• Story by Nicole Let’s be honest: I’m not going to be able to tell you anything that is new or particularly insightful about Paris. Incredibly talented writers have been coming here for centuries and attempting to explain the city’s charm to others. What I can do is reiterate some of the elements of the city…

  • Story by Nicole We went with a group of friends to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve for the full moon in September. The sand dunes are a pretty amazing natural feature of Colorado. They are large and dramatic and surrounded by mountains. Even though Jason has a great dislike of sand, he…

  • Story by Nicole Our last day in Alaska was full of activities. Since we were unable to take a plane ride in Talkeetna, we decided we would try to find one in the Seward area. Because Seward is close to most of the things that people want to fly over, though, helicopter rides are a…

  • Story by Nicole On Friday we took an all-day cruise out to Northwestern Glacier. We were already excited about it because our kayak trip guide, JD, had gotten so excited when we mentioned it. Apparently it’s a fairly remote area and they haven’t been doing cruises out there very long, so not a lot of…

  • Story by Nicole On Thursday we did an all-day kayaking trip that included a hike to McGilvray Fort, which was built and abandoned after two years near the end of WWII. I have nothing but great things to say about this day trip. Our guide, JD, was not only helpful and fun to talk to…

  • Story by Nicole Boarding the train in the early-morning fog (Photo/Jason Rafal) On Wednesday morning we caught the train to Seward. We had heard that the Anchorage-to-Seward train ride is one of the most beautiful in the United States, and it did not disappoint. The train winds along the ocean, through mountains, and alongside mountain…

  • Story by Nicole On our way to Anchorage, we had an 11-hour layover in Seattle that we used to visit a friend of Jason’s and explore Seattle, which he had never seen. We spent the time walking about 15 miles around the city, from Capital Hill to Pike Place Market.  I adore the Pacific Northwest,…

  • Story by Nicole For Monica’s birthday, a group of us went to Steamboat Springs for a night. Steamboat is a lovely small town about three hours from Denver, and it is home to the wonderful Strawberry Park Hot Springs. We arrived in Steamboat on Saturday and spent a few hours at the Yampa River Festival,…

  • Story by Nicole For Memorial Day weekend 2016, we loaded our camping stuff and our roommate, Martin, into Jason’s tiny car and drove to Wyoming and South Dakota. We headed to South Dakota because neither of the guys had ever been there and to see my uncle. Because we wanted to have Monday in Denver…

  • Story by Nicole I decided to take some of my free time between jobs to go to Portland, Oregon, to visit my grandparents and an old friend. I adore Portalnd, and I wanted to share some of the visual highlights. Jason didn’t come with me this time, which means I took all the photos with…