rayna, Author at Adventures of Rayna

21Sep 2016 by rayna No Comments

Exploring Crater Lake National Park in One Day | Travel Oregon

Dog Friendly, National Parks, Oregon, Traveling, United States

On our latest climbing road trip, we took a rest day exploring Crater Lake National Park. We scheduled in one day, intending to do part of the scenic loop and hike one or two hikes. From looking online, I was somehow under the impression that in order to get a great view of Crater Lake, we’d have to hike a few miles, but luckily I was wrong. The rim hikes do give you some unique views but there’s a scenic drive that traces them almost all the way around the lake. [caption id="attachment_650" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] View of Crater Lake at sunrise by the Rim Village Visitor Center[/caption] Normally, I’d LOVE to hike the park, but our rest day turned out to be an uncharacteristically cold day. At 35 degrees and…

21Sep 2016 by rayna No Comments

Four places to Camp in Spearfish Canyon

Dog Friendly, South Dakota, United States

The Black Hills of South Dakota is an amazing place full of history and beautiful landscapes. You could easily spend an entire weekend there, and if you do, you should highly consider camping. There's just something about Spearfish Canyon that keeps you wanting more . Four Places To Camp In Spearfish Canyon [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The Adventure Van at the Rod and Gun Campground[/caption] Gun and Rod Campground Gun and Rod Campground is the closest campground to Savoy, South Dakota. It is about 2.5 miles south on Roughlock Falls Road once your turn off of Highway 14A. It has 6 campsites with picnic tables and fire rings. The sites are fairly open and there is a large grassy field in the center as well. This was our paid campsite of choice. It…

30Aug 2016 by rayna No Comments

One Day In Badlands National Park With A Dog

Dog Friendly, National Parks, South Dakota, Traveling, United States

Badlands National Park is a natural wonder located just outside of Rapid City, South Dakota. When heading there, I was excited because I was finally visiting South Dakota and I love national parks, but I really had no idea what to expect. It turns out, it's a unique mix of rocky buttes, spires and grassy fields that are quite pleasant to look at and hop around on. Unfortunately, Badlands National Park doesn't allow dogs on it's trails, so we were unable to explore very far beyond the pavement. Luckily, one of Badlands National Park's highlights is it's scenic drive. Note: On our trip we met a lot of dogs on the short trails. People were totally ignoring the signs and not only is that not cool, it makes it harder…

23Aug 2016 by rayna No Comments

Laurel Caverns | South Western Pennsylvania Attractions

Pennsylvania, Traveling, United States

When I was about five years old, my parents told me about this unique place called Laurel Caverns. To me it was a magical land of caves, filled with mystery and excitement. I was so excited to go, and then one day we finally went. And I don't remember what happened, but all of my neighbors go to go in but my brothers and I did not. It was disappointing, but that was that, and we never went back. 20+ years later, I finally made it. During my most recent visit to Pittsburgh, I decided to take my oldest niece and two nephews on a "field trip" there. They loved it too. At first I wasn't sure how it was going to go. We were a group of 8, and came…

12Aug 2016 by rayna No Comments

6 Travel Podcasts You Shouldn’t Road Trip Without!

Roadtripping, Traveling

As road tripping experts, we spend a lot of time out on the highway. While this means we have a lot of exploring opportunities, you can only drive through Kansas so many times before turning on the radio and zoning. Except there's not much on the radio out there either. So after a few LOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNG trips, Christian and I discovered podcasts and we haven't looked back. We listen to a variety of podcasts and have subscribed to everything from This American Life to Freakanomics to Can I Pet Your Dog, but our favorites are podcasts that encourage a nomadic lifestyle and provide us with useful information on how we can retire as soon as possible. 6 Travel Podcasts That You Should't Road Trip Without: The Dirt Bag Diaries My personal favorite,…

04Aug 2016 by rayna No Comments

2016 Ten Sleep Climbing Festival

Rock Climbing, United States, Wyoming

This year, our summer road trip ended with a stop ino Ten Sleep, Wyoming over the Fourth of July. We've spent the last few Fourth of July's in Ten Sleep, yet somehow we had no idea that there was an annual Ten Sleep Climbing Festival that goes on every year. #climberfail. So, after a super fun day of limestone climbing, we headed to the Ten Sleep Brewing Co., where the event was being held, to see what the fuss was about. We arrived shortly after it began, and the parking lot was more than halfway full. There were tents set up all over the grounds, as well as the super fun stupid human tricks that climbers crave. Ten Sleep has a population of almost 300 people, so it gets a little…

01Aug 2016 by rayna 11 Comments

Product Review: Outward Hound Ripstop Adjustable Dog Life Jacket

Dog Friendly, Product Reviews

Last summer we tried to teach Savannah to swim, but she'd freak out as soon as she could feel her body start to sink in the water. Honestly, I couldn't blame her. She's a land creature. I did some reading and found that some dogs excel at swimming when they have a life jacket on. So, off to Amazon I went. Which Dog Life Jacket to Get: After reading a ton of reviews and comparing life jacket after life jacket, I found that there was only one life jacket available in the color pink, the Outward Hound Ripstop Adjustable Dog Life Jacket. So, obviously, I bought that one (before you hate on me, all of the life jackets I was looking at had similar ratings). Finding the right size for Savannah…

20Jul 2016 by rayna 1 Comment

Let’s Talk About it: BLM Camping Etiquette

Let's Talk About It

A few weeks ago I had a terrible experience while camping on BLM land in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. I was pretty upset about it, but my husband pointed out that it was BLM land and therefor public land open to, well, the public. I knew he was right, but that didn't stop me from thinking about it and in the end wondering, what is BLM Camping Etiquette? I'm going to tell you my story, how everything went down and what I think was wrong. I'm going to tell you how I feel it should be handled, but I get that others may have varying opinions and really, I'd like to start a dialogue on it. So, please feel free to start a discussion below. [caption id="attachment_554" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Savannah hanging out…

14Jul 2016 by rayna No Comments

DIY Car Camping Window Screen

Do It Yourself

If you haven't noticed, I don't particularly like bugs. I don't exactly dislike them, but I'm allergic to most o fthem and so I prefer they do their own thing and leave me alone. This is particular true when we're camping. ESPECIALLY when we're camping out in the middle of no where, rural USA where the closest hospital is an hour or so away. Since buying our Toyota Sienna, we've mostly been van camping out of that. We've only had it since November, so it's been cold the majority of the time and there wasn't really a need to have a window down. But now that's it's summer, that's changed. So before heading back east to the land of humidity, I decided I should probably find a solution to this.…

13Jul 2016 by rayna No Comments

Hiking Eldorado Canyon State Park | Boulder, Colorado

Colorado, Dog Friendly, Hiking, United States

I'm going to admit it. Up until recently, I was totally guilty of not taking advantage of one of the coolest places to hike around Boulder. Eldorado Canyon State Park is less than 40 minutes from my door, and I drive past it at least once a week. I've climbed there, I've shot weddings there, but I'd never really hiked there. I decided that needed to change and I made it my mission to hike all three of the hiking trails at Eldorado Canyon. It's a smaller park, so I figured that the hikes would be similar but I couldn't have been more wrong. Each trail varied in elevation, scenery and the type of crowds you encounter. What they did have in common was that all were easy to access,…