• Seceda, Dolomites
    Europe,  National Parks,  Road Trips

    4 Days in the Italian Dolomites

    The Italian Dolomites are an outdoor playground for whatever strikes your fancy: skiing, cycling, climbing, hiking, boating, and more. You’ll find turquoise alpine lakes nestled in every valley and hairpin turns in the roads over every mountain pass. Every inch of it feels like a fairytale… or something out of Sound of Music. It’s really, truly breathtaking. We finally got the opportunity to make a whirlwind trip to the Dolomites this summer. Four and a half days was not nearly enough to experience it all, but just enough to inspire us to dream about going back already. It had been 10 years since I was last in Italy. The Dolomites…

  • Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills
    Road Trips,  USA

    Exploring Alabama Hills and Lone Pine

    Alabama Hills is quickly becoming a favorite destination of ours, being a mere 3.5 hour drive from Los Angeles, and such an effortless trip with gorgeous views no matter what. We can easily drive up for the weekend and get our fill of rocky desert landscapes and pine-tree laden mountain landscapes all in one place. Alabama Hills is at the foot of Mt. Whitney, and covered in odd rock formations that pile up and create perfect hidden campsites and viewpoints. People visit to go bouldering and climbing, to go biking down the dirt roads, and can easily make the quick drive to Whitney Portal for great hiking. Camping in Alabama…

  • Dog-Friendly Hikes in the PNW
    Road Trips,  USA

    4 Gorgeous Dog-Friendly Hikes in the Pacific Northwest

    The Pacific Northwest is delightfully dog-friendly, and the gorgeous hiking trails are no exception. We love dog-friendly hikes with our pups in the mountains and lakes around Seattle, Portland, and Bend. We’re thrilled to share a few of our favorite dog-friendly hikes with you here. All the ones I’ve listed here are pretty short, at 4 miles or less roundtrip, with great views along the way. If you haven’t met them yet, we have two pups: Juliet and Rascal. They’ve been on multiple cross-country road trips, and they’ve hiked so many dog-friendly trails all over the country. Rattlesnake Ledge, Seattle This popular out and back 5-mile roundtrip hike in the…

  • Tent Camping
    Road Trips,  USA

    Your Essential Packing List for Car Camping

    Your first time camping can be a bit overwhelming, especially when it comes to knowing what to bring. Even regular camping veterans are still improving and adding to their packing list each time! It’s also easy to forget a basic necessity if you don’t have a list ready. So, I thought it would be helpful to make a list of what we have stashed away in our plastic camping bin. We keep most of this this stored in our garage and ready to go, so we’re not running around trying pull together scattered items for each trip. We’re still working on a better kitchen pack, but if you’re just starting…

  • Watson Falls
    National Parks,  Road Trips,  USA

    Umpqua National Forest: Waterfalls and Hot Springs You Can’t Miss

    We only had two days in Umpqua National Forest when we were driving through on our roadtrip from Seattle back down to Los Angeles this year, but we managed to squeeze in a couple truly spectacular waterfalls and hot springs. The North Umpqua River running through southern Oregon has created a path of eighteen waterfalls through Umpqua National Forest, plus a handful of others nearby. The Umpqua Hot Springs were also at the top of our list of stops while we were in the area. In fact, we ended up driving the pothole-filled road twice to soak our tired muscles in the steaming springs. Our Must-See Stops in Umpqua National…