Category: National Parks

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Canada National Parks Nova Scotia WanderLog

Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the Cabot Trail

I didn’t realize how BIG Nova Scotia was. It really does take hours to get across, but that didn’t deter us from heading to the northernmost part – Cape Breton. Specifically we wanted to visit the National Park because I had heard such good things!

When We Visited: August 19-21, 2018

Ages of Kids: 12, 10, & 8

Where we stayed: We camped in Cheticamp on the west side of the park. While our friends snagged a site for the whole time, we actually had to move in the middle but it wasn’t crazy. Both sites were unserviced (dry) but the temps were manageable and we did okay. Next time I’d be tempted to stay there for a few days and then tow around and over to Ignogish and park closer to the beach!

The main attraction for this park is driving the Cabot Trail – a beautifully scenic highway that runs the length of the park. We were told we really needed to drive it on a motorcycle, but realistically that just wasn’t going to happen!

Instead of seeing the park piece by piece we determined it would be better to just take off a day of work and spend the whole day exploring! We hadn’t this in a LONG time and although it was a long day we had a blast.

Driving the Cabot Trail

I think most people drive the trail counter-clockwise but since we were already camped on the west side we went the opposite direction. We told the kids we were doing a “10 Hike Challenge” along the way and for the most part everyone stayed enthusiastic. We felt like it was a great way to stop along the way and see various highlights of the park.

“When planning our adventures in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, we decided to take work off and spend the entire day driving & hiking footpaths along the Cabot Trail with our friends @alyssakerickson & @cperickson.

The road winds along the seashore, through the trees and then back to the opposite seashore for 108 km of pretty spectacular scenery.

We haven’t taken an entire day for intense exploring in a long time and it was fabulous. By the end we were exhausted but our adventurous souls were satisfied.” – @currentlywandering

“The shores of Nova Scotia have completely taken me by surprise. This section in particular reminded me of Lake Superior with it’s craggy rocks and blue water. I loved it!

About halfway into our 10 hike challenge, the kids found a burst of energy to scramble up and down to the water and back. Hanging with friends on this trip has been awesome. Outdoor activities always seem to go smoother when the kids (okay adults too) have someone to hang with!” – @currentlywandering

“When we originally planned our route to include Nova Scotia, ‘beach’ was the furthest word from my mind.

Now we can’t get enough.

First we thought we’d just dip our toes in. Then up to our ankles, then a wave came and splashed up to our knees. Before we knew it we were ducking waves and laughing in the salt spray.

Maybe it was a full day of hiking, or maybe the light was just right, or we got lucky with an unseasonably warm summer. Whatever the reason, our evening on Ingonish Beach will forever be a favorite.” – @currentlywandering

By the time we were finished with our dip in the ocean and our last hike, we were pretty starving! The restaurants in town were pretty busy so we found a burger place that was basically fast food. We gobbled them down and then blasted music on the hour and 45 minute drive back to camp. Everyone slept pretty well that night!

Hiking Skyline Trail

We only had one more day in the park, and we knew we wanted to hit the Skyline Trail at sunset. Since the signal in the park wasn’t very good, both dads drove out to town hunting for better coverage. They found it right outside the bakery. Darn.

Alyssa and I managed the kids – we did some smashbooking, passed off their Xplorer books and just basically hung around until dinner time. Then we were off!

It is advised to start the trail about 2 hours before sunset so for us that was 6:30pm. The trail is fairly flat along the top of the ridge but then it opens up into this:

It literally took my breath away. Even though it was an easy 4.5 mile round trip, the Skyline Trail definitely hit my list of all time favorite hikes. Sunset was totally a bonus!

“As we walked past the last line of trees and into the open I involuntarily caught my breath. It really did feel like we could touch the sky.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park turned out to be one of our favorite national parks on either side of the border. There’s just something about those seaside hills rolling down into the ocean that spark my imagination.

