Adventures by Alan and Melanie
The last time we were in Zion, we managed to avoid seeing anyone else for hours while navigating through Mystery canyon, even though it was the busiest day of the year. Although our initial plan of exploring slot canyons had to change due to rain, Zion is probably the best backup plan anyone can hope for.
Continue reading “Zion: we can’t get enough of this park!”
After failing to see the Grand Canyon on several trips down I-10, we finally made it happen. We drove through a pretty intense dust storm followed by rain, and finally pulled into the forested camping area outside of the park in the dark.
Continue reading “The Grand Canyon”
Having arrived to the campsite at night, the rising sun brought our first sight of the magical landscape. A giant sandstone finger pointing to the heavens glowed red with first light, and we watched it shrink into the horizon as we scraped frost from our windshield and headed into the park.
Continue reading “A magical day in Canyonlands”
We were thinking about our van life during our European summer, so we tricked out our CR-V with a bed and headed East to find the sandstone in southern Utah and Northern Arizona. The first stop on our road tip was Arches National park. It’s a place we’ve both wanted to go to for a long time, and we were excited to finally explore! We were up with the sun, and headed in.
Continue reading “March’s Arches”
Sapa is a mountain town near the border with China that is home to several ethnic minority tribes in Vietnam. Most of the residents come from one of five tribes, which can be identified by beautiful handmade traditional clothing. The town is of French colonial origin, formerly a garrison, and distinctly contrasts with the basic villages in the adjacent valley. Trekking in the region offers a window into traditional life in this rice-growing community.
Stepping off of the bus in Cat Ba town, we were relieved to be taking a break from big cities, and beyond excited to rock climb!
As we approached Chamonix, a mountain town at the base of Mont Blanc, my excitement was twinged with nerves. In a few kilometers we would exit the long tunnel through the mountains from Italy, and finally set foot in a place that had only existed in dreams and photographs. Chamonix was filled with tourists, and most restaurants required a reservation – two big strikes in our book. But when the clouds cleared and the sun-lit peak of Mont Blanc appeared towering over the town, I knew the magic was real. We settled into a campground near town, allowing us to explore the mountains and town on foot. Our fellow campers were also climbers, and conversations were highly reminiscent of those in El Chalten. Weather windows, gear, and the most epic climbs.
Our drive into the Dolomites took us through picturesque mountain towns where “danke schoen” worked just as well as “gratzie” and restaurants served pizza and pasta alongside pretzels and schnitzel. The views opened up suddenly and the towering dolomites took our breath away. While in this Italian mountain range, we hiked, climbed, and “via ferrata’d”, all offering incredible adventure and scenery.
We arrived in Bucharest for dinner, and to our delight, we found the pedestrian “old town” bustling with life and packed with restaurants and bars. This was just the beginning of our discovery of Romania. After visiting castles, mountains, towns, and mines, we are pleased to share that this country is a blossoming destination that we are so glad we did not miss!
Our ferry arrived back in Athens, and we spent the day in the city before heading north to the mountains of Bulgaria. We did two fabulous day hikes and explored more ancient cities, the capital Sofia, and walked through a sweet cave!