Month: September 2020

I was convinced that Florida was one of the most miserable places on Earth. I know, it’s a very unpopular opinion, but just hear me out: Florida is the most humid state in the continental United States. Whenever I’d visit my grandmother, I remember stepping out of the car and almost immediately feeling like I had entered the stickiest and most uncomfortable sauna to have ever existed. Taking a deep breath only worsens the situation. On top of that, Florida is extremely overcrowded. There is always an overwhelming population of tourists swimming in the warm ocean waters or riding roller coasters at Disney or Universal.

But then one day, while conducting my usual “where is there blue water in the United States” Pinterest search, I found the Florida Keys.  The Florida Keys are a tropical archipelago just about an hour south of Miami that are best known for world-class sportfishing, scuba diving, seafood, and key lime pie. As for me, my most fond memories of the Keys include snorkeling next to nursing sharks and eels and taking long walks along a deserted, white sand beach with calm, turquoise waters stretching off into the horizon. In this post, I’ll talk about getting to the keys and my favorite Keys adventures while giving my usual tips on how to avoid the crowds and find the hidden gems.

1) Getting to the Keys

When I am looking for the cheapest flights, I usually use Google Flights. Google flights searches all the possible flights and their respective airline that will be operating on the days you plan to depart and return. It also has an interesting map feature where you can browse all your cheapest destination options on a map of the globe by entering the season, month, or dates you would like to depart (this can be relevant when you are traveling somewhere but want to see if nearby airports might be cheaper).

When I search on google flights, I usually play a game of trial and error to see what airports near me and near my destination are cheapest to fly from. I then click on the calendar button to select my date and wait until all the dates load with their respective roundtrip prices. This allows me to see what dates have the cheapest prices. I live right outside of Philadelphia, so I usually fly out of the Baltimore airport on Spirit Airlines to Fort Lauderdale, where my family rents a car. My roundtrip tickets always cost around $70 when I’ve gone in the winter or spring (the prices remain pretty constant throughout the year if you buy the tickets early enough; this of course disregards holidays).

Now, let’s talk about the best dates to travel. Florida doesn’t exactly experience seasons the way we do here in State College; rather, it has a wet season and a dry season. The wet season lasts from May until about the end of September, and as you can imagine, there are many rain showers. Hurricane season runs from around August to the beginning of October. In contrast, the dry season runs from October to April, bringing colder winds from the north. Usually, people hear the word “dry” and think that means it’s a better time to visit the keys because vacation is always better without rain. However, they are wrong if snorkeling or scuba diving are on their list of activities. As I mentioned earlier, colder winds, known as trade winds, reach the Keys from the north. These strong winds stir up the water and create higher waves in the open ocean. Snorkeling in the dry season will lower your chances of seeing wildlife and even your own hand in front of you while snorkeling. Given this, the best time to visit the Florida Keys is during Spring Break in May/end of April.

2. Snorkeling

Based on my blurb above, it seems I am basing the entire decision of when to visit the keys on snorkeling visibility. If you’re thinking that, you are right! Snorkeling is my favorite Keys adventure, and I also think it is one of the main reasons the Keys are such a unique jem in the continental United States.

There are two different options for snorkeling on the keys: you can grab your own snorkel gear and explore right off one of the islands, or you can book a tour to the barrier reef farther off the shore. I’d suggest doing both because why not! Shore based snorkeling is easy; all you have to do is rent snorkel gear for the duration of your vacation and put it to use at any beach you stop at to relax. I personally thought Bahia Honda Key or Missouri Key offered the best shore based snorkeling. I saw several pufferfish and colorful fish navigating the sea grasses.

As for booking the best tour, it’s honestly hard to say. Snorkel tours from John Pennekamp State Park are probably most widely accepted for being the best, as there are sunken statues hidden near the patches of coral. However, I personally enjoyed snorkeling excursions from the middle keys more than my excursion in John Pennekamp (it may have to do with the fact that I got seasick for the entire 5 hour excursion to Pennekamp’s reefs…remember to take Dramamine!)

I think there is a lot more to see in the middle keys; in one four hour excursion to two different reefs, I saw 5 nurse sharks, one other species of shark that was 10 feet long, a blue moray eel with black spots, pufferfish, corals, barracootas, a sea turtle, starfish, and many different species of fish.

3. The best beach

The best Florida Keys beach hands down is Sandspur beach in Bahia Honda State Park. Many people complain that the beaches in the Keys are overloaded with seaweed and don’t have enough sand space, but to be honest, I barely even noticed these downsides. In fact, I think because there are smaller amounts of places to spread out a beach towel and suntan, the beaches are less crowded.

Sandspur in particular is special because it has the bluest and clearest water in the Keys. This is partly because low tides bring many sandbanks that extend pretty far off the shore. In fact, the first time I visited Sandspur, I waded through the shallow waters to a patch of sand completely out of the water and sat on a beach chair reading a book for about an hour or so. After that, my sister and I swam to the rest of the sandbanks to enjoy the view from different angles. Sandspur is definitely worth the trip if it is visited at low tide!

