NorCal

Perfect West Coast National Parks road trip plan, from Joshua Tree to Olympic National Park. Stops in the Sierras, Central Oregon, and the best of Washington State’s mountains.

Kings Canyon National Park is beautiful and full of epic trees and view. Visiting Kings Canyon in any season is fun and interesting, but beware of snowy days. Tips and tricks for hiking at Kings Canyon and where to stay (National Park lodge!).

When you’re traveling a lot for work, chances are that you don’t get to do too much exploring beyond the office. We’re really fortunate in that we get to travel …

Yosemite National Park is one of the most visited or dreamed about destinations in the United States.  Can you blame everyone for wanting to explore the valleys and peaks that …

Every city has its defining characteristics that make it unusual and attractive.  Seattle has the ferry system and Pike Place Market, Los Angeles has the film industry and beaches, San …

Growing up in Washington with family in both northern and southern California, the West Coast road trip was guaranteed at least once per year… if not three times.  This meant …

Going off the beaten path is something so many travelers strive for.  You know that we’re usually traveling with kids, so we try to experience the less-crowded areas of the …

I went to Crescent City, California once when I was a kid.  I just remember being told that in 1964 a tsunami (tidal wave) crashed into the town… and then …

We grew up in a great period in film history, where there were movies like the Land Before Time, Ferngully and, from even before we were born, The Gnome-Mobile.  On …

As we made our way through Northern California and explored the beaches and National Parks, we stayed in all kinds of hotels and lodges.  When we left the Bodega Bay …

When you live on the coast you get accustomed to certain maritime things.  You know, like hearing fog horns, continually sweeping up sand in your house, having lighthouses in half …

After spending so much time up in the mountains and loving Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, we really needed to get to the ocean.  At home we live …

Ooh, we love a good tourist attraction.  Not a tourist trap, but a genuine attraction.  Of all of the classic American icons a few really stand out:  the Statue of …

While we typically just do our own thing and plot out sights we want to see, every now and then we’ll do a tour.  National Parks are so easy to …

Such a variety of accommodations in this world.  We’ve seen them all and stayed in half of them.  On our epic road trip through the National Parks of Northern California, …

Everybody seems to have an opinion about overrated sights and places to visit.  Roadside attractions are totally cliched to stop at, but why not stop?  Viewpoints on highways that have …

It was so great to stay in lodges on our #2TDgoparks2016 roadtrip.  After several days of snow chains and foiled hiking plans it was nice to arrive at the Tenaya …

After a few days of battling the fog and snow in Sequoia National Park we took the short drive to cross the border into Kings Canyon National Park.  Like with …

So, we always camp when we go to National Parks.  For our big #2TDgoparks2016 trip we’ve taken a totally different approach:  lodges.  Why lodges?  Two reasons:  we are doing the …