Every year for Mike’s birthday (when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic) we go on some type of getaway and it usually involves a baseball game. In June 2019, we found a deal to Seattle, so we got on a plane for a 5 day trip filled with Washington’s three national parks, its state capitol in Olympia, a baseball game in Seattle and a few other adventures tucked in. At 8 months old, Addy was already a super traveler having recently returned from her first cruise and European adventure in April. (Check out our trip recaps: Breathe in Barcelona, Sète on a Nice Yacht, Crank It Out While Cruisin’ ItalyandLoopin’ London.) Our trip throughout Washington state was so photogenic, it inspired me to write one of my first children’s books called Where Are You, Mount Rainier? which you can find on Amazon.
Olympia
State Capitol in Washington | TeamTravelsBaby
After arriving to Seattle airport and getting our rental car, we headed to Olympia, which hosts the gorgeous state capitol building and campus. We started with a view of it from Port Plaza Park and walked the Olympic Farmer’s Market. I got my first vacation coffee treat nearby at Dancing Goats Espresso. Once at the Capitol building we joined a tour so we could get an insider’s look into the chambers. There’s also a gorgeous Tiffany lamp that hangs from the dome. Of course we couldn’t leave without getting Addy’s picture on Mike’s shoulders as this has become a tradition for us. We also made a pit stop to nearby Tumwater Falls for a pretty waterfall.
Addy and Daddy at the Capitol | TeamTravelsBaby
Tumwater Falls | TeamTravelsBaby
Mount Rainier National Park
View of Mount Rainier at Reflection Lake | TeamTravelsBaby
Initially worried about rain, we lucked up and enjoyed beautiful weather where we could get out of the car and see Mount Rainier. We stopped at many of the different view points to take in the scenery, including an unbelievable reflection of snow-covered Mount Rainier. We managed to find one great hike to a waterfall too. This park has multiple entrances (of course check if they’re open before you go) so we didn’t have to backtrack. We entered from the west and exited near the southeast.
Views from Mount Rainier National Park| TeamTravelsBaby
Mount St. Helen’s National Monument
Mount St. Helen’s after the fog lifted | TeamTravelsBaby
Nearly to the border of Washington and Oregon, we made the trek beyond gas stations to visit Mount St. Helen’s. Pro Tip: Get gas when they warn you it’s the last station! While we had a foggy drive up the mountain (plus the fear of running out of gas), we got a fabulous view at the top where the visitor center is located. Don’t miss the reflection on the visitor center or the hike nearby.
Mount St. Helen’s National Monument | TeamTravelsBaby
Olympic National Park
Marymere Falls | TeamTravelsBaby
This park is huge and boasts many different environments. We started in the south through Lake Quinault and visited the Hoh Rainforest. We found lots of weird looking caterpillars. From here we saw the seastacks for sunset at Rialto Beach before a night in Forks. We drove past the gorgeous Lake Crescent and then hiked to Marymere Falls, which I would definitely recommend. We ended at Hurricane Ridge which still had snow. While we didn’t see any bears, we had fun hiking near the visitor’s center here as well as the drive. We popped down to Port Angeles which had some cool street art and a really cool coffee bar called Bada NW where I indulged. On our drive to Seattle we spotted Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to a variety of birds. Since we have the America the Beautiful pass, we didn’t have to pay the nominal fee here either.
The different landscapes in Olympic | TeamTravelsBabyOn our way into Dungeness NWR | TeamTravelsBabyStreet art in Port Angeles | TeamTravelsBaby
Seattle
Downtown Seattle behind us| TeamTravelsBaby
Mike and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in April 2016 with an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver and then a few days in Seattle. So on this trip, our sole purpose was to see a baseball game where the Seattle Mariners play. Luckily it was an evening game, so we walked the park while it was still light out and we could see downtown and the Space Needle, Mount Rainier and then eventually a beautiful sunset.
Views at the game | TeamTravelsBaby
Snoqualmie Falls and Leavenworth
Snoqualmie Falls plus a beautiful rainbow | TeamTravelsBaby
After leaving Seattle we made a pit stop at Snoqualmie Falls. It’s a beautiful 268 foot cascading waterfall. We continued our journey to an adorable mountain Bavarian town called Leavenworth. It reminded me of another cute Danish town called Slovang that we visited with friends on our Santa Barbara trip that you can read about here. Leavenworth is home to a huge nutcracker museum if that’s your thing. Nearby, I got a yummy treat from the Gingerbread Factory before we walked along Waterfront Park.