4. Other little adventures

Every time I’ve visited the keys, I’ve also stopped for about a day or so in the Everglades. The Everglades National Park is a wetland preserve just above the entrance to the keys. There are a variety of different hikes you can take that weave you through alligator infested mangroves and swamps. Don’t forget to stop at Robert is Here to get a fresh fruit shake on your way out of the National Park!

Something I haven’t yet gotten the chance to do but heard great reviews about is taking a ferry to Fort Jefferson National Monument. This historical site is located within the Dry Tortugas National Park just off the coast of Key West. Ferry tickets can be pricy, but from what I’ve heard, it is well worth the trip. The water looks as though it is straight out of a Caribbean travel brochure, and the shore based snorkeling is apparently incredible.

Setting a wallpaper background for our school-issued laptop in eighth grade was a big deal. It was our one breath of freedom in the prison that was middle school. I remember spending a great deal of time on Pinterest looking and looking for the perfect background. Then finally, after one quick search for magical waterfalls, there it was: Havasu Falls.

Havasu Falls, Mooney falls, and Beaver falls, all hidden within the Havasupai Native American Reservation, became my next greatest obsession. I spent months researching, watching videos, and reading blogs that talked about visiting Havasu and the specifics on how to actually get there. As it turned out, Havasu was a lot more remote than I had imagined: the only way to access the falls and village by the falls is by foot or donkey. This means that the permanent residents, the Havasupai people, can only receive goods from the outside world by either helicopter or donkey. This also means that visitors have to enter the canyon on foot with all their food and tents on their back.

1. How to reserve passes to camp and hike at the falls

I had read online that reservations go on sale starting at 8am MST on February first. Those who wished to reserve camping passes would have to rush to make a call and try to reserve a site, as only 350 visitors are allowed in the canyon at any given time. As you can imagine, the phone line at 8am got extremely busy, so I actually skipped two days of school (I know, I’m obsessive) just to call the number over and over again hoping to get a response. Unfortunately, I never got a response, so my mom took up calling responsibilities the rest of that week during her lunch breaks. As the second week in February rolled around, the Havasupai tribe decided to create a website for reservations due to the call overload the week before. Now, the tribe asks visitors to only use the website to avoid the chaos my year of backpackers inflicted. Luckily, my mom and I had still been looking, and we logged onto the website just in time to reserve sites for two nights in June!

Now that I’ve shared my experiences making reservations three years ago, I’ll share actual updated facts. Reservations can be made through the Havasupai website for both camping or cabins. There are still no roads for motorized vehicles, so if you are someone who wants less weight on your back during the trek in and out of the canyon, there are now cabins available for rent (call (928) 448-2111), or you can pay $400 round trip for donkeys to bring the supplies down. As for pricing, the entrance fee is $50 per person, the camping fee is $25 per person/night, and the environmental fee is $10 per person. Because visitors are required to stay for a minimum of three nights, this adventure can get quite pricey. However, the tribe primarily earns their money through tourism, and much of the money goes directly to the tribe and helps them get materials from the outside world into their community.

2. How to actually get to the falls

If you are visiting Havasu Falls in the summer months, it is very important to get an early start; temperatures in the canyon can rise well into the 100s (degrees Fahrenheit) on a regular day. Given this, my family camped at the trailhead the night before to ensure a 4:30-5am start. Getting an early start also maximizes exploration time within the canyon, which believe me, you will want. When the sun began to peek over the canyon walls, we organized our packs and began navigating down a beautiful orange/red canyon. The hike from the trailhead to the town of Supai (the backpacker check-in location) is about 8 miles. From there, we hiked another two miles to both the campground and the famous Havasu Falls.

The Havasu creek within the canyon was so incredibly expansive; everywhere I looked, I could see the beautiful turquoise stream meandering the jagged red-rock canyon. In case you were wondering, the water gets its blue coloring from the limestone that rests beneath it; as the water flows, it picks up minerals like magnesium and calcium, which give it its color.

Once we set up our campsite, we had two full days to explore. We spent the first morning hiking to Mooney Falls, which was a little over a mile down the river from the campsite. This part of the hike was definitely strenuous, as we had to cross the Havasu creek several times on sketchy wooden ladders, then had to climb down a nearly 90 degree incline right next to Mooney falls relying on only old ropes, wooden ladders, and wet, slippery rocks to get us safely down.

Although the trek was slightly nerve racking, the views were surreal; Mooney falls itself was probably the strongest and most majestic 90 foot waterfall I’ve ever seen. Just beyond Mooney falls, a series of smaller, and more pristine waterfalls laid hidden behind quiet corners. We actually spent almost the entire day in this more tranquil part of the canyon because there was not another person to be seen.

The next day, my sister and mom decided to relax by Havasu Falls, the falls right next to the campground, while my dad and I made our way back down to Mooney falls and beyond in search for Beaver Falls. Beaver Falls is a smaller series of waterfalls about four miles from the campground (8 mile hike out and back). The hike was a beautiful one, as it meandered through the canyon, across the river, and into several meadows. We even encountered mountain goats as we navigated the meadows.

