2023, Won't You Wander With Me? The Final Epistle From a Travel-Filled Missile

The year 2023, with all of its ups and downs, peaks and valleys, and trials and tribulations, has come and gone — as has another 365 days here on All Things Wanderful. So now it’s time to take stock. What caught people’s attention? What fell flat on its face? Were you, the loyal readers of this increasingly-sporadic travel blog, entertained, or at least mildly amused? Did you find the content contained within this digital rambling wreck informational? Enlightening? Perhaps even erudite?

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 7, 2024travel, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel writing, travel blog, travel blogging, travel recommendations, travel reading, travel reviews, travel ideas, All Things Wanderful, travel diary, travel bucket list, northernmost point, Canada, Great Lakes, Cal-Neva, Cal-Neva Lodge, California, Nevada, Michigan, Little Manistee, Little Manistee River, kayaking, Maine, ghost trains, Key West, Florida, New York City, Big Apple, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Flint Hills, Route 66, Historic Route 66, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Alum Cave Trail, The Sinks, Old Smoky Distillery, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Minnesota, George Floyd, George Floyd Square, Kansas City, Missouri, Crystal Mountain, Crystal Mountain Resort, Seattle, Twin Peaks, Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, Kansas, Wichita, skiing, Mall of America, George Perry Floyd Square, Ground Zero, The Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn, Rockefeller Center, The Edge, The Edge NYC, NYC, New York, Hall des Lumières, Mediterranean food, Ernest Hemingway, Northern Michigan, Airbnb, Bering Strait, Diomedes, Diomede Islands, Little Diomede, Big Diomede, travelogueComment

2021 Wasn't Exactly Wonderful, But At Least Some of the Wander Returned

Starting is always the hardest part, isn’t it? Taking that leap, acting on that big idea, staring at the blank page. But after you finally get the ball rolling, a new challenge materializes: keeping it rolling. It’s not enough to simply plant the seed; you’ve got to water it, make sure it has fertile soil to work with, give it a proper amount of sunlight. It can be a lot of work, but then again, nothing worth having comes easy, does it?

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 6, 2022travel, travel inspiration, travelspiration, year in review, happy new year, All Things Wanderful, travel guide, travel advice, travel ideas, travel planning, travel writing, travel recommendations, travel appreciation, travel junkie, travel blog, travel blogging, Denver, Colorado, year-in-review, Cheesman Park, Logan's Run, 2020, 2021, Las Vegas, Detroit, Detroit Tigers, Six Flags, Six Flags Great America, Gurney, Illinois, Michigan, football, football season, College Park, Maryland, Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Maryland Terrapins, University of Michigan, Michigan Wolverines, Sooner State, Cessna, Cessna 402C, Chicago, Manistee, Windy City, Cape Air, Manistee County Blacker Airport, Airbnb, vacation rentals, Sin City, New Mexico, Old West, Old American West, Keystone, Keystone Resort, skiing, snowboarding, Centennial State, travel injuriesComment

Vegas Vibin’: Three Days of Downright Debauchery in Sin City

It was a joke. Kind of. But as my brother’s 21st got closer and closer, my resolve grew: we were going to do it. Well, we were going to do something, anyway. I told him we didn’t necessarily need to go to San Diego; we could take a trip wherever his little heart desired. Somehow, some way, we landed on Vegas. Yes, Sin City was going to be the one.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenJune 29, 2021travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, Las Vegas, Nevada, gambling, casino, Las Vegas Strip, The D Las Vegas, The LINQ, The LINQ Hotel, The LINQ Hotel + Experience, The Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Caesar's Palace, sports betting, sportsbook, sports book, blackjack, travel itinerary, travel recommendations, travel tips, travel ideas, travel planning, travel guidance, travel hacks, travel hack, travel logistics, travel bucket list, bucket list, Los Angeles, Inglewood, Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles, Sin City, Fabulous Las Vegas, The D Casino & Hotel, McCarran International Airport, Uber, San Diego, California, Anchorman, SoCal, Jagerbombs, Dean Martin, Money Burns a Hole in My Pocket, The Strip, Caesars Palace, Clark Griswold, National Lampoon, National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, Vegas Vacation, Chevy Chase, Ellen Griswold, LINQ Promenade, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips, Off the Strip, Virgil's Real BBQ, Pier 30, I Love Sugar, Fly LINQ zipline, zipline, ziplining, High Roller, ferris wheel, Flamingo Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Harrah's Las Vegas, Bellagio Hotel & Casino, Bellagio, Harrah's, Flamingo, Forum Shops, Forum Shops at Caesars, Grand Canal Shoppes, The Venetian Resort, The Venetian, Smokin' Hot Stuff, slot machine, slot machines, slots, Madame Tussauds, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, Zak Bagans, Zak Bagans' The Haunted Museum, Wengert Mansion, Dr. Kevorkian, Dr. Kevorkian's van, Snoop Dogg, Beyonce, Robert De Niro, downtown Las Vegas, Chayo Mexican Kitchen + Tequila, Neon Museum, Neon Boneyard, Skypod, Skypod and Observation Deck, The Strat, gondola, gondola rides, Big Apple Coaster, New York New York Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Fremont Street, Fremont Street Experience, Hoover Dam, damn dam tour, The Little Shop of Horrors, 97.1 The Ticket, Detroit, Detroit sports, Four Queens, Golden Nugget, The Fremont Casino, Circa Resort & Casino, Banger Brewing, shark tank, Miley Cyrus, Chicago, wax museum, Nike, Volkswagen, Volkswagen van, In-N-Out, In-N-Out BurgerComment