North Cascades National Park
Diablo Lake view | TeamTravelsBaby
As part of our journey to get to North Cascades National Park we took a 52 mile scenic road that runs between Darrington and Granite Falls. This road apparently closes often since there’s a 14 mile section over Barlow Pass that is unpaved. Fortunately it was open and a nice drive with places to stop along the way. Before entering the national park we spotted the Cascadian Farms roadside stand. MAKE THIS STOP! There are delicious milkshakes sold here – I tried the raspberry and loved it! On the way into the park, the official NPS sign is really cool! The snow on top looks legit! Since we arrived close to sunset the first night, we went to the Diablo Lake viewpoint. We stayed one night relatively close to the west entrance of the park in a place called Mount Baker Hotel for under $100. It was a really nice hotel – we had a separate living space from the bedroom. One word of caution is there is no cell phone service in this area, so I didn’t know the front desk person called to check that we were still coming since there is not 24/7 concierge service. Fortunately she waited for us and we got the key without issue. We found a cute drive-thru coffee shop the next morning and then explored the park with a hike up to Pyramid Lake. Similar to Glacier, there is a scenic road that runs through the park. It’s about an hour drive from the west entrance to the Washington Pass Overlook which is definitely worth it on a clear day. I only wish we had more time to hike in this park.
Washington Pass | TeamTravelsBabyHike to Pyramid Lake | TeamTravelsBaby
Sum It Up
We arrived to Seattle on Saturday, June 1st in the morning and knocked out Washington’s three national parks, a national monument, the capital city and a few other spots before flying home on Wednesday, June 5th in the evening. The secret to a great national park trip is to get up early to enjoy the sunrise whenever possible and to stay out until at least sunset and dusk. The other secret is, showering can be totally overrated and a time waster…so unless you really have to, it’s worth skipping to pack more into your day! Spritz yourself with some Febreeze and you’ll be golden! If we find another good deal to Seattle, I would definitely want to make it to the Columbia Gorge and Portland, Oregon and/or use it to explore places like Victoria and Vancouver Island.
We’re so glad you checked this post out! See you next time! | TeamTravelsBaby
While you’re on my site, I hope you’ll check out some of your other trips and leave your thoughts/share your experiences.
In 6 days, we crushed the state of Arizona (and some surrounding areas) on an epic road trip! We saw three national parks (Grand Canyon, Saguaro, Petrified Forest), two national monuments (Sunset Crater Volcano, Wupatki), two national recreation areas (Glen Canyon, Lake Mead), a state park (Coral Pink Sand Dunes), a national historic place (Hoover Dam) and many cities too! We take our daughter everywhere we go and this trip was no different! At only 13 months old, she has seen quite a few national parks as we continue our adventures to catch them all!
Saturday, November 9
In July we found less than $200 direct flights each on Spirit to Las Vegas over Veterans’ Day weekend in November. Of course we booked them. Las Vegas is one of those ideally located cities for so many awesome adventures. My sister-in-law flew from Detroit and we flew from Baltimore and were able to meet up without too much waiting. Vegas’ airport requires two shuttles to certain car rental places, but luckily it was easy, well-labeled and a short trip. We found a deal ($151 for pre-pay) with Fox Rent-a-Car.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes | TeamTravelsBaby
Our first stop was Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park ($10/car). Since our evening destination was Page, Arizona, this was great because it was a place to stretch our legs after about 3 hours in the car. At the park, you can climb onto the sand dunes and walk the ridge. There were very few people there and we watched some cool recreational vehicles as they rode up the hills and flew to their landing. It was a great stop to spend an hour or two. We made our way to Page after the sunset, so we went to Wal-Mart for some water and snacks before checking into our hotel. There are so many good ways to find last minute hotel deals. This time we used Orbitz and booked America’s Best Value Inn for $45! It was an okay hotel with a nice coffee machine in the lobby.
Sunday, November 10
Lake Powell at Glen Canyon NRA | TeamTravelsBaby
We woke up early to enjoy sunrise at the Hanging Garden in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We found the turnoff near the bridge and had the hike to ourselves. It’s only a mile round-trip and I would highly recommend it. The views from the top were gorgeous! You end up above Lake Powell, which is beautiful. From here we headed to our pre-booked tour of Lower Antelope Canyon at 8:45 am (about $40 each). Make sure you book ahead of time as there is free cancellation available and you do not want to miss this! Due to the nature of the hike, deep into a slot canyon and the possibility of flash floods, you have to sign a waiver before entering. Our tour guide was a Navajo Indian and extremely passionate, engaging and stopped at different points to use our camera and take pictures of us/pose us for memorable keepsakes. He also gave us the best photo tip to use the “vivid warm” filter to brighten the red in the canyon. Since there are many tour groups going through the slot canyon, it’s important to adjust your expectations and expect to keep it moving.
