Check out REI stores for hiking boot fitting  (brands like Merrell are good ones to start with) and other gears (headlamp, hats, water bladders, backpacks, proper clothing, hiking poles, etc). They also offer free/paid classes at your local REI store of outdoor adventures you want to learn! REI does have an awesome $20 lifetime membership and other perks, as well as a great return policy, so it’s worth it 🙂

You can also purchase above clothing and hiking poles at other stores, like Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Columbia to name a few. It does get pricey if you get everything from REI – but you can try sizes there and buy items cheaper online when there’s a sale.

I do a lot of research ahead of time by looking through sites. Such as, lots of other folks who have their own websites (e.g. HikingUpward focuses on Mid-Atlantic states) or official hiking trail websites that has reviews (e.g., AllTrails). I also have two apps downloaded relating to National Parks and associated sites (check them out, one is from NPS and the National Park Trail Guide is also just as helpful. The Hiking Project company also offers other apps: Hiking, MTB, Trail Run and more, if you want to get into mountain biking or running on trails!)

In most of my pages, I’ve listed tips at the end of the entries but we always have the following with us:

• • 1-2L of water (and other electrolyte beverages)
  • Snacks (things that don’t contain diary or melt easily), typically we pack some kind of protein (bars, jerky, nuts), and fruits (apples and banana)
  • First aid Kit
  • Compass/Watch (know your directions and also track your steps!)
  • Weather appropriate clothes
  • Camera/phone/power bank
  • Tripod for pictures!

Watch the weather, plan when to go and have a good time!!

My new hobby is to collect national park stamps when we visit these areas, as well as, collect the annual national park passes. The stamps are free at the gift shops, but obviously, most parks collect an entrance fee so it is recommended to buy the annual pass if you visit at least 4 parks (or multiple trips to a park) a year. We also decided to make a lifetime goal to visit all of the U.S. national parks, which currently is 63 total (Dec 2022). So far we’ve visited 16 of the 63 – we have some work to do!!

I also would recommend getting a passport book to bring with you on your adventures so you can collect those stamps in! They sell them at the gift shops but Amazon and bookstores also sell other variations of them. I haven’t gotten one yet since I would just use blank pages in my notebooks to collect them. But they are scattered throughout my box, so I’m thinking of getting a bigger book to collect and enjoy reviewing them.

My Hobby Turned Into A Lifetime Goal

From the early 2000s, I started my Washington Quarters 50-states collection. I have a full set of Pennsylvania minted quarters but I never completed a full set of Denver minted quarters. Then, I became fascinated with collecting the national parks and monuments featured on the new quarter series (America the Beautiful) that started in 2010. But I’m finding it harder to collect these as I rarely use cash to get change back so that series sadly may not be completed either.

 I got rid of my Denver quarters to make room for the America the Beautiful set next to the corresponding states (including DC & US Territories – 2009!). I marked the ones I didn’t have physically (blue stars) but wanted to showcase the full set. But hey, 100/112 quarters = 89% is not bad!

I did see that they sell these quarters for ~$5 at the national park gift shops. Each set of quarters (P and D) came in a card holder with description on the back, as seen here on Yellowstone’s website.  I almost bought them so I could complete the set but then I lose the fun of “collecting” them through our travels (or hit up banks for quarter rolls!)