WordPress sent me that “Happy Anniversary” message recently letting me know that another year has gone by since I started blogging. I can’t believe it’s been two years since I started Weekend Campervanning. Two years! How did I even find things to blog about for two years? It’s exciting to think that people other than my mom are actually checking out my posts. I do so appreciate all the people who have taken the time to read them, it means a lot. This blog is a labor of love, and I’ve truly enjoyed writing, sharing and being a part of a great blogging community. I’ve learned so much from other bloggers as well, such a wealth of information out there! I write when I have time and when I have something I want to share, so I’m not the most regular blogger, but I find myself missing it when the breaks get too long.
For me, the two years means that my daughter is two years older and I have two less years with her before she heads off to college. At the same time it also means I’ve had two more years making memories and sharing a love of the outdoors with my family, becoming closer in the process. It fills me with gratitude.
The reason why I blog and what motivates me to continue writing hasn’t changed, and I wrote about it last year after blogging for a year (post here). This year, I wanted to share about our favorite places that we visited in the past two years. There is so much to see and do all around us, it just takes making that choice to get out and do it, no matter how big or small your plans may be. I keep telling myself, “make it a priority, put it on the calendar and commit!” I like to plan, plan, plan for the next adventure, but I think it’s just as important to look back and appreciate where you’ve been as well. I’ve made a list of our favorite places that we’ve been lucky enough to visit these last two years. Really wonderful places that I highly recommend if you haven’t been.
Here are our favorites from the last two years:
Favorite California Campgrounds:
1) Mesquite Springs campground (here and here), Death Valley National Park
2) Wright’s Beach campground, Sonoma State Parks
3) Hole-in-the-Wall campground, Mojave National Monument
4) Ricardo campground, Red Rock Canyon State Park
5) Sunset campground, Sequoia National Park
6) Manzanita Lake campground, Lassen National Park
7) Lodgepole campground, Sequoia National Park
8) Doran Regional Park campground, Doran Regional park
9) Woodside campground, Salt Rock Point State Park
10) Pinnacles campground, Pinnacles National Park
11) Huckleberry campground, Big Basin State Park
12) Indian Cove campground, Joshua Tree National Park
Favorite Campgrounds Not in California:
1) Atlatl Rock campground, Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada)
2) Mather campground, Grand Canyon (Arizona)
Favorite National Parks (we loved every single one that we visited):
1) Yosemite
2) Grand Canyon
3) Bryce Canyon
4) Death Valley
5) Lassen
6) Zion
7) Pinnacles
8) Kings Canyon
9) Sequoia
10) Mojave National Monument
11) Joshua Tree
Favorite California State Parks:
1) Salt Rock State Park
2) Red Rock Canyon State Park
3) Año Nuevo State Park
4) Sonoma State Beaches
5) Wilder Ranch State Park
6) Big Basin State Park
7) McArthur Burney Falls State Park
8) Samuel P. Taylor
9) Dunes Beach, Half Moon Bay State Beach
10) Sunset State Beach
11) Diablo Valley State Park
12) Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
Favorite Waterfalls:
1) McArthur Burney Falls, McArthur Burney Falls State Park
2) Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park
3) Spokane Falls, downtown Spokane, Washington
4) Berry Creek Falls, Big Basin State Park
5) Roaring River Falls and Grizzly Falls, Kings Canyon National Park
6) Emerald Pools waterfall, Zion National Park
7) Brooks Fall, San Pedro Valley County Park (seasonal waterfall)
Favorite Hikes:
1) Queens Garden to Navajo Loop, Bryce Canyon National Park
2) Manzanita Lake, Lassen National Park
3) Bear Gulch to High Peaks Loop, Pinnacles National Park
4) Emerald Pools Loop, Zion National Park
5) Riverwalk, Zion National Park
5) South Kaibab, Grand Canyon
6) Trail of Time, Grand Canyon National Park
7) Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park
8) Salt Creek, Death Valley National Park
9) Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley National Park
10) Zumwalt Meadows Loop, Kings Canyon National Park
11) Moro Rock, Crescent Meadows, Sequoia National Park
12) Hole-in-the-wall Loop, Mojave National Monument