I can’t think of a better place @telegramsam and I could have celebrated 15 years of marriage. It’s hard, and it’s work, and sometimes in 188 square feet it gets a little crazy. But as I think back over the last four years of travel and how much we’ve been able to truly start to understand and appreciate each other I wouldn’t change a second of it. Love you babe! 😘” – @currentlywandering

While I’m sure we could have spent much long in the park, not having good signal for work is fairly stressful. I’m so grateful we had as long a we did though – Cape Breton Highlands has turned into one of our favorite National Parks!

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site

Since signal was not amazing in Cavendish, we left early and drove to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, NS. While Alyssa and I spent time with kids attending a kite making class and completing their Xplorer books, both dads did a quick perusal of the visitor center and headed back out to the Airstreams to get some long overdue work in.

I thoroughly enjoyed the museum. I knew about the invention of the telephone (kind of ) but Alec (as he was nicknamed) also had an interest in kites, flying airplanes, and hydrofoils. Apparently they vacationed enough in Cape Breton, that eventually the family just bought property in Baddeck and moved up there.

I love when we visit and place and that encourages us to want to know MORE. 

Categories
National Parks New Brunswick

Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick

Kouchibouguac National Park is located on the eastern coast of New Brunswick. During my research I found out it was full of biking trails, 1st Nation History, paddling, and the beach! Sounded amazing.

After we got settled in the campground, we headed out for an evening walk in the bog. Due to the extensive trail network, we road our bikes to the start of the walking path, and then enjoyed a leisurely saunter out and back.

“I’m WAY behind recording my story here. We have been enjoying Canada in a huge way. Kouchibouguac was amazing, including this bog walk we enjoyed after a bike ride to the trailhead. This park supports cycling in a way that I wish every park did, including multiuse paths and ample bike racks at each trailhead.” -@telegramsam

“Kouchibouguac National Park also has quite a few walking paths. Our first evening in the park we wandered out into “the bog”. We learned the word “bog”can comes from a Celtic word meaning “slow”. Hence you can get “bogged down”. Its basically land that has enough decayed vegetation which is too soft to walk on. Sphagnum moss was also used in diapers (eww) and for medical treatments. #roadschool

They say eventually the soggy landscape will take over the forest but for now this tower is still on solid ground right at the edge.” -@currentlywandering

“Kouchibouguac (Koo-she-boo-guac) National Park is right on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick. It is a fascinating blend of bog land, river, lagoon, biking trails, forest, beach, and First Nation culture.

There are 60km of groomed, gravel trails criss crossing the park and tons of bike racks, bike rentals and other infrastructure to support it. Such a cool experience as I’m pretty sure our US parks frown on all things bike related. 😂” – @currentlywandering

Our final morning, Rachel and I left early and rode the only designated “mountain bike” trail in the park. We had a few kilometers of gravel, wide trail and then turned off onto single track.

It was mostly flat, but lots of root, brush, boardwalks and good times. The very end of the one way trail road along the river which was pretty scenic.

We hitched up and towed the trailer over to the Kelly’s Beach parking lot and then spent a few hours playing at the beach before taking off for Nova Scotia.

This was the first time we had been to the beach since Hawaii and we took to it again immediately. The water wasn’t quite as warm, but apparently the water is the warmest its been…like ever. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

We’ve loved the experiences we’ve had with Canada’s National Park system in the past and Kouchibouguac was no exception. We loved hanging out here!

Categories
National Parks New York Ohio

Cuyahoga National Park and Niagara Falls

I had heard there was a national park in Ohio, and since our route was taking us close by we decided to make Cuyahoga National Park our first stop after Cedar Point. Originally the plan was to spend four days there over the weekend allowing time for Sam to catch up on a work and we could rest.

Sometimes things don’t always go according to plan.

We found a nice city park with a “strong” 20amp hook up which allowed us to run our air conditioner (needed in the humid and hot climate!). After checking the weather we decided that hiking early afternoon would be best and set out to see the Ledges Trail in one section of the park.