Kayak Has Mapped Out the Ultimate Spooky U.S. Road Trip

Driver beware, you’re in for a scare… because the folks over at Kayak have put together a truly terrifying cross-country road trip stretching from New England to the West Coast. From haunted inns to creepy cemeteries, and old state hospitals to abandoned amusement parks, the 7,500-mile trip truly checks off every spooky box a Halloween-loving traveler could dream up.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 16, 2020travel, kayak, Kayak.com, kayak.com, travel advice, travel guide, road tripping, road trip, road trips, cross-country road trip, Halloween, travelspiration, travel inspiration, Sleepy Hollow, New York, Philipsburg Manor House, Philipsburg Manor, Old Stagecoach Inn, Waterbury, Vermont, National Register of Historic Places, bed and breakfast, bed & breakfast, Margaret Annette Henry, Fort Knox, Prospect, Maine, paranormal, paranormal activity, Pine Hill Cemetery, Hollis, New Hampshire, New England, Blood Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts, Salem witch trials, ghost stories, ghost town, ghost tour, Seaside Shadows, Mystic, Connecticut, Cumberland, Rhode Island, Salem Historical Tours, Abel Blood, Headless Horseman Bridge, Ichabod Crane, Pocantico River, Old Dutch Church, Old Dutch Burying Ground, Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground, Katrina Van Tassell, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Al Capone, Terror Behind the Walls, Edgar Allan Poe, Salubria Manor, Stevensburg, Virginia, Maryland, Baltimore, Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park, Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, West Virginia, Kegley, Chimney Rock State Park, Bulldog Tours, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, Madison Square, Savannah, Georgia, St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Birmingham, Alabama, Bell Witch Cave, Bell Witch, Adams, Tennessee, The Blair Witch Project, Blair Witch, Ultimate Spooky U.S. Road Trip, John Bell, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, haunted Comment

The Legendary Lodge on the California-Nevada Border That's Trying to Make a Comeback

Picture a place straight out of a crime novel or movie, a den of darkness disguised by bright lights, loud music, and decidedly delightful distractions, and then place it in the real world and give it a quintessential quirk — like locating it in two American states at the same time, say, just to up the ante — and what have you got?

North AmericaLogan T. HansenJuly 17, 2020travel, travel advice, travel guide, travelspiration, travel inspiration, Cal Neva, Cal-Neva, Cal-Neva Lodge, Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, California, Nevada, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Cal Neva Lodge, Cal Neva Resort & Casino, Cal Neva Hotel, Sam Giancana, Buddy Greco, Sammy Davis Jr., Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford, casino, Dean Martin, 1960s, 1930s, Larry Ellison, Oracle, Robert De Niro, Nobu Matsuhisa, Meir Teper, The Forbes 400, Mike Wilson, Church of Christ, The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison, Clara Bow, The It Girl, Rat Pack, Joey Bishop, Hank Sinacola, Atlantic City, Paul D'Amoto, Katie Dowd, SFGATE, Celebrity Room, Reno, Patricia Kennedy, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Kennedy family, Nevada Gambling Control Board, Lake Tahoe, Crystal Bay, Bad Times at the El RoyaleComment

Soak Up Some History & Freak Yourself Out at These 9 Western U.S. Ghost Towns

While haunted houses and ghost ships and corn mazes filled with chainsaw-carrying killers may be better equipped to scare your pants off, there is something to be said for ghost towns, as well.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 6, 2018travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, ghost town, mining, Kennecott, Alaska, National Historic Landmark, Halloween, Pacific Northwest, Melmont, Washington, Washington State, Mt. Rainier National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Carbon River, Blair Witch, Rhyolite, Nevada, igneous rock, Gold Rush, Gold Rush era, Atlas Obscura, Last Supper, Albert Szukalski, Independence, Colorado, Roaring Fork Valley, Aspen Historical Society, Colorado State Highway 82, Bannack, Montana, Bannack Ghost Walks, Henry Plummer, Grasshopper Creek, John White, Montana State Parks, Silver City, Idaho, Silver City Campground, Bodie, California, California Parks and Recreation, Waterman S. Body, William Bodey, Kennicott Glacier, Alaska.org, Kennecott Mining Corporation, Molson, New Molson, Old Molson, Antelope, Oregon, Cosmopolitan, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Rajneesh Movement, Rajneesh Comment

These 9 National Parks Receive the Fewest Visitors Per Year on Average

You've heard of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion. You could name in which state you'd find the Grand Tetons, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains. But the most-visited national parks constitute just a fraction of the beautiful federally-protected lands that you can visit in the United States.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 5, 2017travel, travel advice, travel guide, national parks, United States, Alaska, Washington, Gates of the Arctic, Yosemite, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Tetons, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Bryce Canyon, Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, National Park Service, Great Basin National Park, Nevada, Lehman Caves, Wheeler Peak, White Pine County, Wrangell-St. Elias National park, Kennecott, Dry Tortugas National Park, Key West, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Fort Jefferson, Katmai National Park, Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Alaskan brown bear, North Cascades National Park, Alan Wake, Goode Mountain, Buckner Mountain, Mount Logan, camping, hiking, climbing, Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior, Wendigo Mining Company, Lake Clark National Park, Cook Inlet, Arctic Circle, Kobuk Valley National Park, Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, The Last Frontier, outdoors, natureComment

The Latest