Posts in North America
Mount Pilchuck Fire Lookout - Best Washington State Hikes

The Mount Pilchuck fire lookout hiking trail is one of the most challenging yet rewarding hikes in Washington state. Although the hike is just 6 miles round trip, it ascends over 2,100 feet in elevation and leads to an old fire lookout with spectacular 360-degree panoramic views. Are you considering doing this hike? Read on for details, and check out the hiking vlog below to get a sense of what the trail is like.

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Rogue River Whitewater Rafting Trip with Row Adventures in Southern Oregon

If whitewater rafting is on your travel bucket list, you’ll love this blog post! Last summer (August), we had the chance to go on an overnight rafting trip on the Rogue River in Southwest Oregon. It was a guided group trip with Row Adventures, and it ended up being the highlight of our summer. In this post, we’ll give you a detailed review of our trip, along with photos, a travel vlog, and a rafting travel packing list. Read on for more!

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Dry Falls and Sun Lakes, Washington Weekend Road Trip

Looking for a nature-based weekend road trip? Head to Central Washington and explore Sun Lakes - Dry Falls State Park! This natural wonder features an extraordinary landscape along the Ice Age Floods National Geological Trail, and many day trips to nearby caves and other natural wonders can be made from this base. In this travel guide, we’ll show you the best places to stay overnight and some great places to explore from Dry Falls.

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Things to Do in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Planning your next West Coast road trip? The Pacific Northwest should be high on your list given its access to unparalleled nature. And believe it or not, but Idaho is part of the northwest. In fact, getting to the Washington-Idaho border from Seattle takes just 4-5 hours. One of the first cities you’ll encounter in Northern Idaho is Coeur d’Alene. In this post, you’ll get an overview of this outdoorsy resort town plus ideas for a day trip or multi-day road trip.

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Seattle to Spokane, Washington Road Trip

Everyone knows the city of Seattle, but what do you know about Washington’s second-largest city, Spokane? A 4 to 5-hour drive away from the Emerald City, Spokane is just 18 miles west of the state of Idaho. Spokane can be visited as a day trip from Seattle, but to get the most of your time, we recommend spending at least a weekend there, which is what we did for Memorial Day weekend.

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Eightmile Lake Hike and Overnight Camping Trip

One of the most beautiful and accessible day hikes in Washington State is Eightmile Lake in the Central Cascades near Leavenworth. This was the destination for our annual 4th of July road trip, which involved camping overnight in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

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Weekend Road Trip to Olympia, Washington

As summer quickly faded to fall, it felt like it was time for another weekend road trip to Olympia. You might recall last October when we drove the Thurston Bountiful Byway. This year, we spent more time in Olympia proper and even got to tour what the city is most well-known for: the Washington State Capitol buildings. Scroll down for our itinerary, along with photos and videos of our weekend trip!

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Weekend at Tulalip Resort Casino

If you've lived in Seattle long enough, odds are you've at least heard of Tulalip Resort Casino. For us, it's been the radio ads publicizing Tulalip's summer concert series that gave us awareness of the resort. We've even driven by many times during our semi-annual trips to Seattle Premium Outlets and Skagit Valley. But it wasn't until a weekend in July that we actually set foot inside of Tulalip Resort Casino.

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Palm Springs Road Trip

While in Southern California this July, we decided to embark on a long weekend road trip from San Diego to Palm Springs. Our dream route had all the makings of an epic, incredibly diverse road trip, with stops at the beach, mountains, and desert. In reality, our limited time and the 100+ degree heat cut our grand plans in half. But we still managed to do and see quite a bit. In this blog post, we'll share our SoCal Road Trip highlights, along with the stops we missed and will have to revisit another time.

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Itinerary: Weekend Road Trip to Hood Canal & Olympic National Park

Seeking a new experience, we decided to spend a weekend exploring the Olympic Peninsula instead. Although the Olympics are also relatively close to Seattle, accessing them takes long enough that most won't visit the area on a quick day trip. Instead, it's best to spend at least a long weekend here to make the most of your time. Enter, Peace Vans!

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Less Touristy Things to Do on Oahu, Hawaii

Hawaii is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. As such, some travelers think Hawaii is too touristy and over-crowded. While both of these observations are in many ways true, there are less touristy things to do in Hawaii. I grew up on Oahu and have experienced this island as both a child growing up and an adult returning home as a tourist. In truth, Oahu has changed and developed so much over the past several years that I barely know where to visit anymore.

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