Every Road Has a Story
Road trips, detours, and the places that stayed with us. We write about where we went, what we found, and what it felt like to be there — from California back roads to medieval Spanish cities.
Our Favorite Trips from the Last Ten Years
Over the last ten years, we visited deserts, national parks, historic cities, and quiet forgotten towns — always with cameras close by. Looking back through our favorite photographs brought back cold nights, early sunrises, long road trips, and places that surprised us in unexpected ways. This post is a collection of the trips, moments, and images that stayed with us long after the journey ended.
California
Up to Saddleback Mountain in a Street Car: Probably Not Our Best Idea
What started as a random afternoon drive turned into an off-road adventure high above Orange County. Dusty trails, mountain sunsets, rough roads, and unexpected views — this is what a spontaneous trip to Saddleback Mountain looks like.
California
Into Echo Canyon: A Rough Ride Through Death Valley
A rough off-road trail, dragon-scale rocks, a century-old gold mine, and silence so big it has its own weight — our drive into Echo Canyon in Death Valley was one we won't forget.
Spain
A Few Days Around Madrid and Several Centuries of History
Madrid was the destination. Everything else just happened — windmills, a museum that ruins all other museums, medieval Toledo, a monastery built by a king who preferred austerity, and a Roman aqueduct that makes modern construction feel slightly embarrassing.
Spain
Across Andalusia: Palaces, Cathedrals, and White Villages
A road trip through Andalusia became a journey across entirely different worlds — Gibraltar’s cliffs, Córdoba’s endless arches, Ronda’s dramatic gorge, Granada’s dreamlike Alhambra, and Seville glowing late into the night. Days blurred into palaces, cathedrals, mountain roads, and far too many photographs beneath the southern Spanish sun.
Netherlands
Amsterdam Doesn't Warn You
Amsterdam doesn't announce itself. It waits for bicycles to nearly kill you, then slowly reveals 700-year-old courtyards, paintings that make grown adults forget to leave, and a city that hides entire worlds behind doors you almost didn't open.
California
Alabama Hills: Two Days in California's Wild West
There are places that feel real… and places that feel like movie sets. The Alabama Hills somehow feel like both. Tucked beneath the Sierra Nevada near Lone Pine, California, these strange sculptural boulders and golden desert light have drawn filmmakers — and wanderers — for over a century. Here's what two days among the rocks actually looks like.
United Kingdom
England Was Never Going to Fit Into Ten Days
I made a list. That was my first mistake. "Ten days in London" turned into castles, wartime bunkers, fairy tale villages, and a rental Mercedes racing through the English countryside in pursuit of a tour bus. England, it turns out, rewards ambition.
Canada
3 Days in Victoria, Canada — Britain's Outpost on the Pacific
It started with a magazine. Three hours later we had flights booked. Here is what three days in British Columbia's most British city actually looks like — seaplanes, totem poles, and tea at the Empress.
Arizona
Too Hot to Do Anything. Perfect Time for a Museum
It was 7 a.m. and already 95°F. The creosote bushes weren't moving. Neither was Alex. We went to a museum — and ended up twelve thousand years in the past. Inside the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Apache were waiting.
Hawaii
Almost Eden: Nā 'Aina Kai Botanical Garden, Kauai
The first thing you notice on Kauai is the air. Warm. Soft. Heavy with the scent of flowers and rain. Nowhere is that more true than Nā 'Aina Kai — a garden that started as one woman's front yard and never stopped growing.
California
A Weekend in the 16th Century: California's Renaissance Faire
No time machine. No questionable decisions involving the home bar. Just a short drive to Irwindale, California — and suddenly, we were in 1597.