National Parks Week is April 20-28. 🌲🥾
To kick off the week entrance fees will be waived on Sat April 20, 2024. But more importantly, is the awareness of protecting our parks and fully funding them to ensure future generations can enjoy them for years to come. Get outside and enjoy our parks but remember to leave no trace and support our national parks.
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#nationalparkweek #ourgreatoutdoors #findyourpark #protectourparks
@npcapics @nationalparkservice
Astro tourism 🌌
Travel to see the starry skies and reconnect with nature. These places in the US are some of the best night sky viewing locations.
Fairbanks, AK
Idaho - is the location of the only International Dark Sky Reserve in the U.S.
Glacier National Park, MT
Flagstaff, AZ - they discovered Pluto!
Death Valley National Park
Arches National Park
Big Bend National Park - least light pollution of any National Park.
Superior National Forest’s BWCA, MN
Have you traveled to see great night sky, the northern lights or the eclipse?
#eclipse #astrology #astrotourism #northernlights #darkskypark
For trips +1 week do you typically check or carry-on luggage? Does it vary or always the same choice?
We really approach it different for every trip based on a few factors:
1. Airline/Cost-for many low cost carriers it’s the same cost to carry on vs check and for a family of 5 it’s less expensive for us to check one large bag vs pay for individual ones. But for our next international trip it’s a free carry on per person so we’ll do carry ons.
2. Gear/weather: if it’s a winter trip with lots of adventure we often need more room for layers so we’ll check. We find rolling duffels are great for fitting gear and more options when/if packing a car after arriving.
3. Laundry - whether or not laundry will be available plays a big part for many but rarely come into play for us. We frequently use @airbnb and always bring detergent sheets to easily wash in a sink if not.
Every trip is so different but this is typically our decision making. We’ve also been loving our new luggage from @eaglecreek
Are you team carry-on or checked luggage?
#teamcheckedluggage #teamcarryon #travelwithkids #travelsmarter
After making it to 30 national parks with our kids here are our top five tips for a successful trip.
#1 Plan Ahead: with the popularity of the national parks a trip to see them definitely takes some advance planning. Are park reservations required? Are accommodations better within the park or outside? Download offline maps. Plan before you leave and save time on vacation.
#2 Involve Kids in the planning
Let them pick a hike, an activity, the order that you do things. When kids feel ownership over plans they are more happy to go along with it.
#3 @guidealong is great for car audio tours that can make long drives fun. And if you’re short on planning time this saves you! It tells you all the best stops, hikes and what things you can skip all while driving in the national parks. Download in advance!
#4 Pick easy hikes to start
Let kids gain confidence and make it fun. Step challenge to the next break point? NPS website lists hikes for each park easy to difficult.
#5 Pack awesome snacks!
Kids love snacks and they can either get them to the summit or through a traffic jam in the park. Snacks and extra layers can save the day! Remember most national parks don’t have easy access to food, gas etc so stock up in advance.
SAVE this post for a future trip and check out almostthereadventures.com (linked in bio) for the full article on planning a national parks trip with kids.
#travelwithkids #pickyourpark #hikersofinstagram #springbreak #roadtrip #nationalparks
How to know in real-time how long the wait is at your airport?
Download the MyTSA app and save your favorite airports. It gives live wait times for standard vs TSA pre check and includes any delays.
It also gives an easy search feature for whether certain items are allowed and whether it’s best to check or carry them on. There is also an Ask the TSA feature.
Great for spring break trips when airport wait times can increase. Check before you go!
#tsa #travelwithkids #springbreak #airtravel #travelsmarter
Wildlife experiences in Costa Rica are some of the best anywhere in the world.
Some of our favorite places in Costa Rica for wildlife viewing within their natural habitats are:
*Corcovado National Park (guide required)
*Uvita
*Monteverde
*Manuel Antonio Nat Park (although it’s a very touristy area) but a guide is worth it for max wildlife viewing.
Most national parks in Costa Rica required advance reservations (separate from guides) through the Sinac website.
Note: We only support wildlife experiences within natural habitats, not for profit animal exhibits or those who guarantee sightings.
Costa Rica provides so many great opportunities for wildlife spotting. Have you been? What are your favorite spots for viewing wildlife?
#costarica #corcovado #uvita #monteverde #manuelantonio
Guide to visiting Rio Celeste Waterfall
➡️Link in bio
All the not to miss hike stops, reservations needed and the details to plan a great visit.
