Film Favorites: A National Park Roundup

A couple of years ago, I attended a nighttime campfire talk in Mesa Verde National Park. The event was hosted by a veteran park ranger who had married his wife, another fellow park ranger, on the rim of the Grand Canyon. He said they had lived in some of America’s best zip codes because of their work with the National Park Service. He talked through the history of the park, then pulled out his guitar and we all sang “This Land is Your Land” together under the stars.

Visiting new national parks and revisiting old favorites has been such a fun part of my adult life, but it’s moments like that night in Mesa Verde that really stick out to me. Being outside in nature, surrounded by friends and strangers in collective appreciation for the beauty of the earth, has been such a spiritually connecting experience for me.

So in honor of the National Park Service’s 106th birthday today, I rounded up my favorite film photos that I’ve made in America’s best zip codes. I’m grateful today and every day that this land was made for you and me. ♡

Film Favorites: Maine 2022

Maine has been on our bucket list for a long time, and it definitely lived up to its “vacationland” tagline. We did a five day road trip along Maine’s coast, stopping in a bunch of little towns, including Portland, Bar Harbor, and Acadia National Park. Every town was so cute and charming, and the drive was beautiful—Maine is definitely in my top three favorite east coast destinations! Here’s a list of the best things we did on our trip:

Portland: My favorite part of Portland was the Portland Head Light. We went in the afternoon to avoid rainy weather later in the day, but I’d love to go back someday for sunrise or sunset (and hopefully fewer crowds!). We loved climbing down on the rocks to the right of the light house and sitting while listening to the waves come in. We also walked along the cliff path to the left of it, which in my opinion, delivered the best views for photos. We got donuts at The Holy Donut for breakfast and checked out the nearby town of Kennebunkport for lunch.

Acadia National Park: We went to Sand Beach and Thunder Hole, biked the Carriage Roads, got popovers and blueberry lemonade at Jordan Pond House, and hiked Beehive Loop Trail.

Bar Harbor: We rented a room at The Central House, which ended up being the perfect location. It was within walking distance from everything we wanted to do in town. Bar Harbor had my favorite main street of all the towns we visited, with plenty of shops, restaurants and ice cream places. There’s also a beautiful park that overlooks the harbor. We watched sunset from the docks one night, and walked The Shore Path overlooking the water.

Pentax 645n and Nikon F100 on Kodak Portra 400 and Ilford HP5 film.

Film Favorites: Shenandoah National Park 2022

Spending a few days outside in nature for Memorial Day weekend made for the perfect getaway. We usually stay in towns close to National Parks (unless we’re camping), but we ended up staying in the park at Big Meadows Lodge. It was so fun waking up inside the park each day! The longer we were there the more I liked Shenandoah. And for a holiday weekend, it really didn’t feel that busy. The cabins were somewhat rustic, but they were pretty budget friendly, and definitely a step up from camping. We ate dinner each day at the lodge’s restaurant and it was surprisingly good for park food. Wild blackberries grow throughout the park later in the summer, so a lot of the menu items had blackberries worked in.

If I had to describe Shenandoah in two words, it would be “hikes” and “overlooks”. The main park road is like a big long spine with tons of hikes and overlooks branching out from it. When it comes to hiking, I’m all about putting in the least amount of effort for the most amount of payoff, and all of the hikes we did are ones I’d recommend. They’re all around two miles, not a ton of elevation gain, and the trails or view points were really pretty. We did the Appalachian Trail Hike, Dark Hollow Falls Hike, and Stony Man Hike. I’d recommend doing all three if you have the time, but if I had to choose just one, Stony Man Hike delivered the best views. My favorite overlook to stop along the road for photos was Range View Overlook.

Pentax 645n and Nikon F100 on Kodak Portra 400 and Ilford XP2 film.

Everglades National Park Mini Guide

A winter escape to Miami gave us the perfect opportunity to check off the Everglades, my 20th national park! We had planned for one day in the Everglades, but after forgetting sunscreen and getting sunburned on the beach in Miami our first day, we decided to forgo a second beach day and visit the Everglades two days in a row, which meant we got to see more of the park. After visiting three of the four main areas, I’d recommend Shark Valley the most. It’s an easy day trip from Miami, and gives you a good taste of the Everglades.

Things to do in Everglades National Park:

Airboat Tour: There are three airboat tour companies close to the Shark Valley entrance of the park. We opted for Gator Park, but I read a lot of good things about Coopertown Airboats in my research. This was a pretty touristy activity, but it’s one of those things that’s unique to the park, so I thought it was worth doing. I’d recommend searching for Groupon deals before booking directly with any of the companies.

