day in Vegas, we made the 2-hour drive to Death Valley National Park with a detour here on the way.

mountain zip-lining

Every trip needs an incredible adventure to go along with it, one stand out experience that sticks with you forever. While everything we did during our camping trip was amazing, zip-lining through the Blue Ridge Mountains was easily the highlight. 

memorial day in the mountains

This past memorial day weekend was made perfect by the fact that I got to spend it with my little sister; just the two of us. It was a waterfall chasing, s'mores making, bear encountering, mountain zip-lining, hiking, camping kind of weekend.

We headed to Asheville, which is a true gem of a mountain town in North Carolina,  located right along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. And since it's only a few hours from my parents home, it was the perfect place for us to head for the weekend. We split our time exploring Pisgah National Forest, Chimney Rock State Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was actually Jada's first time camping and I blame that on me. We have more than a decade between our ages. When I was little, I complained every single moment of every single camping trip. I hated it! Ironically, it's now one of my favorite things to do and I can't get enough of it. But with Jada being even more girly than me, my parents pretty much assumed Jada would hate camping too and never took her. But she loved it and was a real trooper too because we camped through one of the worst storms I've ever encountered and had some pretty close calls with black bears right outside of our tent every single night.

that's one mammoth cave!

Crossing another national park off our list thanks to a recent Southern Road Trip. After visiting Nashville in Tennessee, we headed through Kentucky and had to make a stop at Mammoth Cave National Park...the longest cave system in the world. 

Each national park visit gets more and more unique and this one involved lots of tight spaces and spelunking. Good thing we're not claustrophobic! We hiked both above ground and underground, but the obvious highlight was touring through the caves. 

it's still winter

With what seemed to be an unusually mild winter, I may have gotten ahead of myself with jumping right into Spring. But this recent hike was a very big reminder that it's still winter. The days may be getting longer and the plants are getting a little greener, but March seems to have greeted us with a cold snap. And the temps are still requiring cold weather gear, as in ridiculously warm full-length coats ha! Cold or not, I can never resist a chance for a good hike, especially one that involves getting to witness the seasons transition. So while, yes it is still technically winter, Spring is sprouting through. 

wandering washington

Thanks to a whirlwind week in Washington State, we got our first taste of the Pacific Northwest. This is my final big share from our trip. And then hopefully, I can delve more into our Christmas trip through Mexico and my trip to Europe. Seriously, will I ever catch up on blogging? But I guess being too busy traveling to document your past travels isn't such a bad problem to have. 

THE HOH RAINFOREST

The Hoh Rainforest is by far this most magical place I've ever been because there's something about it that touches your soul. Some favorite moments our day there...

Being surrounded by sitka spruce covered in green moss

Tasting the perfect amount of moisture in the air + feeling the fresh drops of rain dew falling on my skin 

Spotting roosevelt elk walking right across the trail 

I always thought I'd have to travel to the Amazon to visit a rainforest, but one of the largest Temperate Rainforests in the world is located right in the United States in Olympic National Park. After our lazy days at Lake Crescent, we knew that Olympic wouldn't let us down. And thanks to the National Park Service, this place will forever be protected for us all. 

Southwest Road Trip Budget: Utah's Mighty 5

 Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 30
 This is the third year in a row that we've flown out west to spend a week road-tripping. And this trip was my favorite one yet. We have been dreaming of driving through Utah and hiking the Mighty 5 {utah's 5 national parks} for years, but we weren't sure if we could swing it. Once we knew we could fit everything we wanted into our one-week itinerary, the budget became our next priority. 

Going on a southwest road trip is something that every American should do at some point, but there can be many unknowns when it comes to cost. I felt so frustrated with trying to find info so I feel compelled to share our exact budget to show how doable a Mighty Five Road Trip can be.

12 hours in arches national park

There is so much to do and see in Arches National Park that it can be disheartening to know that you only have one day to spend here. When it comes down to it, you have two options.

Option #1: Make peace with the time that you do have. Slow things down by picking just a few spots to enjoy.

Option #2: Realize that you’re not guaranteed to have this opportunity ever again. Ignore all the rules of the time & space continuum and squeeze every drop of sunlight out of the day.

Can you guess which one we chose? Yep, the latter. But, with either route you choose, this will be a good guide. And it’s actually pretty doable to see the entire park in one day because everything is located right along the scenic road. This made it possible to soak up everything we wanted to see in a single day. On that note, here’s how to spend a perfect day in Arches National Park.

the {white} mountains are calling!

Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 27

every new englander knows the lure of the white mountains and they have been calling to us for far too long

golden sun peaking over the clouds in a sky filled with hues of pink, purple, and blue

the hard granite of the mountainside covered in soft green earth

walking right through waterfalls with the freshest spring water misting your face

we couldn't resist a trip to the white mountains of new hampshire 

Camping in Acadia National Park

Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 26