Beaver falls ended up being a little more crowded than we anticipated (there were probably only 2o people in total, but we had just spent the previous day completely alone, so it was surprising to see more people farther down the trail). Although we had to share the view with others, my dad and I still had a blast cliff jumping and swimming through the pools to access the area behind the waterfalls. About half way through the day, we left Beaver Falls to hang out along the trail near another part of the creek. We then hiked back to the campground to meet my mom and sister at Havasu Falls for the sunset.

The next morning, we packed up camp and began hiking out of the canyon. My sister and mom left at 12am, and my dad and I left at 4:30am so that we could ensure getting out before the heat wave. On our 8 hour car ride to the Colorado Rockies afterwards, we all talked about how we couldn’t believe the beauty we had just witnessed.

 

Imagine hiking through a snow-covered evergreen forest. Snowflakes gently fall from the sky stroking past your cheeks with your every movement, and beams of sun reach through the tree branches to touch bits of the blanketed forest floor in front of you. As the clouds begin to clear, rigid snow-capped mountains pop out of nowhere and tower over the forest. The moment is both peaceful and mesmerizing; how could such a beautiful and pristine place still exist in a world full of motion and noisy tourists?

When I first visited Banff National Park with my mom about a year and a half ago, I too was very surprised by the abundance of untouched nature. For years, I had seen countless photos from both Instagram and Pinterest promoting hikers and adventure seekers to explore this beautiful portion of the Canadian Rockies, but I’ve learned from experience that places with that level of attention are almost always tourist traps. In fact, I have grown to hate social media for turning these natural wonders into bee hives. So, I took a step off the beaten path and made a four day trip to Banff in the winter, when flights and accommodation are significantly cheaper. In this blog post, I will share three of my favorite Banff adventures and give tips on how to avoid the crowds.

1. Skiing one of the “Big Three”

Even if you are not an experienced skier, each of Banff’s three ski resorts offer a wide variety of slopes for all skill levels. Most people who visit for multiple days purchase multi-day tickets that can be used at any of the three resorts (Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, or Mt. Norquay). My mom and I, however, only wanted to spend one day skiing so that we had time to explore other locations; we purchased a day ticket for skiing at Mt. Norquay, the resort known for being a local favorite.

From my understanding, Mt. Norquay is the smaller resort of the three, which naturally makes it the least crowded. It offers jaw-dropping views of the surrounding valleys and snow-capped peaks, making every run a whole new adventure and scene in itself. There are about 60 slopes and 6 different lifts on Mt. Norquay, so I had the opportunity to go on more than enough runs to feel satisfied and like I had a diverse skiing experience.

2. Exploring the frozen lakes

My mom and I purchased our plane tickets on Frontier airlines, so we only had one backpack for the entire week and a half long Canadian vacation. I used half of my backpack to bring ice skates; my previous research on winter Banff indicated that almost all of the lakes completely freeze over, creating hundreds of free outdoor ice skating rinks!

Something the internet failed to mention before was the consistency of the ice on the lakes. We set out in the early morning expecting to jump from lake to lake ice skating across perfectly flat ice, but the reality of the situation was that 2 feet of snow covered every single lake we visited, and even when my mom attempted to clear off a portion to expose the ice, the ice was incredibly bumpy and difficult to skate on with my dull blades.

To be honest, I’m glad this happened. We changed right back into my hiking shoes, threw the skates off to the side for a bit, and ran around and across Vermillion Lakes and Johnson Lake. We did not see a single person the entire day, so I even took a dip in the freezing (literally and metaphorically) water. I had a blast, and if I were to go back, I would devote at least one full day to just driving and stopping at random lakes on the side of the road.

3. Ice sculpture festival

Because the ice skating on the lesser known lakes did not work out, my mom and I ventured to Lake Louise to give the more popular and well maintained natural ice rink a try. As we expected, we weren’t the only ones who decided to ice skate on a Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of people swarmed the rink and weaved in and out of what appeared to be ice sculptures and castles. Although I was not happy about the quantity of people, the sculptures and castles made me feel like I was in the center of Elsa’s ice world in Frozen; it didn’t even matter that there was a lingering sound of chatter in the background. Not to mention, the scenery was absolutely incredible; mountains coated with blue-tinted glaciers towered in the distance and the sun slowly began to set as pockets of mist rose from the depths of the expansive forest.

As it turns out, Lake Louise hosts a variety of events in the winter, so we luckily happened to be there during the ice sculpture competition. My mom and I met tourists and artists from all over the world in this small pocket of civilization within Canada’s wild Rockies. On top of that, we got some in some free quality skating on a frozen over glacier lake.

I would highly recommend visiting Banff in the winter. There’s always something magical about taking a hike in the snow; it offers a sense of peace not exactly achievable during the bustle of peak tourist season. It was truly a winter wonderland:)