Here you will find an archived weblog of my food, travel, and creative pursuits which I kept from 2010-2016. Please note both that the travel information contained here may outdated and that these logs were created on a prior version of this website and may not yet be optimized for the current version. If you’re looking for specific content, use the search field below! <3
All month I've been sharing favorite camping spots, camping recipes, and other beautiful places to visit. Today, I'm pulling that all together into an itinerary for eight days of camping through two countries, three states, and two provinces.
Read MoreIn continuing to celebrate Let's Go Camping month - I've asked five bloggers to share their favorite campsite and a little bit about why they love to go camping. Enjoy!
The Blogger: Lisette of Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary
The Campsite: Watchman Campground in Zion National Park in Utah
Cameron and I love camping because it brings us closer to the trailheads, encourages us to rise early, and gives us spectacular views at the fraction of the cost.
In the process of planning our Southwest adventure we knew we wanted to include Zion National Park. We are familiar with the National Park Service and know they offer easy to navigate websites, helpful rangers and well kept facilities. We chose Watchman Campground because it was located within the park, was located close to the park's shuttle system and offered some tent only walk up sites. In general, we prefer not to pitch our tent right next to our car or someone else's motor home, so we selected the tent only, walk up sites in Loop F. Each site had a picnic table, flat area for your tent and an enormous bear box (large enough to hold two large backpacks, plus additional food).
With a view like this and price point of $16.00 per night, we knew we had scored ourselves not only a deal, but a killer view. Within minutes from leaving our campsite we were boarded onto one of the park's shuttles and heading to the trailhead to begin our hiking adventure for the day.
Location is more important to us than amenities, but there was a bathroom and running water located right next to the Watchman Campground.
Find Lisette around the web: Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Photography
On our first road trip through British Columbia and Alberta, we ambitiously decided to drive the full nine hours from Seattle to just outside of Mt. Robson Provincial Park in one day. It was a long haul, but upon arriving at our first campsite - it was easy to remember why we decided to road trip through the Canadian Rockies (just look at that view!).
Read MoreOn Monday, I shared details about camping at Tunnel Mountain Village - not let me show you why you'll want to make a trip to Banff National Park.
Read MoreCamping at Tunnel Mountain Village I (there is a separate area called Tunnel Mountain II) was my first experience as an adult staying in a Parks Canada campground and I have to say, Canada - I'm impressed. Our site, assigned to us upon arrival, was clean and very well kept. Even though the privacy wasn't all that great (it's a big campground), the neighbors were all friendly and considerate and the sites large enough that you won't feel crowded. The best part about Parks Canada campgrounds, including this one, is the clean bathrooms with hot water and showers! If you didn't get a sense for this in last week's Camp Here post, hot showers are my holy grail at campsites.
Earlier this week, I gave you the details about camping on the beach at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island. Now let me show you around the spit.
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Gear is not something that I chat a lot about here because I like to focus more on the experience of travel rather than the stuff. In real life though - my husband and I have accumulated a pretty good amount of it for a couple living with limited income to spend on such things. Since the thought of accumulating all the appropriate gear for a camping trip can feel overwhelming, I thought I'd make an exception and share some of our most reliable pieces, great gear posts from others, and where we buy our gear.
Just FYI, there are no affiliate links in this post and everything I recommend is simply because of my own personal experience (with the exception my "gear crush" at the end). I should also note, that with the gear recommendations - much of the gear we have has stood up so well over the course of time that it's no longer available, in which case I don't have a good way to share it with you.
I've never camped anywhere quite like the beach sites at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island, Washington. Of course the scenery was beautiful, but something about camping amidst the San Juan Islands and watching the ferries passing by made it a truly special place to spend a weekend. When I consider that it took us about an hour and a half of driving and an hour long picturesque ferryride to get to the park from Seattle - it almost makes me giddy and ready to hop in the car to go back.
Read MoreOn my first trip to New Zealand, back in 2005, my classmates and I spent one night in Whakatane in between our travels from Auckland to Rotorua. With just a few hours to explore the area, we opted for a short hike to a secluded beach.
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