Often when traveling we find that places are not always what we expect them to be. In our minds we have a picture or idea of how a place will look, but once we arrive we find that it is very different from our original sentiment. Upstate New York is a perfect example of this. While I knew that this part of the state was going to be rural, it was still very different from what I had pictured.
Hiking
Beautiful Places
If you visit Maine there are two places that you will definitely not want to miss. We had already planned on staying in both of them, but especially after being told by many of the locals that they are the must see places in the state we really had to see for ourselves. These two places are Acadia National Park and Baxter State Park. Both of them were beautiful and we are so glad we had the opportunity to experience them. Not only were the places themselves beautiful, but we found some great campgrounds to stay in and made some new friends too. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to visit Maine, it is such a beautiful and natural place.
Exploring Maine: Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park has a lot to offer and we enjoyed exploring it! Visiting Jordan Pond, Hiking Precipice Trail, and visiting the beach were fun, but the real challenge was taking the kids to the top of Mount Champlain. Watch us climb Bar Island, go on a scavenger hunt at the Wild Gardens, and then … Read more
The Most Dangerous Trail in the White Mountains
Yes we took the Ridge Hike, which is the most dangerous hike in the White Mountains. No one was injured and we got to see some amazing waterfalls on our hike. We are going to be posting more videos, so please let us know what you think of this one.
Petrified Forest
Before leaving Arizona we made our last stop at Petrified Forest National Park.
All of the national parks are so different and interesting. There is so much to learn from these wonderful lands and I am grateful that we have been able to visit so many. Petrified Forest National Park is a very unique place. It is not the only place that petrified wood can be found; however, it is the largest concentrated area of petrified wood in the world. We were able to stay at a gift shop just outside the entrance to the park which was great because it was so close and had power for us! We needed it because it got pretty cold at night while we were there. The days were nice for hiking though so it all worked out.
Volcanic Tour
There is a very large section of this country that is covered with evidence of many different volcanic eruptions, including lava tubes, caves, and miles of volcanic rocks. Luckily many of these areas are also federally protected lands. It is important to keep these areas protected as they help geologists to reveal so much about the history of the Earth as well as it’s formation and how it has changed over time. Some of these areas include Northern California, Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Central Idaho, and into South West Montana, and North West Wyoming. We unintentionally happened upon this trail without really knowing that it even existed.
Our first national park visit was to Crater Lake. This huge lake was 
created by a volcanic explosion that left it inactive. It was amazing to see how big and clear it is, and it is also the deepest lake in the United States. The island that is clearly visible on the western side of the lake still looks like a small volcano rising up from the depths. There is only one place around the entire lake that you can hike down to the water because the sides are so steep. We would have liked to take this hike, but did not want to have to carry a four year old all the way back up to the top, so we had to forgo this particular hike. Fortunately, there are many other hikes within the park that are more kid friendly that we enjoyed. The kids really enjoyed the Castle Crest Trail which took us through a meadow and over a stream where we walked along rocks through the water. This was the first stop on the volcanic tour we still did realize we were embarking on.