“The Ledges Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park reminded me, surprisingly, of NW Arkansas. Only Arkansas has more mountain biking. We were planning to take a few days near the park to recover from Cedar Point and get caught up on life but one thing led to an insane dash and we only had an afternoon. We made the most of it. Loved learning about the early canal and lock system (fascinating way of life – our next house might be a river boat), got sweaty on a humid hike (I hate those), earned a Jr. Ranger badge (we’ve lost count) and saw Brandywine Falls. ✔️” – @currentlywandering

We then spent some time at both the Boston Mill Visitor Center where the kids started their Jr Ranger badges, and at the Canal Exploration Center about 20 minutes north of that. Learning about the canal system, the transportation of people and goods, and the locks were completely fascinating. Such a cool piece of American history!

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When we got back to the trailer around 5:30 or 6pm Sam casually tossed out the idea of leaving that evening. If we sped things up *just* a little we would catch up with our friends, the Erickson’s, sooner plus we could make it to Palmyra in time for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The kids voted enthusiastically in favor so we gobbled dinner, hitched up and left. Just like that.

“Today we visited Niagara Falls. Visiting on a Saturday wasn’t particularly wise, but we had a reason that I’ll get into in future posts.

We visited with the Airstream in tow, and immediately headed to the most remote parking lot, where we were the longest rig parked today. We decided to use our bikes to get around and that worked very well even with the large crowds we encountered. We walked into Canada (no bikes allowed across the walking border) for Poutine (at Smoke’s Poutinerie) and Ice Cream. We discovered that the insanity on the American side was tame by comparison to the absolute circus present on the Canadian side.

On the way back to the Airstream, I captured this view on a slightly lesser used trail. You can just see the top of the falls and a plume of mist in front of Canadian city. Just for this one moment, it was peaceful.” -@telegramsam

We had bigger plans for Niagara (like a boat tour or the aquarium, or anything really) but as it was a Saturday and we didn’t want to fight hordes of people our walk into Canada was deemed sufficient.

We loaded back into the Airstream for the 2.5 hour drive to Palmyra, NY and were off!

Categories
Colorado National Parks

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Travel Dates: July 6-9, 2018

This was our first visit to Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes, CO. I had heard it was a busy park, so staying over the weekend wasn’t ideal but it allowed us to meet up with family from Minnesota and Utah so totally worth it!

I can’t remember who gave us the heads up about the new bike park in Estes, CO but thank you!! 💕 Before we entered RMNP and no signal land, Sam needed to get some extra work done so we hung out in Estes for a few hours. Made lunch, rode the pump track, and checked out the features. Its a really well done area and we loved it! Andrew has totally been rocking the @prevelobikes Zulu 4 for the last year. As much as we love our Woombikes for younger kids he wanted a front shock for mountain biking and this one has been amazing. Super light weight, great components, and it’s handled the beating of being on the back of our truck. 👍👍 I love how capable our kids can be when we provide them the right tools! . . . #prevelobikes #kidsonbikes #partner #estespark #currensdriveeast

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After experiencing the craziness of the park on Saturday, we decided to just attend the park worship service instead of driving out to Estes for normal church (serious, the lines to get IN the park were ridiculous). Afterwards, we drove up the Old Fall River Road to the top of the pass and the Alpine Visitor Center. It was quite the scenic drive! The old road is one-way, dirt, and switchbacks up the mountain to the tundra with some incredible views along the way. The Alpine Tundra is it’s own unique environment – the growing season is a short 6 weeks and animals must adapt to the strong, ultra violet light and harsh temperatures. We live on a pretty amazing planet! 🌎 #currensdriveeast

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I’ve learned a few things about myself with this transition between the Airstream and the condo. I NEED adventure. I crave it. I’m not content to sit still and do very little. I love exploring, I love seeing new things. Probably at an unhealthy pace. Fortunately my need for an “epic” coincided nicely with our stay at RMNP. Sam was off for the weekend and fully supported my semi-crazy idea to hike a 10 miler out to Black Lake and back (it’s been awhile since we’ve done that kind of distance). Best. Husband. Ever. We gave the kids the option to join us or hang with family and I was delighted they joined us. My 8 year old nephew was also excited about topping our hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier NP last summer. So, the 6 of us got up early for our trek up the mountain side. It was glorious. Once past Mills Lake the trail gets rougher which also means the crowds thin out. We arrived at the lake around lunch which was the perfect time to dip our toes in, snack on good trail food, watch a marmot scamper through the bushes, and throw rocks in the water to make ripples. With my face turned up to the sun, and the mountains in front of me I just soaked it all in. Back at camp Andrew told me he was “the good kind of tired”. Me too, kid. Me too.

