wonderwanderrepeat365

Foggy Red River Gorge

Kentucky is one of those states that continues to amaze me. This southern haven is full of natural wonders, breathtaking trails, fun campgrounds, unique caverns, a plethora of outdoor activities, such as horseback riding and zip lining, even a National Park! I have so much to share about this state, but for now I’m going to tell you about one of my favorite Kentucky spots, Red River Gorge.

Sedona: Red Rocks, Devil’s Bridge & A Hailstorm

The destination that drew us to Arizona was the Grand Canyon; that is the original reason that we began planning a trip out west. However, when mapping out our trip to the Grand Canyon State, we had no idea how much we’d fall in love with Sedona. Beautiful photos fill web pages all over the internet, but they certainly don’t deliver justice to this unique desert town. Windy roads looped through steep canyon walls, and picturesque red rock buttes towered above and beyond as far as we could see. Tall pines dotted the mountains, giving the red rocks splashes of dark green. Trails branched off along the two lane highways, leading to even more spectacular rock formations, deep canyons, and cozy pine forests.

Why I Hike in the Winter

Temperatures are dropping. White snowflakes are gracefully floating from the sky and dusting the ground. Days are becoming shorter. What do these three things indicate? Winter is coming! Though it’s not officially here yet, one look out the window suggests its looming imminence. Normally winter brings gloomy moods and causes people to hunker down inside the house with steaming cups of hot cocoa warming their hands; however, I look forward to these chilly temperatures! Why? Because winter actually creates some of the best hiking conditions, and I’m going to tell you why. Hopefully by the end of this post, I will have persuaded you to unwrap the blanket that you’re surely cocooned in and roam from the heated comfort of your house to the snowy terrain outdoors!

Midwest Garden of the Gods

When you hear someone say “Garden of the Gods,” your mind most likely reels an image loop of the rocky Colorado paradise. But have you ever heard of the Garden of the Gods that resides in the Midwest? That’s right; there is a beautiful, rocky haven in southeast Illinois. I am consistently shocked at the astounding number of people who live in Illinois or a surrounding state that haven’t heard of this utopia. In fact, I shared photos of our adventures on a Facebook travel page that I’m apart of, and several Illinois residents commented on my post, flabbergasted that such a place exists near their hometown. Just five hours south of Chicago lie these western-vibe trails that yearn for hiking boots to step along their paths. Midwesterners, let me show you what’s in your backyard!

Collect Adventures, Not Things

There are two questions that I get asked frequently. “How can you afford to travel so much?” and “How do you find the time to travel?” Since the answers to both are quite elaborate, I decided to dedicate a post specifically to these topics.

An Abandoned Amusement Park

Have you ever stopped to consider what our state parks were before they were deemed “state parks?” Before state governments began funding, operating and protecting these parks, the lands were prairies, wetlands, seashores, battlefields, etc. Learning the history of our protected lands proves to be very interesting, especially when it came to discovering what one of Indiana’s newest state parks once was. In the 1920s, nearly a century ago, Charleston State Park was a booming, popular amusement park. Named Rose Island, this theme park not only offered thrilling rides, but a dining hall, a swimming pool, and a mini zoo. However, in 1937, a massive flood destroyed the theme park, covering the entire area with ten feet of water. Aside from an amusement park, it was also a recreational area used for church camps in the 1800s and served as part of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. In 1996, the land was given to Charlestown State Park, which became Indiana’s newest state park.

Surrounded By Waterfalls

Have you ever been completely surrounded by waterfalls? And that no matter what direction you turned, your eyes landed on falling water? Let me tell you, show you, what a beautiful sight this is.

Lookout Mountain: From the Top to the Depths

Cave exploration has always been so intriguing to me. The cool, damp atmosphere; the wet, slippery walls, the sharp stalagmites and stalactites that dangle from the cave’s floors and ceilings; and the sheer fact that someone stumbled upon these underground wonders and crawled through them for days, weeks, months, itching to find more. Well, one man named Leo Lambert discovered the Lookout Mountain Cave system, and what he discovered was nothing short of a national treasure.

A Desert Hailstorm

If you have ever hiked in Arizona, you probably know that the weather can sometimes be extremely erratic. Mix in the differing elevations and you’ve got yourself a big ball of unpredictability. At one point, we were driving through Flagstaff, a flurry of snowflakes blowing around us like a shaken snow globe; an hour later, we were deep in the Grand Canyon, sun shining overhead and temperatures rising, not a single snowflake resting on the ground. A blanket of snow covered the mountaintops while sauna-like heat filled the canyons down below.

Superstition Mountains: A Thunderstorm Hike

The clouds quickly shielded the sun; dark, ominous cumulonimbus clouds clumped together in the sky like scoops of dark ice cream, threatening to burst open. Rumbles of thunder echoed in the distance; an occasional bolt of lightening flashed before our eyes. Suddenly, drops of rain pattered on the windshield as we pulled into the Lost Dutchman State Park parking area. We were about to hike the Superstition Mountains with a thunderstorm looming on the horizon, and we couldn’t be more excited!