Lower Antelope Canyon
We headed to the Dam Overlook next. There is very limited parking here, but we were lucky enough to get a spot. It’s a very short walk and has great views of the bridge. From here we made the quick drive over the bridge to check out the Carl Hayden Visitor Center and view of the bridge. Plus, as a national (fill in the blank-park, monument, rec area, etc.) stamp collector, you can get your national recreation area stamp here.
Horseshoe Bend | November 2019 | TeamTravelsBaby
The other place that can’t be missed is Horseshoe Bend. The national park pass does not work here, but it’s only $10 to park the car. There were quite a few people enjoying the 1.5 mile round-trip walk to this photogenic icon. A wide view lens is recommended if you want to get the entire horseshoe bend in the photo. We found lots of great places to take pictures, climb and get away from the crowds.
Since we started our day so early, we made it to the east entrance for the south rim of the Grand Canyon. There are actually two distinct sections of the Grand Canyon that are accessed separately – north rim and south rim. If you’re interested in the north rim, check out my article called The Grandest Canyon of Them All! The east entrance is a popular drive called Desert View Drive. Our first stop was Desert View Tower. It was cool to climb the tower and also super windy at this stop. Make sure to look out and take in the views of the Colorado River. Luckily since we entered here the park before sunset, we were able to enjoy the rim from multiple points of interest like Navajo, Lipan and Moran Points. After this great end to our day, we made a drive through the park to Williams, Arizona to stay at the Grand Canyon Inn and Motel. We had a large room and a great coffee machine in the room, but no free breakfast here.
Sunset at Moran Point, Grand Canyon | TeamTravelsBaby
Monday, November 11 (Veterans’ Day/federal holiday)
We crushed and woke up super early to make the half hour drive to the Grand Canyon visitor center parking lot before sunrise (at 7 am) via the south entrance. We were amazed to find lots of other people had the same idea. People spread out along the rim to take in the sunrise. From here, we packed our hiking bag and walked along the rim to the South Kaibab Trail. We hiked down into the canyon to Ooh Ahh Point. This was a beautiful and rewarding hike. People told us they were amazed we were hiking down and up with our 13-month-old in tow.
Sunrise at the Grand CanyonOoh Ahh Point, Grand Canyon | TeamTravelsBaby
Instead of retracing our steps to the visitor center, we took the free shuttle bus back to maximize our time at the national park. We got in our car and luckily found parking by Maswik Lodge. Most people travel using the shuttle system since parking fills up quickly throughout the park. From here, we walked the Bright Angeltrail. We spotted big horn sheep, which was a great treat. They would have been super easy to miss, so keep your eyes peeled if you hike this trail.
Bright Angel Trail | TeamTravelsBaby
We drove about two hours to Cathedral Rock in Sedona. This hike was largesse and stunning. There were definitely some challenging parts with front carrying Addy, but we made it to the top where we saw an engagement and wedding photo shoot taking place. We followed the cairns and handful of other hikers, barely making it down before it got pitch black. A tip from a fellow hiker was to check out the view from the Church of the Holy Cross on a future trip.
Shadow of Cathedral Rock | TeamTravelsBaby
View from the top of Cathedral Rock for sunrise | TeamTravelsBaby
Phoenix was our sleeping destination with an easy highway drive and cheap hotels. We actually stayed in our favorite hotel here called Red Lion Inn & Suites in Tempe. This hotel seemed like it had recently been renovated and had the most delicious coffee and hot breakfast in the lobby. They also had a cute fake grass open area and a pool.
Tuesday, November 12
Downtown Scottsdale | TeamTravelsBaby
We drove to downtown Scottsdale (suburb of Phoenix) first. We found free garage parking and then stumbled upon Berdana’s, which made the perfect honey lavender latte. Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden was our next step because it was FREE on community day (the second Tuesday of each month). This place is normally pretty expensive. The layout was lovely and we even spotted a hummingbird in the hummingbird garden. Before entering, they had a Chihuly display as well as Cracking Art’s Wild Rising colorful animals inside and outside the gardens. The different animals like meerkats and bears, made for fun photo ops.
Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix (Do you see the hummingbird?) | TeamTravelsBaby
As someone who loves visiting State Capitol buildings, we would be remise if we didn’t stop at the one in Phoenix. Arizona’s State Capitol ended up being one of my least favorite, but I’m still glad we went. We have started a thing where Addy gets a picture on Mike’s shoulders in front of each capitol building. It was important that we planned ahead since this building is only open Monday through Friday from 9 am – 4 pm.
