outdoor travel

Kayaking the Channel Islands, California’s Unknown National Park

santa cruz channel islands

Eighteen million people live within sixty miles of Channel Islands National Park but that’s nothing compared to the number of animals that make their home there. Just like the Galapagos, long-term isolation created a home for unique animals and plants.  The Channel Islands and the surrounding waters are preserved the way coastal southern California once

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The Day a Mountain Strengthened My Relationship

Everyone raves about the beauty of Switzerland, but few talk about the adrenaline rush.  Travelers save stories of epic mountain adventures for destinations like New Zealand, Patagonia, and the Himalayas.  For some reason, Switzerland is left out from a worthy conversation on alpine excitement and instead is known for its (equally worthy) scenic train rides, downhill skiing, and expensive

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Unlimited Entry to U.S. National Parks with America the Beautiful Pass

The America the Beautiful Pass is a great way to see many parks in the US National Parks system. It gives you free admission for up to 4 adults per park entrance for an annual fee of $80. Read here for more information about the pass. #nationalparks #nps100

When traveling in the United States, my absolute favorite thing to do is visit national parks.  The amount of variety in natural settings within the USA is mind-blowing: in the past year alone I’ve seen the glow of a volcano, gone rock scrambling in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and driven through desert landscapes.  With 401 sites of

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Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii: a Travel Guide

hawaii volcanoes national park

What does the Big Island of Hawaii have that no other Hawaiian island can claim?  The world’s youngest volcano, a record that seems fitting for the most recently added state in a young country. Kilauea Volcano is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.  Its name even means “spewing” or “much spreading” in Hawaiian.  And so, visitors

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I Loved Semuc Champey, But Not For the Pools

If you’ve ever opened up a Guatemalan guidebook, you’ve probably seen a picture of Semuc Champey’s tiered turquoise pools.  Five years ago, this area was relatively unvisited, but now this national park is gaining a ton of popularity on the gringo route despite being close to absolutely nothing. To check out the spectacular scenery and do

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Splendid Nature at Estación Biológica Las Guacamayas

Most tourists who visit the department of Petén in Guatemala see Tikal and nothing else, missing one of the region’s great attractions: the tropical forest.  I was bound and determined to see part of the jungle, so my mother and I decided to visit Estación Biológica Las Guacamayas, a small section of Laguna del Tigre National Park. Visiting the

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