Each March our family tries to shake the winter blues and head somewhere sunny and warm, usually to the Desert Southwest. This year we set our sites on the canyons and sandstone of southeastern Utah. Surprises lay around every corner as we hiked through slot canyons, drove up to viewpoints, and generally explored our way around Arches, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as whole host of other federal lands.

We headed out with our awesome adventure friends, Brian and Abby, to spend the better part of a week in Bend, OR. After spending a day there a year before, we knew we needed to come back and to bring them with us–so much to do outside, so many great places to hang out! We hiked, kayaked, mountain biked, drank craft beer, ate good food and basically just enjoyed life (and our temporary reprieve from kids)!

With just a day for the two of us (before our friends Brian and Abby flew in and we were off to Bend, OR) we both quickly decided to check out Mt. Rainier National Park. Wow! We were both blown away by the beauty and accessibility of so much great stuff. We hiked through the fog, the fall colors, the rain forests, and glacial landscape in several areas of the park and got a great taste of all the park has to offer. We’ll be back for sure!