Arizona State Capitol | TeamTravelsBaby
Saguaro National Park was one of the national parks we planned to see on this trip. The saguaro is the type of cactus found here and they’re pretty iconic. This park is split into two distinct sections – Tucson Mountain District to the west and Rincon Mountain District to the east. We started in the west and made it to the Visitor Center for our stamp. Luckily, with the America the Beautiful National Park pass, we got in for free ($80 annual pass for all national parks and a variety of other places like national monuments) versus a $20 fee for this park alone. We got a recommendation from a ranger to hike the Kings Canyon trail, which we did before we drove to the east side for the sunset. Finding a saguaro to photograph for our sunset pics was a top priority for us.
Saguaros and other cacti | TeamTravelsBaby
Sunset in Saguaro National Park | TeamTravelsBaby
In an effort to do it all, we made the long drive (almost 4 hours) to Show Low. This town has a fun story behind its name and was in decent proximity to Petrified Forest National Park. We checked into the Quality Inn, which was nothing fancy at all, but again, offered good coffee and fresh eggs, so it worked for us.
Wednesday, November 13
We drove to Petrified Forest, which is not a 24-hour park like many of the others and costs $25 if you do not have an acceptable pass. During the last quarter of the year, they’re open from 8 am – 5pm. We entered from the south and stopped at the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center. There was a nice short path with examples of petrified logs. If you look closely you see the colors. We made a point to see all of the points of interest like Crystal Forest (gorgeous colored stone logs) and Newspaper Rock (petroglyphs), but the absolute highlight was Blue Mesa. This mile long loop has absolutely stunning mini rock mountains with blue stripped colorings. If you can only do one thing at this park, this is your spot! In some ways it made me feel like an outer space scene should be filmed here. Before heading to our next destination, we headed to the north side of the park and stopped at a few of the points which exhibited sweeping views of the painted desert. Overall, this park exceeded our expectations and we had it nearly to ourselves. As a note, the park road is approximately 28 miles, totally doable with only a few hours or half a day and only has short hikes.
Some petrified logs | TeamTravelsBaby
Blue Mesa | TeamTravelsBaby
From here we actually headed back to Sedona. We heard we couldn’t miss Devil’s Bridge. The first half of the hike was very straightforward with incredible views of the gorgeous red rock you picture when you think of Sedona. We did eventually have to climb up until we made it to the natural bridge. From across the way, the bridge looks SUPER narrow and intimidating. We didn’t let that stop us and we got the pictures we wanted and enjoyed the views. It was however, insane to see people attempting handstands and holding their friends on their backs while on Devil’s Bridge. We made it back to the car in the dark without incident and loved seeing so many stars in the sky.
Devil’s Bridge in Sedona | TeamTravelsBaby
We ended our night in Hotel Aspen InnSuites in Flagstaff, the first International Dark Sky City in the world at nearly 7,000 feet in elevation. Our hotel was good with a separate building to house the hot breakfast and before we settled in, I got a delicious latte at Wicked AZ Coffee (isn’t the name clever!). While we didn’t go, I read the Lowell Observatory is cool if you’re looking for something else to do in Flagstaff.
Thursday, November 14
After we stuffed our faces, we drove to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Flagstaff. The amazing thing about national monuments is they are covered by the America the Beautiful pass. This monument normally costs $25 to see this one and the one adjacent (Wupatki)! After talking with the park ranger, we hiked the mile long Lava Flow Trail and boardwalk near the picnic area. From here, we continue to Cinder Hills Overlook. We had this place to ourselves! If you like volcanos and you’re traveling the U.S., you may also want to check out Capulin National Monument in New Mexico or Mount St. Helen’sNational Monument in Washington.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument | TeamTravelsBaby
Wupatki National Monument | TeamTravelsBaby
By continuing along Loop Road, without backtracking, we arrived at Wupatki National Monument. We stopped in the visitor center, showed our pass and then got a little book that explains the Wupati Pueblo. The pueblo is in good condition and is fun to walk through and read about. From here we went to the Lomaki Pueblo and Box Canyon dwellings before starting our long drive back to Vegas.
The Hoover Dam | TeamTravelsBaby
We decided to stop at the Hoover Dam. If you pass the parking garage, there are free parking lots. The Hoover Dam was SO COOL! Way cooler and pretties than any of us expected. Plus as a bonus, we got ice cream to enjoy here. We also made the drive to a separate parking lot to walk across the bridge itself. Once we got our fix here, we pulled off to take in a view of Lake Mead National Recreation Area before continuing our drive to Las Vegas. We found free parking near the Las Vegas Strip at the mall. The casinos, lights, displays and music were fun to take in. The highlight for me was seeing the Fountains of Bellagio dance to All That Jazz from the Broadway hit, Chicago.