Ride Bikes through Shark Valley: If you can only do one thing in the park, I’d recommend this activity the most. We didn’t even do the full loop and we saw twenty alligators. Just make sure to bring water, sunscreen, and dress like you’re going to be doing a sweaty workout. We went at noon in February and it was so hot! If I were to go again, I’d go first thing in the morning when it’s cooler out. You can rent bikes for $22/day from the Shark Valley visitor center parking lot. A bunch of the bikes had baskets on the back, so you can store your water bottle, snacks, camera, etc. for the ride.

Main Entrance/Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center: This was my second favorite area in the park, and arguably the most pretty. We did two easy walks: the Anhinga Trail and Mahogany Hammock Trail (pictured above). Be forewarned that the parking lot for Anhinga Trail is home to vultures that are attracted to the rubber edges of car windows (weird, I know). There’s a box of tarps near the restrooms that you can use to cover your car, but the vultures didn’t seem deterred by the tarps at all. We ended up parking off the road before getting into the parking lot to avoid them altogether. The Mahogany Hammock Trail felt like a tropical forest, but seemed to be more buggy than other spots in the park, so be sure to put on bug spray if you opt to go. On your drive before or after you visit this side of the park, Robert Is Here is a fun stop for milkshakes or smoothies.

Flamingo: If you want to see manatees in the Everglades, this is the spot to see them. It’s another hour drive (each way) from the main park entrance, and the water was more murky on this side of the park, which made the manatees kind of hard to see. If I had to skip one area of the park, this would be it, unless you book a kayaking tour or another activity while you’re there.

Biscayne National Park: Biscayne is within an hour’s drive from the Everglades (depending on what side of the park you’re on), so if you want to cross off another park in the same trip, it’s totally doable. Most of Biscayne is underwater, so the best way to see the park is by booking one of their water activities (snorkeling, kayaking, etc.). We opted for snorkeling and I wished we would have done kayaking instead—I think you can find much better snorkeling at other destinations.

Everglades travel tips:

Consider going in winter months. We were originally planning on going in May, and I’m so glad we opted for February instead. Anything hotter than the temperatures we experienced would have been rough (it was high 70’s/low 80’s, but it felt much hotter than that with the humidity). We also didn’t encounter too many bugs, and the manatee population is bigger in the winter months so we got to see more of them than you would in the summer.

Utah Travel Guide

Things to do in Utah:

Park City: the best day trip in any season! We love window shopping on main street and trying new restaurants. El Chubasco is a great lunch spot for tacos, and we always stop at Java Cow Coffee & Ice Cream to get the Sammy Dee’s flavor in a waffle cone. We’ve also liked the The Eating Establishment and Versante Hearth + Bar for dinner. Midway and Heber are also close to Park City and are fun spots to add to your weekend itinerary.

Tibble Fork Reservoir: a beautiful recreation area to canoe or kayak! We also like driving up past Tibble Fork to Silver Lake Reservoir (be forewarned the road up isn’t very well maintained). Bring a picnic, take a walk around the reservoir, or hike Silver Lake Trail from the Silver Lake Reservoir parking lot.

Albion Basin: in July, the hillside blooms with wildflowers. During the day, parking is limited, so be prepared to hike up (or if the chair lift is running, that’s my favorite way to get up to the top). To avoid crowds completely, opt for a sunrise hike to Cecret Lake.

Antelope Island State Park: another fun day trip. There are beautiful spots all over the island to explore, and it’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll see Buffalo. Bring a picnic to eat on the “beach” and don’t forget a camera if you’re into photography. It would also be a great place to road bike (we’ve never done this before, but we see bikers every time we’re there). Whatever you do, make sure to bring bug spray!

Christmas Meadows Campground: the prettiest spot I’ve ever camped at in Utah (pictured above). Book early in the year to get a spot (I think we booked in February to get a weekend spot in August), and dress warm—the high elevation makes for cold nights!

St. George: visit Zion National Park, Snow Canyon State Park, or Pioneer Park.

The King’s English Bookshop: One of my favorite things to do when I’m in a new place is visit a local bookstore and pick up a new picture book to add to my collection—it feels so fun to have books from my travels rather than buying them all off of Amazon. This bookstore is darling and it’s in a fun neighborhood of SLC.

Bloomingsales, Jolley’s Gift & Floral, and Salt & Honey Market: all good places to find unique Christmas ornaments and decor during the holiday season.

