We arrived on the morning of January 1st not checking if everything was going to be opened, which it wasn't. So we will be coming back here at some point, but while we were here we did check out a few things on a walk we took.

History: The area's thermal springs drew bathhouse development starting in the late 1800s, and by 1921, Hot Springs Reservation officially became Hot Springs National Park. In its heyday, the row of bathhouses drew visitors like President Theodore Roosevelt, musician Count Basie, and industrialist Andrew Carnegie — along with gangsters like Al Capone.

We stayed here for a week — the night sky was clear, the temp wasn't the greatest but we stayed warm. Also made another visit after we were at the Guadalupe Mountains. There is a restriction of only being allowed to stay 40 nights a year, and have to leave for 30 days after a 14 night stay.

History: In the 18th and early 19th centuries, a web of industrial towns thrived here — places like Bulltown, Harrisville, and Martha produced iron, glass, lumber, and paper. In 1873, wealthy industrialist Joseph Wharton began buying up large tracts of the Pinelands, eventually acquiring 96,000 acres by the time of his death in 1909.

This is another place we will have to come back to, as the caverns were closed while they were working on the lights. But we did find a nice place to stay the night of Jan 29th on some BLM land nearby.

History: Carlsbad Caverns became a regional then national sensation after local cowboy Jim White began exploring and promoting it to the traveling public. It was designated a National Monument in 1923, then became a National Park seven years later in 1930.

We made it here later in the afternoon after visiting Carlsbad Caverns, and stopped by again late in the day on Jan 30th. This is another spot we will come back to after visiting Carlsbad again since it is just about 45 minutes away.

History: Geologist Wallace Pratt donated about 6,000 acres of McKittrick Canyon after falling in love with its beauty in the 1920s, and Congress formally established the park in September 1972 — home to Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas.

Another stop at Valley Forge for us this year. We had a nice time with my sister last year and decided to come back with Jaime this year on Feb. 18th for a nice walk while we were in the area. While it may not have been the warmest day and some thought it was rather longer than I said, I am sticking to it was only 2.5 to 3 miles!

History: Valley Forge is where George Washington and the Continental Army took refuge during the brutal winter of 1777-1778. It was here that Washington built 13 ragtag state militias into a coordinated fighting force that would go on to defeat the world's largest military power at the time.

Never saw the Statue of Liberty in person before, so on Feb. 26th Liberty State Park was the destination. Bryce and I walked around the park, got some good pics and video...and Jaime joined us again! It ended up being a bit colder than we thought it would be, but still glad we took the drive here.

History: In 1958, longtime Jersey City civic leader Morris Pesin canoed out to the Statue of Liberty and pitched the idea of turning the area's decaying rail yards into an open family park. The historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal that anchors the park once processed some of the roughly 10.5 million immigrants who came through nearby Ellis Island.

Something I have always wanted to do was travel the Oregon Trail, and I can finally say I drove it, and did not die of dysentery! All the details can be found on The Oregon Trail page. 

Made it to Redwood on May 14th, took a drive through the park to the coast and stopped at the beach. The beach had black sand — I did take a few pics at the beach and hit the water during a stroll on the beach.

History: By the time Redwood National Park was created in 1968, nearly 90 percent of the original old-growth redwood forest had already been logged. The Save the Redwoods League, founded decades earlier, raised funds to buy and protect the remaining ancient groves that now make up the park

When I actually reached Donner Pass the sun was starting to go down. I did not take any pics but did stop at a rest stop at the top of the pass for a few seconds debating if I should try to get a pic or get out of the mountains. One thing to note: while the road was clear, the snow at the rest stop went to the top of the building on both sides — just a wall of snow.

History: This pass is named for the Donner Party, a group of pioneers trapped here by heavy snowfall in the winter of 1846-47, who resorted to cannibalism to survive. The site is now preserved as Donner Memorial State Park, established in 1928.

On June 10th I finally made it to a Yankees home game, but Bryce was not able to join me on this trip. The game was good and the Yankees won! Overall the city is not for me — I am much more at home in the middle of nowhere.

History: The original Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923, with Babe Ruth hitting a home run in the very first game. A sportswriter dubbed it "The House That Ruth Built" soon after — a nickname that stuck for the rest of its 85-year run before the current stadium opened next door in 2009.

Another visit to Wharton State Forest for the last weekend we were going to be in New Jersey this year. It was blueberry picking season during this visit, and while the campsites were not packed the grocery stores were running low on certain items. Overall it was a good night's stay with a clear night, nice fire, but an unfortunate tick bite for me. 

This is a place my mom always wanted to visit but was never able to make it to, and after our visit I know she would have really liked it. Jaime was with us on this, didn't find any diamonds but had a lot of fun. We did take a drive to get some gear we did not bring (van remodel still not complete) and had a little adventure after missing a turn on the way back. Ended up getting routed down a dirt road and should have known to turn around as soon as possible after being on it for a bit. Parts of the shoulder were gone, crossed a couple washed out sections before we reached a bridge that had collapsed — end of the road! Problem was the road was not much wider than the van, oh did I mention it was at night? So we had to back up slowly around the curves, making sure to not fall in the missing shoulder sections, for a bit, until we found an iffy section that could be possible to back into a bit. With some back and forth I got the van turned around and made it back to the missed turn to make it back to camp. Definitely a place we will visit again.

History: The Crater of Diamonds was purchased by the state of Arkansas in 1972 and established as a state park — diamonds have been found here continuously since 1906. Notable finds include the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, the largest diamond ever unearthed in the U.S.

Made it back to Hot Springs National Park on December 31st to spend the last day of the year where we spent the first day of the year, however Jaime was with us on this trip. Took a tour of a bath house, walked a little bit, and filled some jugs with hot spring water before we left.