We were lucky enough to have the time, energy, fitness, and wellness (which I never take for granted these days!) to go on three backpacking trips this summer together; Zach also went on several backcountry trail work trips with Washington Trails Association (WTA). Jennifer wanted to make sure all of her backpacking gear and body …
Miscellaneous Adventures 2021
We’ve had a pretty busy 2021 so far, especially the last couple of months, filled with home improvements, new cars, outdoor activities, and trips — so it seemed like time for another Adventures blog post! In January, Zach purchased a Toyota RAV4 Prime (plug-in hybrid). Since this car was not being sold in Washington state, …
Cycling the Oregon Coast
We had a busy summer this year, but hadn’t been on a bike tour in a while, so we decided to go out and ride part of the Oregon coast. We started our trip to Oregon by putting our bikes on Jennifer’s car and driving to Portland the day after the Labor Day holiday, where …
Cycling the Natchez Trace Part 1
The past few years, Zach and Jennifer have taken a bike trip in the fall, and this year, Jennifer suggested that we bicycle the Natchez Trace Parkway. Part of the reason she suggested it was because it goes through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, which would get her down to missing just Alaska in her quest …
Canoeing the Buffalo River: A Slightly Epic Adventure
On May 6, Zach, Jennifer, Jennifer’s dad Al, and his partner Gwen left on a 3-day drive to Arkansas, where we planned to meet up with Zach’s mom Virginia and cousin Donna (who drove out from Georgia), for a 5-day canoeing and camping trip on the lower section of the Buffalo National River, between Grinder’s …
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Minnesota cycling part 3: Driving back
After finishing our bike ride across Minnesota in Fargo, North Dakota (see previous post), we packed everything back up in the car and set out to drive home on Wednesday the 23rd. We drove most of the way across North Dakota, and camped south of Medora in Sully Creek State Park, which had a very …
Minnesota cycling part 2: Cycling across the state
After our road trip to Minneapolis (see previous post), we set off on Tuesday, September 15 on our bicycles. The Adventure Cycling route we were following started in Stillwater, Minnesota, which is about 30 miles west of Minneapolis. The map we had provided a “spur” route from the Minneapolis airport to Stillwater, but we weren’t …
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Minnesota cycling part 1: Driving there
Zach and Jennifer are both (not too seriously) trying to visit all 50 United States; they’re each down to less than 10 to go. A while back, we compared our lists and found that neither of us had ever been to Wisconsin, Minnesota, or North Dakota. Minnesota seemed like a nice place for bicycle riding, …