13) Old Cove Landing Loop, Wilder Ranch State Park
14) Prairie Loop, Salt Rock Point State Park
15) Berry Creek Falls, Big Basin State Park
16) Pioneer Nature Trail, Armstrong Redwoods State Park
17) Año Nuevo Point Trail, Año Nuevo State Park
18) Bean Hollow coastal hike, Bean Hollow State Park
19) Echo Lake, Lassen National Park
Favorite Bike rides:
1) Yosemite Valley Bike Trail
2) Grand Canyon Bike Trails
3) Half Moon Bay Bike Trail
4) Truckee River Bike Trail
5) Samuel P. Taylor Bike Trail
6) Jedediah Smith Bike Trail
7) San Francisco Bay Trail
Favorite activities (not including hiking and biking):
1) Kayak sailing, Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe
2) Kayaking Manzanita Lake, Lassen National Park
3) Skiing Diamond Peak, Lake Tahoe
4) Strawberry Picking, Gizdich Ranch
5) Apple Picking, Swanton Pacific Ranch Apple Orchard
6) Elephant Seal watching, Año Nuevo State Park
7) Butterfly watching, Natural Bridges State Park
8) Exploring a cave, Subway Cave
9) Outdoor Projects at home
Favorite National Park Lodges we visited during the holidays:
1) El Tovar, Grand Canyon at Thanksgiving
2) Furnace Creek Inn, Death Valley at Christmas
3) Zion Lodge, Zion at Christmas
Favorite Cities we visited:
1) Tokyo, Japan
2) Minneapolis, Minnesota
3) Denver, Colorado
4) Atami, Japan
5) St. Paul, Minnesota
6) Spokane, Washington
7) Auburn, California
8) Reno, Nevada
9) Santa Cruz, California
Recipes I posted:
Most viewed: Japanese Cream Puffs
Most requested: Power Up Banana Bread
My personal Favorites: All of them 🙂
Favorite Past Vacations:
1) Big Island, Hawaii
2) Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Orlando
3) Hearst Castle
4) Napa, California
5) Japan (here and here)
6) Dillon Beach, California
7) Safari West, Santa Rosa
The world around us is full of opportunities to explore and create an adventure. Make those memories, happy travels everyone!
Weekend Campervanning 
Very nice. Look at all the places you went and things you did. I could also see that you have a California bias. 😉
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Thank you, it was surprising to me how busy we kept ourselves, until I made a list. There is still so much I want to see and do (outside California too 🙂) Keeps life interesting! Thanks for stopping by.
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Congrats on your two year anniversary. I had the same notification a few weeks ago. You sure have done a lot in two years.
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Congratulations to you too! It took making a list to feel like we actually did stuff. I really feel like my weekends are ticking down until my high schooler goes to college. In the mean time I’m grabbing every chance I can get 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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Thanks for allowing us to tag along on all your adventures.
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Thanks for following along!
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That’s an impressive list! Beautiful pictures.
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Thank you so much!
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Congratulations on the two year mark! I really enjoy and relate to your blog. I grew up in South Louisiana and my family did not have a ton of money so our vacations typically consisted of weekend trips to state parks and landmarks here in Louisiana. Those trips were the source of many of my fondest memories growing up so I can only imagine the fun you have and memories you guys make enjoying our National Parks. Congrats again, and keep up the great posts.
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Thank you for your kind words. Your childhood sounds like the kind of childhood I want to give my daughter. Awesome!
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Congratulations on two years!!
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Thank you so much!
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Those are some great lists! You’ve seen and done a lot in 2 years! I’m looking forward to reading about what you do this year. I need to get back to blogging soon, I think I’ve taken a long enough break. 😉
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Breaks (at least for me) are very necessary to keep things fun and exciting in blogging land. Hope you are enjoying your break! Look forward to when you are ready to return 🙂
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