I went to Blithewold thinking it would be a quick stop. I stayed way longer than planned. This keeps happening to me and I am starting to think it is not a coincidence.

I have now seen the northern lights three times this year. Twice right here in Massachusetts. I still cannot fully believe that sentence is true.

Not every fall season is a showstopper. Vermont in 2025 was quieter than usual. But it was still Vermont in the fall, which means it was still beautiful in ways that are hard to explain to someone who has not driven those roads in October.

Fall in New England was not its best self in 2025. I went to New Hampshire anyway. Early mornings on the Kancamagus, fog over the mountains, and one tourist interaction that made me feel like a true New Englander.

The desert is not supposed to get you wet. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park had other plans. Moody skies, a UTV slot canyon tour, and impeccable timing on getting completely drenched.

If you spend enough time in New England you start to feel personally owed a moose sighting. And then one day you are driving a road you have traveled hundreds of times and something moves at the tree line.

I went to The Butterfly Place in Westford on a regular August afternoon and left feeling like I had been selected. Two butterflies landed on me. Unprompted. I am choosing to believe this means something.

I went to the Wichita Mountains expecting great landscapes. I did not expect to almost step on a rattlesnake.

Most people drive right past Flume Cascade without realizing it is there. That is exactly what makes it worth stopping for.

The weather was not cooperating. Cloudy, foggy, light drizzle coming and going. I got out of the car anyway. Silver Cascade in Harts Location, NH is worth it every time.

If you are driving through Franconia Notch in October and you do not stop at The Basin, I need you to turn around. I know that sounds dramatic. I stand by it.