We had an easy car rental return and airport experience before taking our red eye planes back to Baltimore and Detroit. This is definitely a great hub to consider if you’re hoping to see national parks! We will definitely be back so we can explore more of Nevada like Great Basin National Park and nearby Death Valley National Park! If you’re considering a trip like ours, I can’t recommend the America the Beautiful annual national park pass enough. This trip along without the pass would have cost $100 compared with $80 for the pass that gives access to so many places. And honestly, having the pass turns into motivation to plan more trips and further maximizing the annual benefit! Thanks for reading! And while you’re on my blog, feel free to check out some of our other national park adventures like the Everglades (Florida), the Badlands (South Dakota) and Zion (Utah). You can also read about all of our national park adventures by click on the National Parks topic button.
A whirlwind long weekend (3 day trip) exploring South Florida! Everglades National Park boasts tons of wildlife (like alligators and birds galore), biking through beautiful nature and air boat rides. Biscayne Bay National Park is nearby with a small land portion and views of the Bay. Tons of other great stops for viewing opportunities along Tamiami Trail and totally doable with a toddler.
Day 1 Highlights
Lee County Manatee Park (Fort Myers)
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve (Fort Myers)
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (along Tamiami Trail)
Ochopee Post Office (smallest in the U.S.) (along Tamiami Trail)
Big Cypress National Preserve (along Tamiami Trail)
Animals – alligators, anhingas, great blue heron, stork, SO MANY BIRDS
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve and Lee County Manatee Park | TeamTravelsBaby
When you find roundtrip tickets for $65, you book IMMEDIATELY! I couldn’t believe the deal we found (albeit on Spirit) to Fort Myers, Florida. Fort Myers is on the west coast of Florida and the airport is beautiful and all the car rental companies are ON PREMISES – a huge bonus. Recently, I discovered a new car rental site called “Wisecars” and I was very happy with it because it truly found the cheapest price for us (plus they allow cancellation up to 48 hours in advance). We rented from Budget and when we arrived, the line was SUPER long, but I was impressed it only took us about 45 minutes to get our car and be on our way.
Within a 15-20 minute drive of the airport is Lee County Manatee Park. This place was something like $2 to park (for an hour) and free to enter. It is an extremely short walk to the water (past a cute playground if you have kids) and during the cold months (like February), you can see manatees. We saw SO MANY manatees! There are volunteers there sharing information – like one of the 1000 pounds manatees eats 1/10th of its weight in food everyday! From here, we got our Wal-Mart water/snacks and then went to Six Mile Cypress Slough [sloo] Preserve. This place has the tiniest parking lot and they recommend carpooling or biking because there are literally not nearly enough spots for the middle of the day. We lucked out, found parking (which is like $1/hour) and absolutely loved the boardwalk trail. We saw anhingas (a type of bird), an alligator sunning himself, ibis, turtles and a few other animals. The boardwalk is extremely well-maintained, and this is worth a stop if you have at least 90 minutes.
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park along U.S. 41 | TeamTravelsBaby
We started our drive toward U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail), which is the scenic drive across the Everglades (compared to I-75/Alligator Alley). This road is incredible, and you can literally see all types of gorgeous birds and alligators on your drive. Our first stop was Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. We parked right along the trail and headed for the walk in where we saw incredible birds, an eagle’s nest and a small alligator. We did not hike everything, but 45 minutes here was perfect for a taste of south Florida wildlife. As we continued along the road, it was super random, but we got to see the SMALLEST U.S. Post Office called “Ochopee”. Definitely a great photo op!
We nearly had the State Park to ourselves | TeamTravelsBaby
If your goal is to see alligators (like anyone who comes to the Everglades), then Big Cypress National Preserve is a must! Easy to park and free! They have a nice, short boardwalk where the opportunities to see alligators, birds, and alligators hunting birds are endless! Don’t forget to look down. It was crazy how many people walked right by an alligator without noticing it. There’s also a visitor center here if you’re a park stamp collector. We actually ended up stopping here twice because it was that good!
