Over Labor Day weekend, I took a trip to Denver to see my friends, Carolyn and Tyler. While Carolyn and Tyler had a busy day working, I took a joy ride to Boulder for a late morning hike. My mission was to hike to an arch that Carolyn told me would be a challenge. Over 1,000ft of elevation gain in less than 2 miles of the initial hike. She said it would be equivalent to miles of being on a…
I wish I could take tacos backpacking with me, but it is just not possible. Tortillas are easily transportable and I could probably get dehydrated taco filling, but I do not know how I would take fresh cilantro, onions, salsa, lettuce, cheese, and crema outside of the refrigerator for five days! So I had to wait until after our backcountry backpacking trip in Glacier National Park before consuming tacos. Kevin, Nate, Chris, and I backpacked 5 days, 4 nights over…
Flashback to October 2021. Caitlyn and I were on a bike packing trip from Buffalo to New York City on the Empire State Trail. There was a moment, on the side of a highway, where Caitlyn just realized we had 80 plus miles of cycling ahead of us that day after already having 80 plus mile days the previous two days. I heard Caitlyn state after a long silence, “I think I need a break from these trips.” Well, here…
Kevin and I kicked off our first vacation of the year together in Utah. The 13 day adventure included hiking, camping, exploring riverbeds, UTV riding, stargazing, and seeing national parks. On the first day, we flew into Salt Lake City and drove four hours south to Moab. It was exciting that the first two nights were completely unplanned and we were banking on first-come, first-served BLM camping. Night one was a success after finding a sweet camp spot by Bowtie…
After watching an epic sunrise in Cholla Cactus Garden and completing a 7 mile hike on the Lost Palms Oasis Trail, we left Joshua Tree National Park for the afternoon. I was sad to know this was our last day at Joshua Tree National Park. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Joshua Tree National Park from sunrise to sunset, along with the incredible stargazing. I think tied with the natural beauty, was the adventure that came within the park….
About a month ago, I took on my first out of three planned out west trips for 2022. I went with my middle school friend, Deepali, to Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks. We flew into San Diego and out of Las Vegas. I was so excited for our fun-filled itinerary with room for spontaneity. Deepali has never been to San Diego, so that is why we chose to fly into San Diego over Los Angeles. I also prefer…
In the beginning of November, the day after my Halloween birthday, I tagged along on Kevin’s work trip to Saint Augustine, Florida. It was a birthday treat to spend some time in 70 degree weather versus the 30 degree temps back in Pittsburgh. We flew into Orlando on a direct flight and then rented a car to drive up north. On our route to Saint Augustine, we stopped for lunch in Daytona Beach. I chose Tia’s Tacos based on its…
Around Christmas of 2020, I had a taco dinner night with my middle school friends, Deepali and Hillary. If you follow my taco instagram, there is a picture of our taco spread on Hillary’s dining room table. It was quite the setup, where it looked like the table was set for 15 people and not just 3. But hey, tacos can make great leftovers. During dinner, we brainstormed planning a trip together and set a date in the calendar for…
The week prior to my visit to see Carolyn in Colorado, Carolyn and Tyler had some disappointing news. Their boat’s transmission died. We wanted a backup plan for boat day so we decided on a river float. None of us were prepared for the exhilarating rapids of Cedar Creek in Golden, Colorado. We all imagined the float to be super casual that maybe even involve a drink or two. That was clearly not the case. We screamed in fear, gripping…
In the beginning of July, I made my way back to the West Coast to explore 4 National Parks, 1 National Forest, and spend (not enough) time in San Francisco, California and Bend, Oregon. Over the course of two weeks, I hiked 76 miles, kayaked 5 miles, white water rafted 3 miles, and mountain biked over 20 miles. Even though I was a walking zombie by the end of the two week period, I would take an action-packed trip like…