Over the course of our honeymoon (July of 2010) we changed plans to include national park passports. We ended up hitting Mojave National Preserve (2 stamps, one for Old Spanish National Historic Trail), Joshua Tree National Park, Cabrillo National Monument, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
These four stamp locations just about filled up our Western Region of our first passport. We were excited at the prospect of having to buy a second to fit all the stamps (now we are into buying our third here soon!)
Each location offered some amazing wildlife and views of the west we never thought existed. My favorite would have to be the dessert and the Joshua Trees. There is something so strangely beautiful about an area so dry and dead to the eye, yet teaming with life. The rate of change is just so slow. Make sure, if you get time, to go see the Joshua trees. They are disappearing due to weather conditions and changing climate. This park may not be around for much longer, sadly.
Stamp #2 - Old Spanish National Historic Trail / Kelso, CA - Jul 31 2010
Stamp #3 - Mojave National Preserve / Kelso, CA - Jul 31 2010
Stamp #4 - Joshua Tree National Park / Twentynine Palms, CA - Jul 31 2010
Stamp #5 -
Stamp #6 -
Stamp #7 -
Stamp #8 -
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
It Begins
While Emily and I were traveling on our Honeymoon, we decided to visit Alaska as our cruise. We got off the boat in Skagway and had our zip line adventure booked.
After completing the high ropes course in a beautiful forest, we decided to tour the town. Walking down the historic streets, it was clear to see this town tried to keep their rustic look and historic feel. There were no big box stores or established eateries, only local places.
Upon finishing our walk down the main street, we came upon the Klondike Gold Rush National Park headquarters. Being a history buff, I convinced Emily to take a tour with me... Little did she know it would spawn a new life goal and eventually lay the plans for almost every travel trip from there on out.
Well, this was the start of many traditions to come. We visited the attached bookstore and decided to purchase a magnet. When we went to check out, we saw the national park stamping stuff and thought for a minute. Since I'm into geocaching, this seemed like a great idea. Travel around the United States looking for unique stamps that are sometimes difficult to get and show you beautiful and historic parts of the world.
Emily allowed me to buy my first passport book and we stamped two stamps. The first was the typical circular stamp with the date, and second was a special stamp just for that location. We also saw there were stickers and Klondike just happened to have a sticker. Well, about $15 later we had our passport, stickers, and first stamps.
We soon made plans to change our driving route from Vegas to San Diego so we could include a few other stamps and our new adventure was born.
Stamp #1 - Klondike Gold Rush NHP / Skagway, AK - Jul 26 2010
After completing the high ropes course in a beautiful forest, we decided to tour the town. Walking down the historic streets, it was clear to see this town tried to keep their rustic look and historic feel. There were no big box stores or established eateries, only local places.
Upon finishing our walk down the main street, we came upon the Klondike Gold Rush National Park headquarters. Being a history buff, I convinced Emily to take a tour with me... Little did she know it would spawn a new life goal and eventually lay the plans for almost every travel trip from there on out.
Well, this was the start of many traditions to come. We visited the attached bookstore and decided to purchase a magnet. When we went to check out, we saw the national park stamping stuff and thought for a minute. Since I'm into geocaching, this seemed like a great idea. Travel around the United States looking for unique stamps that are sometimes difficult to get and show you beautiful and historic parts of the world.
Emily allowed me to buy my first passport book and we stamped two stamps. The first was the typical circular stamp with the date, and second was a special stamp just for that location. We also saw there were stickers and Klondike just happened to have a sticker. Well, about $15 later we had our passport, stickers, and first stamps.
We soon made plans to change our driving route from Vegas to San Diego so we could include a few other stamps and our new adventure was born.
Stamp #1 - Klondike Gold Rush NHP / Skagway, AK - Jul 26 2010
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