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Pocahontas County, WV: Watoga State Park (Day 1)

Pocahontas County, WV: Watoga State Park (Day 1)

From the moment we entered Monongahela National Forest and then Watoga State Park proper, it was clear that we had lucked upon a gorgeous spot.

What made us pick Watoga you might ask? Random chance and a few filters applied to the West Virginia Parks site. After over two and a half years of a travel hiatus due to covid, we decided we were ready to head out in the world . . . in a very low-key safe way. Our in-laws have visited a number of Virginia state parks in the last few years and stayed at cabins, and this option wasn’t really on our radar at all. We took a look at the parks in West Virginia, just over the border from our home, and searched for one with availability that also took dogs (many do not). And voila! Watoga State Park became our destination.

West Virginia, Southeast US, Adventures in TravelLindseyOctober 2, 2022What to do near Watoga State Park WV, Lake Watoga hike, Dark Sky at Watoga State Park, CCC Cabins at Watoga State Park, Cabins at Watoga State Park, West Virginia state park cabins that allow large dogs, dog friendly cabins in West Virginia, dog friendly outdoors trips in West Virginia, Dark Sky spots in West Virginia, Visiting Pocahontas County WV, What to do in Pocahontas County WVComment

Pocahontas County, West Virginia Trip Overview - 4 Days in the Mountains

Pocahontas County, West Virginia Trip Overview - 4 Days in the Mountains

West Virginia is known as the Mountain State for a reason. While many states dip into the Appalachian region, West Virginia is the only state entirely within the Appalachian region. And because the Appalachian system of mountains is so vast - spanning from Georgia to Maine - it has sub-sections of mountains. West Virginia is home to the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateau areas, the former of which is nestled against the Blue Ridge Mountains of our local area in Virginia.

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Great Lakes Road Trip: Mackinac Island and Toledo (Days 7-9)

Great Lakes Road Trip: Mackinac Island and Toledo (Days 7-9)

Leaving Munising, Michigan and Lake Superior in our rear view mirror, we drove about two hours to St. Ignace, one of two ports that offers ferries to Mackinac Island. The other port, on the southern side, is Mackinaw City. We caught the ferry ride through Star Line Ferry.

One highlight of the short ferry ride was the amusing sight of a UPS truck sitting astride another ferry on the route over. Package deliveries are extra tricky on a car-less island!

Hiking Apple Orchard Falls in Southwestern Virginia

Hiking Apple Orchard Falls in Southwestern Virginia

Apple Orchard Falls is located in the Buchanan area of Botetourt County, Virginia, about an hour-long drive from downtown Roanoke along the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. Based on our reading, it appears the waterfalls are accessible from two locations: uphill and downhill from the falls. We personally accessed the trail from the higher elevation entry point along the Blue Ridge Parkway. That trailhead is easily visible from a scenic overlook spot, about 7 miles north from Peaks of Otter, a well-known spot in the area.

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Great Lakes Road Trip: Munising, Michigan (Days 5-6)

Great Lakes Road Trip: Munising, Michigan (Days 5-6)

The route dropped us right into the middle of quaint Munising, a small town nestled on Lake Superior, home to under 2,000 people. While there, we quickly became acquainted with the fact that this part of Michigan, sitting atop Wisconsin, is known as the Upper Peninsula. Munising sits in a natural harbor within Lake Superior. Directly north of it, Grand Island sits out a few miles from shore and is accessible via a ferry, though we didn’t make it there during our 2-day stay.

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Hiking Read Mountain Preserve in Southwestern Virginia - 4.6 Mile Loop Hike

Hiking Read Mountain Preserve in Southwestern Virginia - 4.6 Mile Loop Hike

Read Mountain Preserve is a 243-acre forested area of land placed in a conservation easement to be enjoyed by the public. On our first visit, we hiked a 3.5 mile loop trail up to Buzzards Rock. On our return trip described in this post, we hiked a 4.6 mile loop. We've now hiked nearly all the paths in this park, except the green trail, which is a cutover between a couple of others.

Hiking Read Mountain Preserve in Southwestern Virginia - 3.5 Mile Loop Hike to Buzzards Rock

Hiking Read Mountain Preserve in Southwestern Virginia - 3.5 Mile Loop Hike to Buzzards Rock

Read Mountain Preserve is a 243-acre forested area of land placed in a conservation easement to be enjoyed by the public. The Preserve is surprisingly tucked away in a subdivision in Roanoke, Virginia. Literally between two houses is a small county park sign with a paved road that looks little different from the neighboring driveways.

A Compendium of Hikes in and near Roanoke, Virginia

A Compendium of Hikes in and near Roanoke, Virginia

We are lucky to live in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountain city of Roanoke, Virginia, a valley with endless outdoor activities and amazing vistas. In this post, we capture many of the area hikes and waterfalls we have explored more in depth.

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Great Lakes Road Trip: Door County, Wisconsin (Days 1-4)

Great Lakes Road Trip: Door County, Wisconsin (Days 1-4)

In the humid Virginia summer, we packed our bags, loaded up our trusty car, and prepared to set out on a nine-day road trip to four out of the five Great Lakes. The night before had seen strong thunderstorms and torrential rain, a relatively common summer phenomenon. But the amount of rain and devastation it caused were deemed a once in a one-thousand year flood.

