American Field Trip
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American Field Trip
This land is your land. This land is my land.
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David BowmanNovember 09, 2018Comment

Stonewall National Monument

David BowmanNovember 09, 2018Comment
Stonewall National Monument
David BowmanNovember 09, 20181 Comment

Governors Island National Monument

David BowmanNovember 09, 20181 Comment
Governors Island National Monument
David BowmanNovember 09, 2018Comment

Federal Hall National Memorial

David BowmanNovember 09, 2018Comment
Federal Hall National Memorial
David BowmanNovember 09, 2018Comment

Gateway Arch National Park

David BowmanNovember 09, 2018Comment
Gateway Arch National Park
David BowmanOctober 30, 2018Comment

Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

David BowmanOctober 30, 2018Comment
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
David BowmanOctober 19, 2018Comment

Cedar Breaks National Monument

David BowmanOctober 19, 2018Comment
Cedar Breaks National Monument
David BowmanOctober 19, 20181 Comment

Dinosaur National Monument

David BowmanOctober 19, 20181 Comment
Dinosaur National Monument
David BowmanOctober 13, 2018Comment

Golden Spike National Historic Site

David BowmanOctober 13, 2018Comment
Golden Spike National Historic Site
David BowmanOctober 12, 2018Comment

A Guide to Visiting St. George, UT

David BowmanOctober 12, 2018Comment
A Guide to Visiting St. George, UT
David BowmanOctober 08, 2018Comment

Four Days in St. George

David BowmanOctober 08, 2018Comment
Four Days in St. George
David BowmanOctober 08, 2018Comment

Kobuk Valley National Park

David BowmanOctober 08, 2018Comment
Kobuk Valley National Park
David BowmanOctober 07, 20181 Comment

Gates of the Arctic National Park

David BowmanOctober 07, 20181 Comment
Gates of the Arctic National Park
David BowmanSeptember 11, 2018Comment

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

David BowmanSeptember 11, 2018Comment
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
National ParksDavid BowmanAugust 27, 2018Alaska, National Park1 Comment

Glacier Bay National Park

National ParksDavid BowmanAugust 27, 2018Alaska, National Park1 Comment
Glacier Bay National Park
David BowmanAugust 11, 2018Utah, National Park1 Comment

Capitol Reef National Park

David BowmanAugust 11, 2018Utah, National Park1 Comment
Capitol Reef National Park
David BowmanAugust 11, 2018Colorado, National Park1 Comment

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

David BowmanAugust 11, 2018Colorado, National Park1 Comment
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
David BowmanAugust 08, 2018Comment

Mesa Verde National Park

David BowmanAugust 08, 2018Comment
Mesa Verde National Park
David BowmanAugust 02, 2018OhioComment

10 Things to Love About Columbus, Ohio

David BowmanAugust 02, 2018OhioComment
10 Things to Love About Columbus, Ohio
David BowmanAugust 01, 2018Colorado, National ParkComment

Great Sand Dunes National Park

David BowmanAugust 01, 2018Colorado, National ParkComment
Great Sand Dunes National Park
David BowmanJuly 18, 2018Advice1 Comment

How Our Family of 4 Travelled and Camped for 2 Months In 6 Countries with Only Carry-Ons

David BowmanJuly 18, 2018Advice1 Comment
How Our Family of 4 Travelled and Camped for 2 Months In 6 Countries with Only Carry-Ons
David BowmanJuly 18, 20181 Comment

Rocky Mountain National Park

David BowmanJuly 18, 20181 Comment
Rocky Mountain National Park
David BowmanJuly 15, 2018Utah, National ParkComment

Bryce Canyon National Park

David BowmanJuly 15, 2018Utah, National ParkComment
Bryce Canyon National Park
David BowmanJuly 06, 20181 Comment

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks

David BowmanJuly 06, 20181 Comment
Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
David BowmanJune 30, 20184 Comments

A Minimal List of Useful Gear for Traveling with Kids

David BowmanJune 30, 20184 Comments
A Minimal List of Useful Gear for Traveling with Kids