The smallest U.S. Post Office | TeamTravelsBaby
Day 2 Highlights
Shark Valley, 15 mile bike ride-alligators, all types of birds (Everglades National Park)
Flamingo Bay-osprey, crocodiles (Everglades National Park)
Royal Palm, Anhinga Trail-green heron, great blue heron, alligators (Everglades National Park)
We survived our first family bike ride…only 15 miles | TeamTravelsBaby
We started our morning early and headed to Shark Valley Visitor Center. We parked our car early as we waited for the rangers to open the gate (at 8:30 am for us). While we waited, we saw alligators next to our cars in the water. After showing our America the Beautiful pass ($80 annually), which I can’t recommend enough and as long as you visit a few parks is 100% worth it, we parked at the Visitor Center. As a side note, the Everglades alone are $35. Bike rentals are hard to come by, so get there when this place opens. It was easy to rent (by the hour for $9/hour/bike) and they have kid seats/helmets so our 16 month old daughter got to enjoy her first ride. Within our first two miles, we had already seen tons of alligators and a huge variety of birds. In hindsight, we totally could have turned around at this point and have been satisfied by what we had seen. BUT, we’re not those people, so we powered through and made it to the tower around the halfway point. The tower reminded us of the one we climbed at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We finished the 15-mile loop and will note that the first 7ish miles are definitely more scenic and have more wildlife.
We drove to the southern most visitor center in the Everglades called Flamingo Bay. Did you know Florida had crocodiles?! Honestly, even though I lived in Florida more than half of my life, I didn’t know that! We saw an almost 14-foot crocodile in the water (that people were kayaking in…because they’re crazy), a baby crocodile and the coolest osprey nest we had ever seen. This osprey nest was amazing because you could see the mama bird and then when the dada bird arrived with the food, you could see two out of her three babies! It was so much fun watching and our daughter loved it too! We heard manatees and dolphins can sometimes be seen in this area, but we did not see any.
Sunset on the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades | TeamTravelsBaby
On our drive out, we stopped at Royal Palm to walk the less than one-mile boardwalk through sawgrass marsh (Anhinga Trail). It was perfect timing because the sun was starting to set, and the lighting was great for taking pictures. PAY ATTENTION! I was so thankful someone pointed out the alligator under the open railing because it would have been super easy to walk by and not notice. The coolest bird we saw here was a green heron! These birds are unique looking and can be hard to spot (we were lucky someone pointed it out to us). You will definitely see other birds and alligators here.
Day 3 Highlights
Biscayne Bay National Park (land portion)
Coopertown Airboat Ride plus alligator tail (Everglades National Park)
Fort Myers Beach
After a good night’s rest in Homestead, we made the 15 minute drive to Biscayne Bay National Park. We parked at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center and enjoyed the lovely Jetty Trail. You can see Miami and Miami Beach in the distance, spot birds and watch the boats leave for the Biscayne Bay National Park islands. This park is 95% water and if you want to see more than the trail and visitor center, you have some planning to do. If you’re a national park stamp collector, don’t forget to get one!
Biscayne Bay National Park | TeamTravelsBaby
In talking with another tourist at Big Cypress, we learned about Coopertown Airboat. All along Tamiami Trail you will see signs for airboat companies. Lucky for us, Coopertown (it’s been around for 75 years) had a great reputation and a GroupOn deal! Our daughter went for free and our America the Beautiful pass waived the additional fee for access to the park. Before the boat ride, there’s a short animal show. They have a handful of alligators on the premises and then someone presents a snapping turtle, a snake (which my 16 month old pet with excitement…not mommy) and talks about the Everglades. From here, we were placed on the airboat and having a toddler landed us in the front row! There are life jackets on-board, they offer you cotton balls for your ears and give the little ones headphones.
Riding on an airboat was not scary like I anticipated. It was a thrill! The boat moves really well, and you get up close and personal with birds (before they fly away) and alligators (yep, they may swim right next to your boat). The driver was informative and funny. It’s insane to imagine there used to be a canopy covering over the Everglades before Hurricane Andrew wiped it out in 1992. Seeing the Everglades via air boat is a MUST to complete any trip here. There’s a small restaurant next door and as part of our experience, I ordered alligator tail for us to try. Needless to say, it tastes like chicken? Well, it’s fried and breaded, so I couldn’t tell it was alligator and we both really liked it.
We made our way back down Tamiami Trail, stopping again at Big Cypress for up close alligators and birds and then at a random lake filled with white and brown pelicans, roseate spoonbills and tons of other birds before driving through Marco Island (absolutely stunning with cool canals) and Naples. Ultimately, we arrived at Fort Myers Beach. Fort Myers Beach took quite a while to get onto since it narrows to a one lane each direction road over a bridge. We found reasonably priced public street parking (on the right when you get over the bridge). We walked the historic pier, wandered between the shops and let Addy walk the beach for the first time. She loved collecting sticks, leaves and shells! We also took off her shoes and socks so she could walk into the ocean for the first time. The water was pretty chilly, but she tried! The sand between her toes didn’t bother it at all and at one point we thought she was going to lay down and make a sand angel. We caught a lovely sunset here before heading to Tampa to spend time with my parents and then fly home.