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Great Lakes Road Trip: 9 Days - Door County, Upper Peninsula, and Mackinac Island

Great Lakes Road Trip: 9 Days - Door County, Upper Peninsula, and Mackinac Island

The Great Lakes are a unique and - in our minds - an underappreciated feature of the United States. Left behind from glacier craters and meltwater after the end of the last ice age, the immense fresh water lakes are the largest source of surface freshwater in the world when their area is combined and hold 21% of the globe’s fresh water.

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A Week Exploring Coastal Maine

A Week Exploring Coastal Maine

Rocky shorelines topped with stately evergreens. The zebra striped lighthouses situated on outcrops. Water that just looks cold, teaming with fish and lobster, many of which will have a second life in the seafood industry. New England style homes that look prepared to weather winter’s winds and equally designed to open all their windows to soak up the northern summer sun. Whatever else it is, Maine is a sensory experience.

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New Mexico Road Trip - Old Town Albuquerque and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (Day 7)

New Mexico Road Trip - Old Town Albuquerque and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (Day 7)

As we looked up at the heights of the mesa, we could see teeny tiny people atop it and, while it was hard to envision how it would happen, it was clear we had just chosen to scale it. Yikes!

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New Mexico Road Trip - Cloudcroft to Albuquerque (Day 6)

New Mexico Road Trip - Cloudcroft to Albuquerque (Day 6)

We drove for about two and a half hours to reach Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The first twenty minutes or so of the drive, down from the heights of Lincoln National Forest, were pretty and filled with trees. For the next two hours, our route took us along the east and then north sides of the Tularosa Basin, home of the White Sands Missile Range. The route was, in a word, desolate. Driving for two hours with basically nothing in any direction left me feeling isolated, as if our car’s interior was the entire world.

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New Mexico Road Trip - Cloudcroft’s Sunspot Observatory and Trestle Trail (Day 5)

New Mexico Road Trip - Cloudcroft’s Sunspot Observatory and Trestle Trail (Day 5)

We spent the fifth day of our trip exploring spots very near to our accommodation in Cloudcroft, nestled in the Lincoln National Forest. In fact, one of our destinations was even walkable from our B&B! You would think that our elevation in Cloudcroft - about 8,600 feet - was plenty high enough but no, we headed further up into the mountains, a far cry from the prior day’s visit to the low elevation of the desert!

New Mexico Road Trip - Three Rivers Petroglyphs and White Sands National Park (Day 4)

New Mexico Road Trip - Three Rivers Petroglyphs and White Sands National Park (Day 4)

We have both had multiple opportunities as children and adults to view various petroglyphs around the United States and still find them fascinating and mesmerizing. For those less familiar, a petroglyph is a general term for any (human-made) rock carving, typically noteworthy for those from the pre-historic era. Petroglyphs, often referred to as “carvings” outside of the United States, were often made by using a chisel and hammerstone (or similar objects) to carve away the surface of the rock-face, leaving behind the lighter-colored rock underneath, thus illuminating the image.

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New Mexico Road Trip - Artesia to Cloudcroft (Day 3)

New Mexico Road Trip - Artesia to Cloudcroft (Day 3)

For those readers unfamiliar with Roswell, it holds a place in popular imagination for some or as practically a holy mecca for others. What is certain is that in 1947, something crashed to the earth and a cattle rancher discovered it in his field, located about 75 miles outside of the city of Roswell.

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New Mexico Road Trip - Living Desert State Park and Carlsbad Caverns (Day 2)

New Mexico Road Trip - Living Desert State Park and Carlsbad Caverns (Day 2)

The best way to describe Living Desert State Park is as a desert botanical garden and zoo. Near the parking lot is a visitor’s center that includes all of the highlights of state park visitors’ center: information to read about the area, interactive displays, animal skeletons, and other touchable items. The back exit of the visitor’s center opens out to the 1.3 mile self-guided trek through a microcosm of the Chihuahuan Desert.

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New Mexico Road Trip - El Paso to Artesia (Day 1)

New Mexico Road Trip - El Paso to Artesia (Day 1)

The Guadalupe Mountains stand as a big, bulky mass rising out of the otherwise endlessly flat landscape of west Texas. They are startling and unexpected. The mountain range is also enormous, home to the highest peak in all of Texas, Guadalupe Peak, which measures 8,751 feet. For anyone who has ever been in a desert, grassland, or anywhere else that is very, very flat, you have likely experienced the inability to understand size and distance. Without any reference points, a mountain can appear close, and you can still spend an hour or more driving towards it. This was definitely our experience of these particular mountains!

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New Mexico Road Trip Overview - 1 Week in the American Desert

New Mexico Road Trip Overview - 1 Week in the American Desert

Enchanting is a word often used to describe New Mexico. I’m not certain that the English language has the right word to describe New Mexico, but that one might come closest.

In my years living on the East Coast of the United States, I have come across very few people who have visited New Mexico. Periodic stories emerge in the news about Americans who purportedly think New Mexico is in Mexico. True or exaggerated, those stories hit a very real nerve: New Mexico is probably underappreciated as a destination in the United States.

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A Visit to Booker T. Washington National Monument in Virginia

A Visit to Booker T. Washington National Monument in Virginia

Born Booker Taliaferro in 1856, the infant’s lot in life was pre-determined: Booker was born to an enslaved mother on the farm of James Burroughs in Virginia’s Piedmont region. From an early age, Booker, along with all enslaved children, was put to work on and near the 200-acre farm.

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