The Beauty in Your Own Backyard

We’ve been exploring America by minivan for a full 12 months now, or 18 if you’re following us on Instagram and realize that we’re six months behind on our blog posts. But what is time, really? And are we actually behind on blog posts, or are we ahead in life?

Enough philosophizing. The point is, we’ve had the chance to experience enough of what the U.S. has to offer to know that it’s pretty incredible. We’ve seen more waterfalls than we can count, abundant wildlife, lively main streets, deep canyons, and breathtaking vineyards. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam, we’re here to tell you that you don’t have to cross the pond to find natural beauty and rich culture.

One thing we’ve realized is that when you have a permanent home, you tend to put off exploring your immediate surroundings with the idea that you’ll get around to it eventually. You have all the time in the world to see that state park/historical museum/nature preserve/river–what’s the rush, right? WRONG! Friends, the rush is this: there are MILLIONS of amazing things in America to see and do, and there aren’t even enough hours in a lifetime to experience them all! And even after you experience them once, they could be totally different the next time around. Go, see, do, explore!

In the spirit of sharing with you the beauty in your own backyards, we’ve created unique hashtags for the Instagram photos we’ve taken in each individual state: #roguetripX , where X=state name. For example, #roguetripMontana. If you’re not into hashtags, we’ve also linked to each state’s gallery below.

Click away to see what we’ve experienced in your own state. We will also gladly accept recommendations on what we missed.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Disclaimers:

  1. Knowing that there are a few Arkansans who are Keeping up with the Rogue Tripians, we have to confess that since Arkansas was Hailey’s own backyard for 17 years, we’re guilty of not exploring and capturing its beauty. Sorry boutcha, #roguetripArkansas.
  2. Same with Mitch and #roguetripNewJersey, where he spent half his adolescence.
  3. We haven’t been to Hawaii, or Alaska (at least, not during Rogue Trip). And North Dakota is coming soon, so just click that link realllllly slooowwwwly.

Thanks for continuing to follow along. And special thanks to everyone who shared our HuffPo article last week. We’re both still riding the high from the outpouring of support.