Photography, Fun, and Adventure in the U.S.
Our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains ended up being quite different than what we planned when our travel trailer had a tire blowout that led to not only an axle replacement but a reinforcement of the entire trailer’s frame after a fracture was discovered. Still, we loved our short
Alabama marks the 45th state in our JenRanAdventures across the United States… with our first stop in Robertsdale, one town away from the Buc-ee’s #42 in Loxley. What is a Buc-ee’s? For some, it is a destination… but officially it is a travel center chain with a mascot that’s a
While we were sad leaving Cedar Key, we were also excited to continue the exploration of Florida… moving into our final phase by exploring areas of the Florida Panhandle, which is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide, lying between Alabama on the
From Naples, we drove up to the Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda area, located on the Gulf Coast — about halfway between Sarasota and Fort Myers, and near the Peace and Myakka Rivers. Punta Gorda (Fat Point) is a city with a population of about 17,000 which has been on maps since
We stopped in Naples in southwest Florida so that we could spend some time exploring what some consider should be the fourth national park in the state… Big Cypress National Preserve, established in 1974. This 729,000-acre preserve protects the freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp — which is essential to
Our adventures in Florida continued in South Florida, with a weeklong stay at an RV park located just outside of Homestead… the perfect location for visiting the three Florida national parks — Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, and Dry Tortugas National Park — at least that was the plan!
We returned to Florida almost exactly two years since we last visited the state when Jen was attending a residency for her master’s degree. It is still hot and humid — but better than being caught in a blizzard with our travel trailer! Florida is amazingly state #44 for us;
Biscayne National Park, located in southeast Florida, is all about the water: 95 percent of the park is water, protecting and preserving Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs, as well as several of the northern Florida Keys and “transitional” islands. Biscayne National Park is the 44th national park on
Imagine a vista of grass and water, with a few small tree islands sprinkled about the horizon, for as far as the eyes can see… filled with waterfowl like Anhingas and Egrets as well as alligators and turtles… and you have an idea of the everglades. Florida has three national
With apologies to Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell, who wrote the 1930 song Georgia On My Mind (which is also the official state song), we briefly had Georgia on our minds during a short stop in state #43 as we continued traveling down the east coast toward a month in