🚗 1.5hour drive from La Fortuna
#rioceleste #riocelestewaterfall #costarica🇨🇷 #tubingrioceleste
Cheers to a great 2023 and the new adventures to come in 2024.🎆
We’re ringing in the new year from Uvita Costa Rica and so thankful for the opportunity to travel and our family and friends.
#2023 #new years #2024 #moreadventures
Happy Halloween!
The bats have arrived 🦇🎃
We love decorating for season changes and had so much fun with this Halloween mantel. Although the bats have a new scare factor this year after getting one in a Airb&b recently.
Do you like Halloween and do anything fun to get in the spirit?
#halloween #housedecor #falldecor #batsofinstagram #spookyseason
5 fun things to do in Seattle 🎡🌊SAVE for a future trip! 📍The Space Needle and Chihuly Garden📍MoPOP Museum of Pop Culture (don’t miss the Artist at Play playground outside)📍Pike Place Market📍The Seattle Aquarium📍Ride the Great Wheel or have lunch nearby for great views. We loved this city on a recent trip with our kids. Easy fun and you can take the monorail between the two locations where these 5 attractions are found.Some bonus extras are seeing the famous gum wall (below the market) or catching the underground tour. #seattlemuseumofpopculture #seattlewashington #visitseattle #exploreseattle #travelwithkids #wastate
In only one hour spent in Glacier National Park this is the incredible beauty.Going-to-the-Sun Road is the most beautiful drive in the US. Yes, it’s only open a few months out of the year and is very difficult to get a reservation (see my saved story highlight for tips) but it’s an incredible experience once you’re there. #glaciernationalpark #protectourparks #goingtothesunroad #montanamoment #visitmontana #travelwithkids #exploremore #scenicdrives
I wish someone would have told me, that someday these will be the good old days. ✨🌙
Wrapping up an amazing 15 days of travel and trying to take it all in.
I’m humbled by our amazing national parks.
But it was more clear than ever that climate change and our choices are impacting these parks and communities in every way.
Loved the time being present with my family.
And also realized more than ever our kids are growing up and the way we travel changes with every trip to fit their needs. So thankful for the time.
We travel to live in the moment. I feel SO grateful to have experienced everything we did in a couple weeks.
Experiences are greater than things. Check out almostthereadventures.com (link in profile) for trip ideas and the trip guides for the Pacific Northwest and Glacier will be coming soon.
#travelwithkids #nationalparks #pnw #waparks #glaciernationalpark #protectourparks
Happy National Ice Cream Day! 🍦One of our favorites is @mnicecream in NE Mpls. But what a great day to try a “new to you” ice cream shop near you! We love supporting local and trying new places. This place even has vegan and lactose free options as well as edible glitter! Go try them❤️#thehummingbirds #nationalicecreamday #icecreamsolveseverything #icecreameveryday #sunmer @twincitieshummingbirds
Summer Date Night in Minneapolis☀️📌Save for a future trip or date night!For those non-locals, Lake Harriet is a part of the Minneapolis chain of lakes in the heart of the city. These activities will all be within walking distance of Lake Harriet so you can park once and walk.🚣♂️Activity—rent a kayak, stand-up paddle board, canoe, pedal boat, or tandem bike from @wfrminnesota rentals. Very easy no need to reserve in advance. For a unique experience check out the swan night boat rentals at Lake Como/Nokomis.🍲Dinner—so many great options in Linden Hills you can walk to when parked at Lake Harriet. We loved the patio and food at @harrietrooster (lots of vegan options) and great live music. In an old brick firehouse with lots of charm. Other great dining options close by are @tiliampls or @martinarestaurant Reservations can be hard to score at any of these options, but we walked in with success. @sebastianjoes is close by for 🍦. 🎻Music or Movies—Check out the free live music and movie schedule for the Lake Harriet Bandshell or other venues throughout the city @minneapolisparks or mplsmusicandmovies.com Bring chairs or a blanket to reserve your spot before walking to dinner or bring a picnic dinner and enjoy a glorious MN summer night.🚋 If you have extra time for fun make sure to ride the Como-Harriet trolley. It’s a short ride and the conductors share the history of the streetcar and you can score more amazing views of the city. Tip: if/when with kids there’s a great playground by Lake Harriet bandshell.Bonus: walk to the rose garden after the show and enjoy sunset views over the garden and fountains.📌Save for a future trip or date night!#exploremn #meetminneapolis #datenight #capturemn #onlyinmn #hereinmn #stribminnesota #sotastories #lakeharriet #lindenhills #livemusic#wheelfunmn #twincitiescollective #twincitieshummingbirds
