Photography, Fun, and Adventure in the U.S.
Per our usual travels, we crisscrossed through Kentucky — state #47, the second-to-last state in our quest to visit all 48 continental states on this part of the adventures — starting in Paducah, located in the southwestern part of the state, at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio
We started our exploration of state #46, Tennessee, in the Chattanooga area. (Technically, we actually were in Tennessee briefly when we visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park a few weeks ago.) Tennessee became the 16th state of the United States in 1796, and later left the Union to join
Our return to Georgia started out uneventfully, with a wonderful visit to Columbus, the third-largest city in the state and located near the west-central border of the state — along the Chattahoochee River (a tributary of the Apalachicola River) — about 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. Fun and crazy fact:
Alabama marks the 45th state in our JenRanAdventures across the United States… with our first stop in Robertsdale, one town away from the Buc-ee’s #42 in Loxley. What is a Buc-ee’s? For some, it is a destination… but officially it is a travel center chain with a mascot that’s a
While we were sad leaving Cedar Key, we were also excited to continue the exploration of Florida… moving into our final phase by exploring areas of the Florida Panhandle, which is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide, lying between Alabama on the
We stopped in Naples in southwest Florida so that we could spend some time exploring what some consider should be the fourth national park in the state… Big Cypress National Preserve, established in 1974. This 729,000-acre preserve protects the freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp — which is essential to
We returned to Florida almost exactly two years since we last visited the state when Jen was attending a residency for her master’s degree. It is still hot and humid — but better than being caught in a blizzard with our travel trailer! Florida is amazingly state #44 for us;
With the seasonal camping deadline of Columbus Day looming (when RV parks close), we left Maine with the goal of completing a quick sweep through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut… starting with a camping base in Gloucester, the main city on Cape Ann, and the oldest fishing port in New
This stop was mostly all about Zion National Park, though we were also happy to spend some time in St. George, UT, which was a great place to restock after being in lots of tiny towns for the last several weeks as we worked our way through the state. (We