Category: USA

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Colorado day 1-4: Chicago to Southern Colorado

July 25-26

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Day 1-3

After driving for more than a day on I80, somewhere in Nebraska, we made first important decision: we are heading to Southern Colorado first. Driving on smaller roads for a change. Made it only to Oakley Kansas on day 2.

Joanna had our first destination already researched: dispersed camping and hiking along Lake Como Road on southern slope of Blanca Peak (4,374 m) of Sangre de Cristo Range. The road gets bumpy as it climbs up, so at some point we decided to stay at a good spot (many were available) with open view of the mountains. Joanna practiced night sky photography after dinner. Next morning we just walked 8 km and 500 m up and down the (4WD) road to stretch legs and get first taste of thiner air at almost 3000 masl. Relaxing hike with great views, no other hikers, few “machines”. Lake Como was too far/high for us that first day.

Day 4

Next destination: Great Sand Dunes National Park. We were quite lucky (weekend) to find campsites for two nights at very good park campground (recommended). In the afternoon we walked a short trail to Zapata Falls. Joanna practiced some fancy footwork on rocks, Piotr just waded through very (refreshing) cold water. All to get a glimpse of the falls. The trailhead is located above the valley floor offering good panoramic view of the dunes at the east edge of San Luis Valley pushed against surrounding mountains of Sangre de Cristo Range. And then we just looked around or starred at the dunes plotting exploration route for early next morning. Had time to plan next move, some idea where to go first to avoid biggest crowds. It was morning walk on the dunes and evening walk in Mendino Creek, with midday fiesta (hot weather).

We were getting into travel rhythm after leaving Chicago in a hurry with just a general plan. Sightseeing: yes, but we also needed several days to warm-up and start pushing to higher elevations on easier day-hikes to trigger altitude acclimatization before Colorado Trail.

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Colorado 2025

Finally, we are getting serious about our next, 3500-mile road trip this time to Colorado. Our main goal is to hike 75-mile segment of Colorado Trail from Silverton to Durango. Plus some shorter hikes in the area. We also want to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park which we somehow missed on our previous trips. The rest of the planning is for now just the map below. We are not going to move very fast and will fix details on the go. But we are not going unprepared. Joanna is packing (scientific, but tasty) rations for the trek, light-weight and calorie-reach. Piotr is catching-up with car service and repairs. Car- and backpack-packing should be faster this time as we are building on previous experiences. From time to time we will publish a brief note about our whereabouts on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewanderingspot.

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Florida road trip 2025

March 23 – April 14

We drove 3600 miles and stayed in 16 places, 8 campgrounds and 8 motels/airbnbs. All in 23 days. Joanna had a good plan where to go and what to see, but we made specific decisions each day. We left cold weather in Chicago and arrived in sunny Florida with temps reaching 90ºF. April is already beginning of low season here – some sites were preparing to shut down for the summer (too hot). We avoided big crowds, but were still able to observe a few manatees in the wild. No problems finding places to overnight (campgrounds were mostly empty). As for Subaru camping, additional moonroof ventilation would be good on hot nights, but we did not have anything to use as insect screen. No car mechanical problems this time.

Our main destination was National Parks: Everglades, Biscayne and Congaree – we added 3 to our list of visited Parks (new total 39 out of 63). Did not make it to Key West, as originally planned. On this trip we spent more time than usual visiting several cities and museums, but also did many short day-hikes and spent a lot of time watching wildlife: birds, alligators, crocodiles and of course manatees. We are becoming bird-watchers (beginners) – on this trip we watched, photographed and identified 37, others flew by too fast. Spent almost full day at Kennedy Space Center.

Florida map
Completed itinerary
    Destinations Overnight
Mar23Sun1Chicago-Nashville, I-94, I-65IL-IN-KY-TNNashville Music Row airbnb
 24Mon2NashvilleTNNashville Music Row airbnb
 25Tue3Birmingham, MontgomeryALMontgomery airbnb
 26Wed4Montgomery AL-FLTate’s Hell State Forest Cash Creek CG
 27Thu5Manatee SpringsFLManatee Springs SP Magnolia 1 CG
 28Fri6Manatee SpringsFLManatee Springs SP Magnolia 1 CG
 29Sat7Crystal River, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State ParkFLTarpon Springs Quality Inn & Suites
 30Sun8Big Cypress National PreserveFLMonument Lake CG
 31Mon9Big Cypress National PreserveFLMonument Lake CG
Apr1Tue10Loop Road (Big Cypress), Everglades National ParkFLLong Pine Key CG
 2Wed11Everglades National Park, Biscayne National ParkFLLong Pine Key CG
 3Thu12Everglades National ParkFLFlamingo CG
 4Fri13Everglades National ParkFLFlamingo CG
 5Sat14MiamiFLMiami River Inn
 6Sun15Miami BeachFLMiami River Inn
 7Mon16Miami murals, Pineda Beach, Cocoa BeachFLTravel Inn of Titusville
 8Tue17Kennedy Space CenterFLAnastasia State Park CG
 9Wed18Anastasia State Park, Saint AugustineFL-GAThe Isetta Inn
 10Thu19SavannahGA-SCBest Western Charleston Inn
 11Fri20CharlestonSCPoinsett State Park CG
 12Sat21Congaree National ParkSCBrick House CG
 13Sun22I-26, I-40, I-75SC-NC-TN-KYBerea Comfort Inn & Suites
 14Mon23I-75, I-275, I-74, I-65, I-94KY-OH-IN-IL Chicago
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Florida Birds
Video clips
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Snapshots…

Florida 2025 (4 posts)
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Florida day 19-23: Savannah, Charleston, Congaree National Park and return to Chicago

April 10-14

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Day 19.

We had full day of walking in Savannah – Joanna’s favorite town. We left our car at The Isetta Inn and just looped around stoping at countless squares with old oaks, lush greenery and antebellum mansions.

We tried to have lunch at famous Mrs. Wilkes, but line was waaay too long, so we restocked at Kroger, visited Bonaventure Cemetery and headed out to Best Western Inn in Charleston, with brief rest stop at Frampton Plantation.

Day 19.

We worried about parking in Charleston center, it was packed, but finding paid street parking was not impossible. We parked in three locations to explore different neighborhoods, waterfront and slave trading museum (Ryan’s Mart). A lot of history, from English colonial times, slave trade and antebellum, and Civil War.

Early dinner at Oyster House Seafood & O-Bar, southern style, very good. After dinner we started 1000-mile return home (via Knoxville and Cincinnati), with stops. First at Poinsett State Park Campground (recommended). Little time for short local walks.

Day 21-23.

We spent most of the following day at Congaree National Park walking 8-miles including open sections of Boardwalk, Sims and Oakridge trails. The park has the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest in U.S. and many state and national champion trees.

We parked for the night at Brick House Campground (recommended). Nice, quiet and relaxing evening with campfire. Next day we crossed Smoky Mountains, wonderful scenery reminding us past visits and hikes in the National Park. Stopped for interesting lunch at popular Biscuit Head for more southern cuisine and grocery shopping in Asheville. Joanna could not resist to use Piotr’s driver break to walk a mile on Appalachian Trail (from Tobes Creek Rd). Motel stay at Berea Comfort Inn & Suites. To keep with our tradition we stopped at KFC while in Kentucky to get fried chicken. Chicago. The End.

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