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February 17, 2026

The Ultimate Winter Guide to the Grand Canyon

Here’s a secret that most people don’t know: winter might actually be the best time to visit the Grand Canyon. January transforms the Grand Canyon into a serene, snow-dusted wonderland, and while you may need to bundle up, this time of year offers advantages over peak season.

February 15, 2022

Visiting Sedona In Winter

do you like fewer crowds and perfect weather? How about snowcapped red rocks? Winter in Sedona means cozy evenings by a fire after days spent exploring this mystical place. A trip to Sedona in winter is an EPIC idea…

December 7, 2021

Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem 2026: One Day Guide & Tips

Planning a day at Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem, PA? Here’s my full one-day guide for 2026, with dates, hours, tickets, free Friday nights, parking, and my favorite things to eat, drink and shop in Christmas City USA.

July 27, 2020

Visiting Salem, MA Outside October: Every Season

October gets the hype, but Salem is open the other eleven months, with no lines, easy parking and room to actually hear your tour guide. Here’s what each season is really like, what’s open, and what’s worth planning around…

Hi! I'm Vanessa, a 30 something, sunset chasing traveler. I'm here to inspire you to travel wherever, whenever, and with whoever you can. My Huskies, Loki and Freya are usually along for the ride. I have a soul that likes to wander, a desire to experience the unknown, and a curiousity to discover things off the beaten path. I hope you'll stick around for awhile!

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Recent Posts

  • Where to Eat in Salem, MA: A Foodie Guide to the Witch City (Plus October Treats)
  • Fall Road Trip Packing List: What To Actually Bring
  • The Ultimate Dog Hiking Gear List For National Parks
  • The Ultimate New England Fall Road Trip: A Six-State Foliage Loop (2026)
  • The Girls Trip Guide to Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park

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Did you know New Mexico had its name 200 years bef Did you know New Mexico had its name 200 years before Mexico did…

Spanish explorers were calling this country Nuevo México in the 1500s. Santa Fe was founded in 1610, which makes it the oldest capital city in the United States. The Palace of the Governors on the plaza has been in continuous use since that year. 

Mexico, the nation, didn’t exist until 1821. New Mexico became a state in 1912. And all of that is recent. Acoma Pueblo has been lived in since around 1150. Taos Pueblo, about a thousand years. 

Twenty-three tribal nations call the state home today, and the Spanish, the Mexican, and the American chapters all came after.

I fell in love with New Mexico while we were living in El Paso for a year Some of my favorites: White Sands, Ruidoso, Cloudcroft, Lincoln National Forest, 8,600 feet up in the south of the state, where the aspens go gold in October and nobody east of the Mississippi knows it happens. 

Think elk in the meadows, cool nights, a mountain town with a wooden trestle and one main street.

A place can hold four centuries of names and still be exactly itself. That’s the thing about New Mexico, it truly is enchanting! (Cheesy, but true!)

Photos from 📍 Ruidoso, New Mexico
If you’re going to Salem any time in the next two If you’re going to Salem any time in the next two weeks, you’re going during the busiest stretch of the entire year…

That’s not a reason to cancel. It’s a reason to plan like you mean it. Your trip really does depend on it. 

Salem in late October can be one of the best days you’ll have all fall. Skip the planning part and you’ll spend the day trying to find parking or in a line (lines will happen for everything either way.) 

The full crowd calendar, the parking lots by address, the kids version, and the Halloween-day schedule hour by hour are in the Ultimate Salem Guide ($) and the Salem Cheat Sheet ($). 

Comment WITCH and I’ll send you both links!
I have a soft spot for places when they’re not put I have a soft spot for places when they’re not putting on a show. I don’t want to get the shot you’ve seen 20 million times! 

This is Oxbow Bend (photo 2 &4), Grand Teton’s most photographed view. It’s gorgeous! You’ve probably seen it with golden aspens and a perfect reflection at sunrise.

We went the 2nd week of October at sunset. The leaves were almost gone, a storm was rolling in, the light was purple, and there were only a handful of other car in the pullout (which, if you’ve been there, you know is insane). 

Was it the most iconic shot? Nope. Do I love it even more? Absolutely.

A little farther down the road, a mule deer buck stepped out of the trees like he’d also been waiting for everyone to leave. We also saw elk and a grizzly cub (highlight for me, but no photos, I was just in the moment for that one). 

I think that’s why I love the off-season. The parks look different, the plans get a little looser, and sometimes you get a whole place to yourself.

Around here, we’re less chasing the perfect shot and more let’s see what happens if we stay a little longer.

If that sounds like your kind of travel, you’re in the right place. 💚
The best view of Acadia isn’t on Cadillac. It’s 3 The best view of Acadia isn’t on Cadillac. It’s 3 miles offshore, and I’ll stand by that! 

We took the Lighthouse, Wildlife & Acadia National Park Cruise with @barharborwhales last October with visitors in town, and the fog rolled in twenty minutes out. I was thrilled. Coastal Maine doesn’t owe you a clear day. It owes you a mood.

The plan was Egg Rock, Winter Harbor, Baker Island, and Bear Island. The fog had other ideas, so the captain swung us around the quiet side of the island and we got Bass Harbor Head from the water, which almost nobody sees from that angle. I wouldn’t trade it for a clear day! 

Practical bits: about two and a half to three hours, it runs through the fall, and the route changes with the weather, so go in with no expectations and a real jacket. It’s ten degrees colder on the water than on the dock, every time.

🌊🍁 Save this for October 🍁🌊 I hope you get some fog too! 😉
Salem questions, round two. I love being your unof Salem questions, round two. I love being your unofficial tour guide for your October witch era. 🧙‍♀️

Which train should you take? Is 9 a.m. too early? (For Salem in October? Absolutely not.) Where did the witch trials actually happen? Can you go inside the Hocus Pocus house? (Nope. People live there. Please don’t be weird.)

We’re also talking coming in from Danvers, the ferry, what your 10-year-old will love, and whether November is too late for a Salem trip.

I lived in Massachusetts for 7 years and made the October pilgrimage more times than I can count. These are the answers I’d give a friend before sending them off to get aggressively distracted by every witchy gift shop in town. 

And if you want the whole game plan, I’ve got you:

🧹 The Ultimate Salem Guide ($): Week-by-week crowd calendar, parking lots by address, a kids’ itinerary, and what’s changed for 2026.

🎃 The Salem Cheat Sheet ($): The need-to-know details without the 47 open browser tabs.

Comment WITCH and I’ll send you the links. Consider it your official invitation to your 90s-kid, Hocus Pocus-loving witch era. 🖤
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