Fort Myers Historic Pier | TeamTravelsBabyThanks for following our trip to the end (aka sunset on Fort Myers Beach) | TeamTravelsBaby
We couldn’t do it again if we tried! We drove exactly 2,019 miles on our first trip of 2019. We visited 5 National Monuments, 3 National Parks, a National Wildlife Refuge, a State Capitol and lots of other points of interest in between. Did I mention we did this with our 4 month old baby? #TeamTravelsBaby ! Check out our 5 day trip report (February 15-20).
Lucky for us, Spirit Airlines often flies for ~$100 round-trip to Denver from Baltimore. Even better is Denver is situated in the perfect place to take all kinds of amazing National Park trips. Check out our long October weekend to the Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks or our 7 day National Park trip that ended with Rocky Mountain National Park (an easy 90 minutes from Denver).
We are National Park junkies and have made it a goal to try and explore them all and we’re almost halfway there (Mike and I have visited 27 together)! My sister-in-law shares our love of hiking and adventuring and joined us on this ambitious trip out west (luckily Spirit offers a similarly priced trip from Detroit)! February is a COLD month to visit Colorado and New Mexico (think negative 12 degrees at one point) and we literally would not have been able to cover as much ground or have the five day trip we did without her help.
Favorite trip pic of Addy!
Day 1
(approximate miles driven: 550 miles)
Start Day – Colorado Springs (Day 0, arrived late in the evening to DIA and drove here to sleep)
Bishop Castle – Think crooked, unfinished castle with cool turrets, beautiful stain glass and a unique “found on the side of the road” Colorado vibe. Fun to explore at your own risk!
Capulin Volcano National Monument – Right over the border in New Mexico, you drive to the top of the volcano. It is SUPER windy and there are two hikes at the top – one around the rim and one into the crater. There’s also a nice short round-trip walk near the visitor center. While this park costs $20, if you buy the $80 America the Beautiful National Park pass, you can get your monies worth in no time by visiting a handful of parks in a year. The ergo baby was perfect here, but our Addy hated the wind.
Las Vegas – If you know geography, you’ll know we didn’t drive to the real Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a small town with a historic hotel, some graffiti and a town square with some statues. A good pit stop to stretch your legs on the way to something cooler.
End Day – Roswell
Day 2 (approximate
miles driven: 484 miles)
Draperies
Hawk at the Caverns
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge – We woke up in Roswell (yep, the alien city with the alleged UFO citing). First thing in the morning, we drove the 8-mile wildlife loop. It was a very serene drive and a nice place to start the day.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – This was one of the highlights of the trip and also covered by the America the Beautiful Pass (instead of $15 per person, the pass covers up to 4 people). The drive up the mountain to get the visitor’s center is beautiful as well as the one-way loop on Walnut Canyon Desert Drive. The walk down to the Big Room in the cave as well as the loop around it is filled with decorations or stalactites and stalagmites. There’s also an elevator option, which we took at the end back to the visitor’s center instead of attempting a steep walk up with Addy. Our ergo baby came in handy and Addy slept almost the entire time we explored. If you’re interested in taking a guided tour, make sure to buy your tickets in advance as they only take small groups and they sell out quickly. Based on our positive experiences of taking guided tours at Wind Cave National Park (SD), Jewel Cave National Monument (SD), Cave of the Winds (CO), and Luray Caverns (VA), this is something we wish we could have done here. We also enjoyed the short nature trail that looped back to the amphitheater (where you enter the cave).
Guadalupe Mountains National Park – This park is extremely close (like a 30 minute drive) from Carlsbad Caverns and right over the border into the northwest corner of Texas. We also went through a time zone change driving here. The scenery is beautiful and shouldn’t be missed. We weren’t here long, but we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over this park on the way back to New Mexico.
End Day – Santa Fe
Day 3 (approximate
miles driven: 147 miles)
Santa Fe – Waking up here was the best decision because this meant my SIL and I got to try the Christmas chili (red and green chili) breakfast burrito at The New Baking Company. It was DELISH! From here it was a short drive to old town Santa Fe. We parked a few blocks from the State Capitol at a meter (there’s a free week day parking garage, but it fills up quickly). Everywhere you walk there’s red chili hanging. It’s super pretty and unique. The whole city has a unique vibe. We checked out the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, sipped a matcha latte and chai plus indulged and tried gelato samples from Café Atalaya and toured the utilitarian State Capitol building (found the accessible entrance through the connected Annex). The artwork throughout the Capitol was made by artists who lived in New Mexico at the time of creation and the views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are incredible. This was a stroller friendly couple of hours.