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Categories
Hawaii National Parks

7 Day Family Vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii

Visiting the Big Island to see an active volcano was high on everyone’s wish list for the time we spent in Hawaii last fall. Our original plan was to island hop between the Big Island and Maui over Thanksgiving, but after we got bogged down in the logistics, we decided to just focus on the Big Island and I’m so glad we did! There is plenty to do, and I feel like we really got to appreciate the unique beauty of this island.

When We Visited: November 22-28, 2017

Ages of Kids: 12, 10, 7

We received plenty of recommendations from friends, and in the end decided to fly in and out of Kona International Airport on the west side of the island. We rented a car through Turo – which is a peer to peer rental network.

The vehicle ended up being smaller than we imagined (our fault, not theirs) but luckily Sam is a Tetris whiz and was able to cram everything in. I’m just glad we didn’t bring that extra suitcase.  It was really nice to have the owner drop the car curbside at the airport and pick it up there as well. No waiting in a car rental line!

Where We Stayed

We started our adventure on the west side of the island in Kona. There’s plenty of condo rentals available in the area, and ours was just okay so I won’t link to it here. Kona was definitely not our favorite place – its definitely touristy and felt rather crowded.

The second half of our trip we stayed in the cutest AirBnb in Volcano near the national park. As soon as I saw it, I knew we wanted to stay there! Only 15-20 minutes away from the entrance, it was the perfect home base for exploring the park. I loved that we weren’t camping in the rain (it rained a lot and was COLD), we had a full kitchen, a hammock, and a hot tub. Doesn’t get much better than that!

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New to AirBnB? Use our link to sign up and get $40 of credit towards your first trip!

——-Day 1: Wednesday——-

Our flight was around noon, so we arrived in plenty of time to have a little adventure before checking in to our accommodations. We grabbed our car and then stopped for a quick lunch at at Annie’s Island Fresh Burgers. It was late for lunch so the restaurant was pretty empty, but the burgers were good and the onion rings were even better!

Afterwards we headed a little farther south to visit Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, or the Place of Refuge. It was a sacred place for Polynesians and a safe place for those who were basically running from the law.

There’s a self-guided tour, and both Cara & Andrew enjoyed earning their Jr. Ranger Badges. It was definitely a lot hotter than we expected and our short walk was plenty!

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Afterwards we drove up to our condo rental, took showers and prepped for family photos! I had this crazy idea long time ago to have or family photos taken in Hawaii and when our friend Joe Hendricks found out we were headed to the Big Island he recommend Jim Dierking as a family photographer. After a few back and forth emails, we arranged to meet up at Waialea  Bay.

The light was perfect and Jim did a fabulous job capturing the spirit of our adventurous family!

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——-Day 2: Thursday——-

Thanksgiving Day! The last two years we’ve been backpacking over Thanksgiving, and although that was a possibility this year, we did want to do something adventurous. After throwing a ham in the crockpot to cook while we were gone, we packed a lunch and headed south!

Kayaking & Snorkeling at James Cook National Monument

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We had heard amazing things about snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay, and after I found a place where we could rent kayaks and paddled out to the bay ourselves we were sold! We rented 2 kayaks from Ehu & Kai Kayaks who are located right on the bay. After parking, we loaded up our gear and pushed off right from the dock! We were immediately greeted by a sweet, little turtle.