Utah National Parks:

Bryce Canyon National Park: Hike Queen’s Garden/Navajo Combination Loop and check out Inspiration Point. There’s also a paved bike trail through the park that we didn’t know about until we got there—we wished we would have brought our road bikes!

Arches & Canyonlands: I always group these two together because they’re within a half hour of each other, so don’t miss one if you plan on going to the other. Here’s the perfect 36 hour trip from Utah County: Drive to Canyonlands first (3 hours from Utah County) and stay for sunset (I like to drive the loop and stop at the lookouts, be sure to end at Green River Overlook for a killer sunset view), then grab some dinner in Moab. Wake up and hike Delicate Arch in Arches first thing in the morning (get there before 8am—the parking lot fills up FAST and it’ll be cooler temps), hit up any other hikes you want to do in Arches, then drive home.

Capitol Reef: This is the least crowded national park I’ve ever been to, and I’ve never had to pay a fee to get in. I’d recommend hiking Hickman Bridge Trail, and stopping by the orchards near the entrance during summer months for fruit pies and ice cream. On dry summer days you can also drive the backroads to Cathedral Valley (if you have a car that can make it over the unmaintained dirt/sand road).

Zion National Park: I’ve been to Zion a couple of times, and it’s [unfortunately] best when you just commit to the intense hikes. There are a lot of National Parks that deliver amazing views from the comfort of your car, but this isn’t one of them. For the best views, add Angel’s Landing to your list unless you’re 100% afraid of heights (I’m afraid of heights and I was okay, the chains are less scary than you think and you kind of have to keep moving since it’s a pretty crowded trail: there isn’t a lot of time for hesitation). If you can’t stomach Angel’s Landing, Observation Point offers a similar view without the chains. My biggest piece of advice for Zion is to take the weather warnings seriously. Angel’s Landing accidents happen in wet weather, and I still haven’t hiked the full length of the Narrows because I got caught in a spring hail storm that almost turned into a flash flood (although don’t let that scare you, finishing the Narrows is on my bucket list). As a side note, it’s actually “Zion” and not “Zion’s,” which a lot of Utah locals mix-up, and you emphasize the I instead of the O in Zion for any out-of-staters.

What to eat in Utah:

Guru’s Cafe: I love the house salad, and the sweet potato fries are arguably the best I’ve ever had.

Communal: This is one of the nicer sit-down restaurants in Provo. They have a great weekend brunch and a seasonal dinner menu.

180 Tacos: My favorite fusion tacos in Utah! Just a short drive from the The Shops At Riverwoods.

Brasas Mexican Grill: If you’re looking for a more traditional taco, this place is our favorite in Utah County.

Snoasis: The best shave ice in Utah (open May-August). I’ve been going every summer for over ten years and no other place in Utah compares. They have the best range of sizes so you can order the exact amount you want, and their pricing is so reasonable compared to other shacks that have popped up in Utah County in more recent years. Be sure to “make it a glacier” (cream on top + ice-cream on bottom). I always order the sunrise flavor combo or butterbeer + raspberry.

Cravings- Alisha’s Cupcakes: Of Cupcake Wars fame. I’m not even a cake person (I usually prefer brownies or cookies), but their “Better than What” cupcake is one of my favorite treats.

The Chocolate: I’m obsessed with the salted caramel brownie and my husband loves their homemade Oreos. They have locations in Orem and West Jordan.

Cubby’s: We love this Utah chain! We usually get their salads, and split a half-and-half order of fries (not listed on the menu, but ask for it and they’ll know exactly what you’re requesting—it’s an order of half rosemary, half sweet potato fries). And don’t miss their chipotle fry sauce! We also like to split one of their chocolate homemade Oreos for dessert.

R&R BBQ: I was never really into barbeque before R&R, but I live for it now. We get the kids meals and I actually feel like they’re pretty close to some of the adult size portions on the menu but you pay a lot less.

Café Zupas: Yummy soup, salad and sandwiches. I was surprised by how much I missed this chain when we moved out of Utah.

Pizza Nono: Our favorite pizza in Utah! Order ahead of time online for the best experience. We split one pizza between two people and save room for dessert at Dolcetti Gelato across the street.

Dolcetti Gelato: Cross the street for dessert after Pizza Nono! They rotate through flavors seasonally, but some of our favorites are the Biscotti, Honeycomb, and their plain vanilla pairs with anything! You can get up to two flavors in any size cup.

Bombay House: The best Indian Food in Utah. There are locations in Salt Lake, West Jordan, and Provo. The portions are big enough to split one order between two people: our order is pretty basic, but so good! We get the Chicken Tikka Masala (medium spice level, the dish comes with rice) and an order of garlic nan.