Adventuring Beyond

Adventuring beyond through travel, food, and more.

You are here: Home / Archives for Ross Nelson

Ross Nelson

An Amazing 2 Days in Lassen Volcanic National Park

By Leave a Comment

Lassen Volcanic National Park Sign

We had the most amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic National Park!  This park, which is sadly overlooked in a state with Yosemite, Death Valley, Redwood, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and other beautiful spots, should be a destination on your road trip because it is so unique! 

Lassen Peak
Lassen Peak

Unique meaning a mini-Yellowstone, Haleakala, or Mount Rainier.  This park is home to both the world’s largest plug dome volcano (Lassen Peak) but also is home to all 4 types of volcanoes (plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and stratovolcano), which is rare in such close proximity.  It is also home to a geothermal area named Bumpass Hell that feels like Yellowstone.  You also have some higher elevation areas that felt like a high elevation mountain. 

…

Read More

Stunning 3 Days in Redwood National Park

By Leave a Comment

Redwood National Park

We came for 3 Days in Redwood National Park for the trees, but stayed for the unexpected and special beauty of the ferns, the beaches, and the tidepools! Here is how we had a stunning 3 days in Redwood National Park!

This park, much like Olympic National Park, has a lot more to it than people typically would think.  We came from the north on our way from Crater Lake National Park and a quick stop at the Oregon Caves National Monument.  The beauty of the drive through the mountains and along the Smith River on Highway 199 was special before we came upon the exit for the Howland Hill Road near Hiouchi, CA in the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park.

…

Read More

Fun 2 Days in Saguaro National Park

By Leave a Comment

Saguaro National Park. www.adventuringbeyond.com #nationalparkswithkids #saguaro #getoutside #nps #travelwithkids #MyNationalParks #familytravel

Sunshine, check. Cactus, check. Desert, check. Mountains, check. City, check.  Er wait, City?  Yes, Saguaro National Park is both in Tucson but in fact the two sections of the park are divided by the whole of the city.  I know this may sound like a detractor, but in both the Rincon Mountain and Tucson Mountain districts you will find that it is quiet, isolated, and feels wild enough to qualify as a National Park. 

Once you are done with your hike you can grab a great lunch or dinner or choose to return to your luxury resort and soak in the pool.  Or, you can camp, boondock, rent a home, or sleep in a cheap motel.  Obviously, one of the best parts of Saguaro is that it is so approachable and easy to visit.  

…

Read More

Why we should care about National Parks

By Leave a Comment

A special post by Kelsey Nelson

Introduction

    When was the last time you walked in a National Park? How did that make you feel? Was it calming? There are 4 reasons that will be introduced to prove that National Parks are helpful to humans, animals, and the environment. 

Grand Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone National Park
…

Read More

4 Practical Tips for Planning a Houseboat Adventure in Voyageurs National Park

By Leave a Comment

Planning tips for taking a houseboat vacation in Voyageurs National Park. Tips include where to rent, which boat to rent, navigating, and what to expect for the cost. It makes for an amazing family National Park adventure! www.adventuringbeyond.com #nationalparkswithkids #voyageurs #getoutside #nps #familytravelblog #travelwithkids #MyNationalParks #familytravel

This summer we spent 3 fantastic days in Voyageurs National Park exploring the most beautiful National Park in our home state of Minnesota! Voyageurs is really like the Swiss Army knives of parks in that you can explore this area in many ways including houseboat, fishing boat, canoe, kayak, snowmobile, car on an ice road, hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and more!

We chose one of the best, and to my knowledge unique to this National Park, ways to explore – by houseboat! Yes, for those who are going to ask, you can rent a houseboat in National Recreation areas such as Lake Mead or Glen Canyon/Lake Powell, but not in a fully designated National Park.

…

Read More

Complete Guide to 1 Day in New River Gorge National Park

By 1 Comment

New River Gorge National Park

Our newest National Park, christened in January 2021, is New River Gorge National Park and Preserve! I have to say first that I am often leery of new National Parks because they can be a stretch to consider them worthy of that status when compared to their peers (I’m looking at you, Indiana Dunes). Rest assured that after exploring New River Gorge this summer this is worthy of being called a National Park!

Our visit spanned a few days including 2 full days in the park, so we will share this as a choose your own adventure plan where you could spend a single day doing either itinerary or combine them for a great 2 day visit! I will dispel one other thought right off the bat here as well — you do NOT need to be a whitewater rafter to enjoy the park. We did not choose to do that and still had a fantastic visit that left us wanting to return to the area.

…

Read More

Big Bend Top 6 Family-Friendly Hikes

By Leave a Comment

Note: this post contains affiliate links.

Best hikes with kids at Big Bend National Park

Despite the mental picture we had of Big Bend and more broadly West Texas before arriving (that it would be flat and desolate), we were pleasantly surprised with both the beauty and genuine diversity of ecosystems in this park. We did some wonderful hikes and wanted to highlight those specifically in this post. As for logistics and itinerary, our other post on Big Bend dives into those details more fully.

These hikes are in order, but honestly the first three are ranked in order of our favorites and from there they are all equally enjoyable in their own right. You can’t go wrong with hikes 4, 5, or 6 and your availability of time and vehicle (especially 5 but also number 6 would be best to get to in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle) should determine which of them you will tackle.

…

Read More

3 Perfect Days in Big Bend National Park

By Leave a Comment

Best hikes with kids at Big Bend National Park

We were so wrong about Big Bend! I expected to be amazed at the vast flatness of the area and an overwhelming abundance of mesquite bushes as far as the eye could see. You know, to put it into a word, boring! Instead we were greeted by mountains — yes real, serious mountains as well as stunning canyons and beautiful views of the Rio Grande. To say we were surprised would be an understatement and this park has earned a special place in our hearts. This post is more focused on our itinerary for planning while this other post for Big Bend focuses on our favorite hikes.

…

Read More

A Quick Visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park

By 3 Comments

Great Sand Dunes National Park

We, like I expect many others, are often driving near a National Park, like Great Sand Dunes, and decide to do a quick visit even if we don’t have time to see everything the park has to offer. Small parks are perfect for this type of visit and we have had some memorable and quick visits to Indiana Dunes, White Sands, Congaree, Badlands, Petrified Forest, and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks. Not everything has as much to see as one of the marquee parks like a Yellowstone, Death Valley, Big Bend, or Yosemite! I’d be quick to point out that this doesn’t diminish the special nature of a small park as it is often focused on a particular sight.

…

Read More

An Unforgettable 1 Day in White Sands

By 2 Comments

White Sands Visitor Center
White Sands Visitor Center

It is hard to believe how many National Park sites have sand dunes — Great Sand Dunes, Guadalupe Mountains, Death Valley (with 2 separate dunes!), Indiana Dunes, the Mojave Preserve, and many more in National Monuments and other federal lands. We have been to so many of them that one of Joy Joy’s classmates thought she went to the beach every time they have a break at school when in fact we go to the dunes!

I originally visited White Sands as a kid, so it was nice to be able to return and bring the rest of the family who had never been before! Thirty or so years ago I was distracted by the newfangled stealth bombers flying over our heads but this time the scenery and threat of rain was all we could focus on.

These dunes are well deserving of the recent upgrade to National Park status (signed on December 20, 2019) as they protect just over 40% of the world’s largest gypsum dunefield that is otherwise part of the White Sands Missile Range. While we would have liked to get to tour the nearby Missile Range Museum to learn more about the testing that is performed here, it is really tough if you aren’t in the military.

…

Read More