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Today in our stories I was talking a bit about not operating from a place of fear in parenting or in any part of life. I’ve been thinking more about the role that fear plays in my life—I don’t think it would be an overstatement to say that any time I’m feeling bad, there is fear involved. Fear of being inadequate, of failing at the things that are most important; fear of not being the kind of person I want to be, of missing opportunities to do and be good; fear of physical harm, of losing everything or of not being able to keep the people I love safe. There are so many things to be scared of, and the more aware I become of what people in the world are going through, the more this all sits heavy on my chest. What I’m working on is not letting that fear make decisions for me. No matter what else is going on, I am here, with three other gorgeous souls to nurture in my home and a little circle of influence where I can try to be as helpful as I know how. I can listen and read and learn and open my heart and keep trying. Life will have its moments of suffering, but I don’t want to suffer twice by trying to guess at what those moments will be and worrying about them before they even happen. . . p.s.: Embarrassed to be posting a reflective comment with a picture where I am literally looking off into the distance in a ponderous pose 🧀😅. But listen, all those Faroese landscapes needed a little human subject and that’s my lot in life—to show scale in pictures of pretty places. There are worse roles, truly, but few that make me feel as bashful 😉.
Exploring the tidal lagoon in Saksun on a very rainy day in the Faroes! As you might expect from a group of tiny islands isolated in the North Atlantic, the weather here is pretty volatile. Famous for showing off all four seasons in as many minutes, the Faroe Islands kept us pretty wet but gave us spectacular bursts of sun, too. The views are brilliant in any weather, so we were happy no matter what 😊.
We just got back from ten days in the Faroe Islands and we’re still feeling completely gobsmacked by this place. Incredible scenery, dreamy low light, long cozy nights and oodles of hiking made for an absolutely perfect vacation for us. We took a real, true break for the first time since we had kids—no internet, no worrying about work, just hanging out together—and it was exactly what we needed. . . . Being away from Instagram for a while was good; pressing pause helped me remember that I really do like sharing on here and that’s why we do it! Sometimes I start feeling anxious about staying up on posts and messages and wanting to do more writing about the national parks and feeling like my hair isn’t mermaid-y enough to be a female on IG 😜. As this field trip stuff has started opening doors for David and I as a photographer and writer—the things we’ve wanted to do since we were kids—we’ve become both excited and scared by it. The internet is a hungry beast and if you’re not producing stuff pretty constantly, the algorithms bury you and no one ends up seeing your work. And we do think of this as part of our work, a place to put David’s pictures and my writing where they’ll have an audience, even if the titles given to people who work in social media—“influencers”, “content creators”—make me somewhat self-conscious and embarrassed 🙈. We’ve never wanted to hit it big as internet people; this is just a way for us to tell stories, and we’re so glad those stories have found an audience of genuinely cool people who love the national parks and going on roadtrips and being outside with their families. There are a million people producing super amazing stuff here—it can be a really intimidating space. But stepping back for a few days and ignoring all of that reminded us that being on here should be fun—for us and for you—and if it’s not, we should rethink what we’re doing. For now, I’m thinking of ways to keep myself reminded of what’s good here and to keep myself away from what’s dejecting and dispiriting (ideas welcome!), but honestly it’s been really good to us. Thank you so much, cool people, for choosing to hang out with us in this space 😊.
Way, way back, David and I got the idea to plan a little trip for just the two of us after we were done with all the national parks, figuring we could use a little alone time to recalibrate. Time flew, and suddenly our trip is NOW. And because we settled on a pretty remote destination with only a few flights in and out per week, and because we wanted to stay there for longer than 24 hours, we’re going to be gone for 10 whole days. Without the kids. I’m actually a little scared I don’t have enough solo personhood left to be without them for 10 days 😳—one of the great advantages of parenthood is that it infuses my days with meaning, the I-am-nurturing-human-life kind of meaning. And while I am convinced I have to fill my own vessel so I can bring my best to my family, I’m still mainly motivated to action by the kids (i.e.: if I didn’t have kids tugging me to my feet, would I leave my bed most days?) Also, and mostly, I’m just going to miss those little peanuts a whole lot. But ALSO, not putting them through long flights and time changes and unfamiliar beds and all that is good. And also also also, I am really excited to spend time with just David, not working or worrying or probably even posting on here, because our heads are still spinning from the past 18 months and we need to just go be still for a while 🙌🏻.
National Park Service site 81/417: Governors Island. This has been one of our favorite spots in NYC for a long time, but we hadn’t ever explored the two forts that the park service maintains, or learned much about the history of the island (we usually went for the stellar grass and grove of hammocks 🙌🏻🙌🏻). We took the ferry out to the island during their pumpkin patch event, did a ranger tour of the fort, took in gorgeous views of downtown, painted pumpkins and explored the historic houses from when the island was a military base. The island is closed for winter now (as of 2 days ago), and we’re already counting down the days til it reopens and we can visit again!