It was about a 20 minute paddle over to the James Cook National Monument, and since it was a brilliantly blue day we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

There’s no place to dock boats at the monument, and technically you aren’t allowed on land unless you are with an official tour & guide. We mostly just took turns snorkeling and keeping an eye on the boats. The current wasn’t strong so they mostly stayed put. I’ve mentioned before that Cara loves shallow water snorkeling where she can see everything up close, and Rachel loves deep water snorkeling because otherwise she gets claustrophobic. This spot had both! There’s a large reef that drops off fairly steeply, but also places where the water was fairly shallow.

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After an hour or so of snorkeling we pulled out our picnic lunch and ate on the boats while floating in the bay. We couldn’t have asked for a more picture perfect location! Once we were done, it was a fairly easy paddle back to the dock.

Back at the condo, we swam in the pool (cause not enough swimming yet!), enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal and watched the sun set over the ocean.

——-Day 3: Friday——–

One thing that Rachel really wanted to do while on the Kona side of the island was to attend the LDS temple. She’s old enough now to participate in some of the ordinances, so we drove her over and spent a few hours in service. Perfect way to start the day!

Afterward, we packed up and started our drive over to the west side of the island. We planned to take all day and stop at various places along our route and it was perfect!

South Point

Quick stop at the southernmost point in the United States. It was pretty blustery and cold, but that didn’t stop the cliff jumpers we saw! There is a green sand beach you can hike out to, but we opted to pass this time around.

Punalu’u Bakery

ALL the malasadas. We bought round one and then went back for more. They weren’t hot – but still pretty dang good.

Punalu’u Black Sand Beach

I’ve never seen anything like it! The kids were fascinated with the small, volcanic black pebbles that make up this beach. There’s also a group of sea turtles that relax in the sun on a daily basis. We ate our picnic lunch, wandered around and stuck our toes in the surf.

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On our way through Volcanoes National Park, we swung by the visitor center to grab our Jr. Ranger books and scout out the hiking and exploring possibilities before checking in to our AirBnB accommodations.

That evening we drove back into the park to see the Kilauea Caldera at night – which was super awesome. We spent all of Saturday & Sunday exploring the National Park before heading back over to the Kona side on Monday morning.

For more information about our visit into Volcanoes National Park  see our post here.

——-Day 6: Monday——-

We woke up to rain Monday morning which was fine, since it was a driving day. The east side of the island is more jungle-ly and it is incredibly beautiful. I had hoped to do some snorkeling on this side of the island before we left Hilo, but it was not to be.

ʻAkaka Falls State Park

We did make a brief stop at ‘Akaka Falls State Park. We paid a small fee for parking and then sloshed down the pathway to the falls overlook. Despite the fog, clouds, and rain the 442 falls were still quite impressive! Even with rain jackets and umbrellas we still were drenched by the time we made it back to the car.

Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site

As we drove across the north shore of the island the weather became increasingly better. So crazy how one side of the island can be pouring rain, and by the time we get to the west shore we are pulling on our shorts again.

We did find more malasadas – hot from a food truck this time – which we counted as lunch. Probably not the healthiest option but it worked.

Andrew was in full on Jr. Ranger mode so we spent some time exploring the Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. The park is dedicated to the history of the early Hawaiian kingdom and we enjoyed walking around on the property to stretch our legs.

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Despite the terrible weather, we knew this was our only chance to visit the Mauna Kea observatory. As we climbed the road up the mountain the weather became increasingly overcast until it was once again, a downpour. Turns out all of the star watching that evening was cancelled. 🙂

We brought our own hot chocolate (which was good because it was freezing up there!), and watched the video in the small visitor center.  Kind of a let down because we had heard amazing things, but we also can’t control the weather.

Costco was on our route home, so we grabbed a pizza for dinner and some muffins for breakfast in the morning before settling in to another AirBnb condo in Kona.

——-Day 7: Tuesday——-

Our flight wasn’t until noon, so after packing up we attempted one more national historic site near the airport. Unfortunately to earn the badge we needed to visit more sites than we had time for, so we just strolled along the ocean instead.

This was our first legitimate vacation in years. Sam left the laptop at home and we acted like tourists. It was a blast! Although there is much more to see and do (we left Hilo relatively unexplored) we accomplished our goal of seeing lava and everyone went home happy!