June 27, 2018

MEET STU & BARB, THE TRAVELING SENIORS

 Stu & Barb

Hi and Welcome! Explore America with us on backroads.  We’re Stu and Barb, The Traveling Seniors. Thank you for checking us out!  We graduated high school together 50 years ago (that can’t be true)! We lost touch for 30 years but suddenly we’re exploring America together! And, yes, senior travel is thrilling!  We photograph, giggle and blog our way down backroads exploring America. Think local food, colorful people and surprises everywhere.  Long live mom & pop establishments and backroads! Follow The Traveling Seniors and find inspiration to travel, learn travel tips, find resources,  see the most up-to-date senior travel discounts, and share our backroads trips! The Traveling Seniors are also on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Please pin our…

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written by Stuart - Posted in Blog

June 25, 2018

TAKE A BACKROADS TRIP: GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER BIRTHPLACE

  Take an educational backroads trip! We didn’t know when we drove southern Missouri backroads, we would find the birthplace of George Washington Carver.     I always root for underdogs. In my mind, they reinforce my own prospects in life. Those who leave the world a legacy are inspirational to me. The George Washington Carver birthplace is a place that traces the gifts, inspiration and obstacles faced by one of the most famous of America’s underdogs. The Ranger’s stories about Carver’s life left me in awe of the man.     Carver National Monument     The Park Service established the George Washington Carver National Monument in 1943. The monument is…

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Missouri, Video

June 15, 2018

REVIEW OF THE TUCSON DESERT MUSEUM: MANTA RAYS IN THE DESERT?

 Manta Ray

Tucson Desert Museum Rattlesnakes and lizards were expected at the Tucson Desert Museum but Manta Rays in the desert?     The Museum was founded in 1952 and is dedicated to interpreting the bi-national Sonoran Desert region. The Desert Museum came highly recommended to us, but, truthfully, we were disappointed. Now, children would love this place with live animal shows, raptors, gems, fossils, paleontology exhibits and more.     Cons     We thought the entrance fee ($19.95 per senior) was very high-even with a military discount of $17.95. We visited for the Hummingbird Aviary but there weren’t many birds there the day we went. When we visited, temperatures were…

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Arizona, Blog, Video

June 11, 2018

New Mexico BACKROADS TRIP: THE BILLY THE KID SCENIC BYWAY

If you are like me, certain questions keep you up at night. This is one of them, “Do bears use restrooms?” Take a backroads trip on the Billy The Kid Scenic Byway in New Mexico,  one of America’s best backroads trips, and find out!   Lore from when the west was more wild with shoot-outs, posses and jail breaks are stories Stu and I truly love. Colorful people are our favorites and the old west had plenty!  We can’t get enough and had no idea that the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway and New Mexico is home to so many legendary sights and characters.   At the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway Visitors…

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, New Mexico, Road Trips, Travel

June 3, 2018

TIPS FOR SAFE AND HAPPY BACKROADS TRAVEL

TIPS FOR SAFE AND HAPPY BACKROADS TRAVEL A little hesitant to travel these days? Don’t be! It is safe and easy to travel like we do! Honest! Still, you need to plan your trip so safety is not an issue. Just follow these tips for safe and happy travel.   First, people. People we meet are universally polite, inspirational, knowledgeable and gracious about sharing information and stories. Stu talks to everybody! Before you know it, he’s made a fast friend. I am more shy. But get either of us in an interesting place with interesting people and watch out!   Truthfully, the people on our journeys have been as richly rewarding…

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in Blog, Trip Planning

June 2, 2018

SO. THIS HAPPENED.

While in Tucson, we went to Saguaro Park or Sabino Canyon every night to photograph sunset. WOW, it was incredible! But I digress. One of those evenings, a couple, decked out in wedding attire, was posing for wedding photos among the Saguaro. A beautiful desert setting. We worked around the couple and didn’t give it a second thought. Until…we heard a call for some help. Did the bride fall into the cactus wearing her gown? Did rattlesnakes appear because it was cooling off?   Wedding Photographer Mistake No. The photographer, choosing an artsy shot, had put the girl’s wedding ring on a cactus flower about 3 feet above the ground. Suddenly,…

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Arizona, Blog, Travel

June 1, 2018

SPRING BACKROADS TRAVEL COSTS (2018)

When Stu and I first cooked up a 2018 backroads trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon and back, we had no real idea what it would cost. We researched online blogs and found someone who had posted that a recent trip from Florida (where I planned to meet up with Stu) to the Grand Canyon cost about $3,700. So, we each budgeted about $4,000 apiece for the trip. We didn’t set an end date for our trip or a precise budget. We planned to stay on the road as long as we wanted. This road trip ended up being from northwest Florida to southern Utah and back and lasted 36 days….

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written by Stuart - Posted in Blog, Travel, Trip Planning

June 1, 2018

TAKE A BACKROADS TRIP: CAMINO REAL de los TEJAS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL

Take a backroads trip through rolling grassy hills covered with bluebonnets and other wildflowers on The Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail. See nps.gov/elte/planyourvisit/maps.htm.     Once a year, my grandmother, in her 80s and 90’s would take a trip from Kansas City to Texas to see her son and the bluebonnets. Now I understand the bluebonnet part.  I don’t think Stu or I expected the beauty of the eastern Texas hill country since neither of us had ever been there. Waving grass, wildflowers, huge skies and curving backroads is the image that comes to mind when someone says, “a perfect spring/summer day.” THAT is the eastern Texas…

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Road Trips, Texas, Travel, Trip Planning

May 30, 2018

TAKE BACK ROADS TO EXPLORE AMERICA!

Take Back Roads to Explore America!   The Traveling Seniors ALWAYS travel back roads. Why?  Exploring America and her inspiring people is most rewarding along back roads and scenic byways!   Backroads vacations are so easy in retirement travel!  The pavement is smooth, traffic is sparse and the scenery is breathtaking. We can drive at our own pace. We can pull off the road to take photos or a break at almost any time. Backroads adventures are just waiting for you!   HOW TO FIND BACKROADS   One way to find byways is to visit scenicbyways.info. On that site, search by state or follow the dots on the map provided….

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written by Barb Bradley - Posted in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Road Trips, South Carolina, Tennesse, Texas, Travel, Trip Planning, Utah