Trip reports, national park guides, and van life stories from the open road.
13 posts
Newby sprintermom|Jun 1, 2026
Yellowstone National Park sits atop one of the largest active volcanoes on Earth — a supervolcano whose last great eruption, 640,000 years ago, left a caldera 45 miles wide and 10,000 hydrothermal features still breathing today. Here's how we earned the Junior Ranger badge with the girls.
by sprintermom|May 3, 2026
Big Bend National Park is named for the broad, sweeping bend of the Rio Grande as it carves the Texas–Mexico border — a fossil-and-volcano country of Chihuahuan Desert, sky-island Chisos Mountains, and a river that draws its own line. Here's how we returned with the girls two decades after our first visit and earned the Junior Ranger badge.
by sprintermom|Apr 30, 2026
Guadalupe Mountains National Park tells the story of a 260-million-year-old Permian Sea, a fossil reef now standing as the highest peaks in Texas — and the last stronghold of Mescalero Apache freedom. Here's how we visited with the girls and earned the Junior Ranger badge.
by sprintermom|Apr 21, 2026
It's not actually sand — White Sands sits on the world's largest gypsum dunefield, crystallized from an ancient inland sea. Here's how we finally made it at sunset, earned Junior Ranger badges, and why you shouldn't rush this one.
by sprintermom|Apr 11, 2026
Fort Davis NHS is one of the best-preserved frontier military posts in the Southwest — where the legendary Buffalo Soldiers served after the Civil War. Here's how to visit with kids and earn a Junior Ranger badge in this overlooked West Texas gem.
by sprintermom|Oct 1, 2022
Whitman Mission NHS marks the Oregon Trail — the 2,000-mile route that carried 400,000+ settlers westward between 1840 and 1869. Here's how the Pacific Northwest's NPS sites preserve that remarkable story for Junior Rangers.
by sprintermom|Sep 1, 2022
We are van lifers, so freedom is our forte. I'd like to muse how we will all define our life and freedom in the time of the Great Reset. What we will tell our descendants someday. We have the freedom ...
by sprintermom|Aug 17, 2020
Nothing says a great road trip like the ultimate van rescue operation. A great road trip is all about the unexpected adventures and memorable experiences encountered on the way. Thanks to the heroic e...
by sprintermom|Jan 18, 2020
It feels like forever since I last posted. I wanted to throw out it out there, Van Life is the best life. We have had quite a ride these past few months. But the best ride is always in the van. Van tr...
by sprintermom|Oct 20, 2019
Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet, formed when an ancient volcano collapsed 7,700 years ago. Here's the magic of Southern Oregon's national parks, close to home and endlessly worth it.
by sprintermom|Aug 29, 2019
Anyone who has visited knows Monterey Bay is pretty special, where sparkling tides meet rocky shorelines rich with colorful sea glass. Where abundant aquatic life plays in the sun. On this recent trip...
by sprintermom|Apr 8, 2019
It's true, Santa Cruz isn't sunny all the time, but is a great place to find sandy beaches, magical redwoods, easy food, and good kid fun. Van Life in the Sunny Santa Cruz Region Santa Cruz Has Any Ki...
by sprintermom|Apr 8, 2019
Our rustic van conversion by Pata Vans was the best way to start the Van Life adventure, simple, natural, and feels like home. Finding the Right Van Conversion It can only be a stroke of luck that hap...
