After leaving Lassen Volcanic National Park we made a short stop in South Lake Tahoe before continuing to Yosemite National Park. We entered the park from the east on Tioga Road. Because it was a Monday, after the worst of the busy season, we did not need a reservation to enter (though reservations were still…
Author: Garrett and Stephanie Estep
Retired early to travel the world.
Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (September, 2024).
Driving into Lassen Volcanic National Park for the first time brought two immediate thoughts to mind. First, maybe we shouldn’t have gotten tired of looking at redwood trees. At least the redwoods were alive and provided shade. Most of the trees in the southern and eastern sections of Lassen were burned in a massive fire…
Redwood National and State Parks, California (September, 2024, Part II).
Upon arriving in Arcata, our base for the next several days, we stopped at Safeway to pick up some food and drinks. Yikes. Safeway was so expensive (prices about 30% higher than in Memphis) that we damn near decided to starve for a few days. While Stephanie shopped, I downloaded the Safeway app and joined…
Redwood National and State Parks, California (September, 2024, Part I).
Redwood National and State Parks is a collection of four parks – Redwood National Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (collectively “Redwoods”) – administered by the National Parks Service and California Park Service. Redwoods is one of several national parks that does not charge…
Coos Bay, Oregon (September, 2024).
After Crater Lake National Park we drove west to Coos Bay, our base for the next several days while exploring the southern Oregon coast. We considered several possible cities for this purpose, ultimately selecting Coos Bay simply because Stephanie found an Airbnb here that she liked. We can only stay in hotel rooms or cabins…
Umpqua National Forest and Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon (September, 2024).
In between the two days we spent in Crater Lake National Park, we explored several of the numerous waterfalls in the Umpqua National Forest and Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest. We had a list of about a dozen waterfalls to possibly visit, depending on how far we wanted to drive and how much we…
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (September, 2024).
Our time in Oregon kicks off at Crater Lake National Park. We spent the night before in Klamath Falls, about an hour south of the park. Stopping here was beneficial in two key ways. First, the hotels in town are much cheaper than the few places closer to, or in, the park. Second, and more…
Lamoille Lake Trail, Lamoille Canyon, Ruby Mountains Wilderness, Nevada (September, 2024).
This fall we decided to stay closer to home, instead of traveling overseas, going on a six-week road trip to sightsee and hike in Oregon and California. We are taking six days to drive to Oregon: (1) Memphis, TN to St. Joseph’s, MO … (2) to Ogallala, NE … (3) to Rock Springs, WY ……
Lyon, France (May, 2024, Part III).
Lyon’s Musée des Beaux Arts is a fantastic fine arts museum with a wide-ranging collection from Egyptian antiquities to modern art. We spent well over an hour in the museum one afternoon. Tickets cost a reasonable €8. The work is exhibited over three floors, starting with large sculptures in the chapel. From there it is…
Annecy, France (May, 2024).
During our time in Lyon we rarely had two consecutive days of good weather. So what did we do the first time this occurred? Jump on a train to Annecy for an overnight trip. Annecy was not on the short list of places to visit from Lyon when we arrived here a few weeks ago. …