About Jenny

My globetrotting saga started at the ripe old age of 13, with a casual hop over to the land Down Under. Nothing says “Hello, adolescence!” like coming face-to-face with kangaroos and sipping on a flat white before I even knew what caffeine was.

Then, before you could say “teenage rebellion,” Granny (yes, the cookie-baking, cheek-pinching kind) and I blitzed through Europe like we were on a monarch tour minus the paparazzi. After that, I was hooked on travel and couldn’t stop.

So far, I’ve waltzed across six continents, wearing out my welcome everywhere but Antarctica. Penguins there just don’t know what they’re missing out on.

So, what has been my favorite country so far? South Africa reigns supreme on my country leader board.

Imagine me, there with my camera, catching the Big Five in their prime time habitat. Who wouldn’t want to snap the animal equivalent of movie stars?

As for my academic stunts, I’ve gathered not one but two degrees: “Bean Counting 101” (aka CPA) and “Freezing Time,” which the uninitiated call Photography. Yes, that’s right, I traded in my number-cruncher’s cap for a lens cap. Boy, what a plot twist that was.

About John

Ah, family vacations. Instead of being raised by wolves, John’s family preferred the “raised by trees” approach. They were out camping frequently, and it fostered his love for the wilds of the ol’ red, white, and blue.

Now, he’s strolled his way across more continents than most folks have streaming services. Just a mere two left, Antarctica and Australia. Watch out; they are on his travel bingo card.

So, who has the grand prize for the most epic wanderlust exploit, in his opinion? Has to be Scotland. We roamed the highlands in a camper van that was less “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” and more “wool, rain, and sheepish encounters.”

As for his professional life? It’s a digital jungle out there, and he’s the techie Tarzan. Swinging from tech support vines with a Network Engineering degree, he’s tamed everything from granny’s virus-riddled PC to making sure your drive-thru burger order doesn’t play telephone. If it’s got circuits, consider it sorted.

Why Did We Start “Discover Parks & Wildlife”

So you might be wondering why, if we are a CPA/Photographer and a Network Engineer, we would want to start a travel website focused on parks and wildlife. Isn’t the answer as clear as the unsolicited advice from your in-laws?

Not sure? Then settle in for a moment of storytime.

Picture this: I’m a wide-eyed young woman with dreams of travel blogging glory for over a decade. But a full-time desk job and a laughably meager vacation stash (2-3 weeks per year) meant that this blogging adventure stayed in the “What If” drawer, next to learning sign language and taking up salsa dancing.

And even though the blog had several false starts (more reboots than a beloved ’90s sitcom), we still spent time globetrotting with the zeal of a squirrel during nut season while working full-time.

With those few weeks of free time per year, we caught boarding passes as far as South Africa, Cambodia, Brazil, and Scotland (just to name a few).

And what do you think we did with those precious three-day holiday weekends? Oh, just casual jaunts to Yellowstone and romps through Utah’s jaw-dropping parks. Nothing screams romantic getaways and federal holidays like hiking boots and shared granola bars, right?

2020 And Beyond

Then 2020 hit, and some faceless virus decided to play party pooper and put us all on house arrest. And boy, did it turn our lives into an episode of the Twilight Zone.

You know how every disaster movie has that moment where the main character has an apocalyptic epiphany?

Well, cue the dramatic soundtrack because that was us, standing on the cliff edge of the big 4-0, staring into the abyss of all-work-and-no-play dystopia. Blessed to still have everyone in the selfie family photo, the ol’ pandemic scare still rattled us more than a ghost in a washing machine.

And there we were, thinking, “Is hoarding vacation days really the hill we want to die on?” Spoiler: it wasn’t.

Cut to the chase, we chucked the 9-to-5 handcuffs, siphoned our piggy banks, waved a white flag at corporate life, and embraced our inner nomad. Borrowing my parents’ RV (thanks, Mom and Dad!), we rolled out towards Arizona in 2021, making Tombstone look more like Bedrock for an entire winter.

But that isn’t all we have done since quitting. We have certainly turned our thinking of “Gee, that’d be nice” into “Oh, we’re doing this.” We have visited two new countries, Botswana & Zambia, and crisscrossed the USA on several road trips.

And eat your hearts out because we’re now the proud owners of our own 5th Wheel RV. In 2023, we took it out for its maiden voyage on a 10-month trip to the Northeast of the USA. Oh, and Canada, too! What can we say, the maple syrup called, and we answered.

Our master plan now? Spend half our time saving for the next trip and the other half painting tire tracks around the globe. Because what’s life if not a highway and we wanna ride it all night long.

Why Parks & Wildlife

Why zero in on parks and wildlife, you ask? Well, because that’s where our hearts do the happy dance. It’s our passion, our escape, our de-stressor, and our favorite pastime.

This blog isn’t your run-of-the-mill general travel blog; it’s a full-blown love letter to nature’s mood swings and unpredictable wildlife house parties. While we do the occasional ordinary city travel, our very favorite travel involves playing peekaboo with a bashful bear in Yellowstone or getting the stink-eye from a lion in Kruger.

Cities are great if you’re into that whole “concrete jungle where dreams are made of” vibe. But give us a rugged cliffside with a chance to spot humpbacks flexing their flukes any day. To us, there isn’t a high rise that can match the thrill of watching whales breach while the Massachusetts coastline fades into the background.

And sure, we could chill in a swanky sidewalk cafe, but why would we when we could play “I Spy with My Little Eye” with creatures that actually, well, spy back?

It’s simple: we’re head-over-hiking-boots in love with nature adventures and the wildlife in them. And because we have spent so much of the last 20 years vacationing within national parks and spending time with wildlife, we feel like experts.

So stick with us, and we’ll spill the beans (which, by the way, are a great addition to any campfire chili) on all the tips and tricks to turn you into an outdoor pro faster than you can say “Look out for that poison ivy!”

Places We’ve Seen In The USA

Thirty-plus years of relentless on and off-road-tripping with our families growing up and now as a couple, we have been to a lot of places.

Countries One Or Both Of Us Have Visited

Our passports are more decorated than a general in a parade. So let’s check out our list of countries we have ambled through over the years.

Just A Few Of Our Favorite Wildlife Adventures

Well, there you have it. Where we’ve been, some highlights of wildlife we’ve seen, and why we choose to write mainly about nature and wildlife.

John’s Other Love

During our travels, we always stop at breweries for John’s other love…. craft beer!

If you want to take a look at his side gig, Beer Decoded, you will find him geeking out about all things frothy and fermented.