Bandelier National Monument – This was another highlight of the trip! Starting at the visitor center, there’s a great hike up to the first set of houses. There are ladders to climb up and take a peek in the different houses. We continued past these to the Alcove House! This is a 140 foot ascent up multiple ladders (at your own risk) and we did this with our baby in tow! My husband was brave enough to wear her up and down and VERY lucky for us, she slept through it all. The experience is exhilarating and the view from the top is worth the climb. We also saw mule deer and an Abert’s squirrel (they have funny ears).
Albuquerque – We saw the most gorgeous sunset on our drive to ABQ. I would highly recommend finding a good spot to post up for pics! We found an evening coffee spot called Prismatic Coffee, drove around for a bit and then called it a night.
End Day – Albuquerque
Bandelier National Monument
Ascent up to Alcove House
Petroglyphs
Day 4
(approximate miles driven: 330 miles)
Petroglyphs National Monument – We happened to be in ABQ when there was TONS of snow, so there wasn’t a sunrise like we had hoped to see in the Volcanoes Day section of this park. We ended up being able to hike at Piedras Marcadas Canyon. This was a really fun hike to do in the snow (with the place to ourselves) and we were still able to see petroglyphs and lots of black-tailed jackrabbits.
Tent Rocks National Monument – We were super bummed we drove all the way here and it was unexpectedly closed. If you’re in this general area between Santa Fe and ABQ, definitely try to add it to your list! The cone shaped rock formations are reminiscent of the hoodies we saw at Bryce Canyon National Park.
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument – This was a way better stop than we anticipated. The bridge itself and views are amazing. We got super lucky too and saw 5 big horned sheep grazing below, two of which were males with huge horns. There’s ample parking on both sides of the bridge and facilities.
Taos – We didn’t quite make it to the “mountain village”, but we did enjoy a coffee shop here before the rest of our drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve.
Colorful Colorado – Don’t miss the opportunity to jump out of the car and get a picture with the “Colorful Colorado” sign at the border!
End Day – Alamosa (near Great Sand Dunes)
Great Sand Dunes National Park | TeamTravelsBaby
Day 5
(approximate miles driven: 330 miles)
Great
Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve – We drove the park road the night
before and saw tons of elk grazing. On our sunrise drive into the park, we got
to take in some amazing views and you realize the sand dunes are right before
your eyes in front of humungous mountains. We went right past the visitor
center and we were able to hike onto the snow covered sand dunes. Again, we had
this place to ourselves! It was cool to see different animal prints in the snow
covered sand. It’s unlike any place we had ever been before and also one of the
highlights of the trip. We didn’t have the right kind of vehicle for the
terrain and snow covered incline, but if you do, it looks like nearby Zapata
Falls would be an amazing place to see.
Florissant
Fossil Beds National Monument – This wasn’t in the original plan, but when
we realized we had a little extra time on our hands, we headed here. There are
fossilized redwood stumps and we enjoyed a snow-covered trail here. There were
also tons of fossils to see in the visitor center. We didn’t see signs for it,
but there’s a new National Monument called Browns Canyon in the general area
between Great Sand Dunes and here that looks like it would be fun to see. You
can see the Arkansas River when you’re driving.
Colorado
Springs – At 4.9 stars when we checked, Story Coffee Company is a super
cute, tiny coffee shop located right in the center of town. Our drinks were
delicious and kept us warm as we looped around town checking out the street art
and beautiful mountain views. With about an hour left before we needed to head
to Denver, the Garden of the Gods (free)
was a perfect way to spend the sunset. The red rocks make for the ideal photo
backdrop. If you have more time, Cave of the Winds is located here.
End Day/Trip – Returned rental car to the Denver
airport and took a red eye flight home; Car rentals can be really expensive out
of Denver Airport, so make sure to shop around. We got the best deal using Car Rental 8, but in the past I’ve
often found the best deal using CarRentals.com
.
Would we do it again? Absolutely. Would we recommend waiting
until it were slightly warmer out? Perhaps. However, the BEST benefit of
traveling during the off season is you get places like National Parks and
Monuments all to yourself. At many of the places we visited, we either had the
place to ourselves or we saw less than a handful of people. The other BIG
benefit is you can find CHEAP hotels in the off season, if you have a baby like
us and can no longer carsleep your way around the country. Keep up with us on
Instagram @TeamTravelsBaby
as we head out on our next adventure!
Treat Yourself to Travel 