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hello, world!

I’m Brooke, a former Seattle-native turned Melbourne-local addicted to international travel, tall mountains, and painfully spicy food. Brooke Around Town is where I chronicle my adventures and share travel photos from 45+ countries, as well as tips & guides on everything from solo hiking in the Andes to rafting in Zambia. I hope these posts will inspire your future travels and help you find wonder in every corner of the globe! Read more about Brooke Around Town here.

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TIPS FOR VISITING BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON’S NORTH RIM 🤩

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is already Colorado’s least-visited national park, so what do you get when you venture away from the popular South Rim & out to the remote North Rim? Sweeping, unobstructed canyon views entirely to yourself!

Here’s everything you need to know:

🛣 Located in SW Colorado, Black Canyon’s North Rim is 45min south of Paonia, 4hrs NW of Great Sand Dunes National Park & 5hrs from Denver. Several miles of the park access road & ALL of the North Rim Drive (the only road through this section of the park) are unpaved gravel— but in decent weather, any vehicle (including sedans & 2WD) will manage!

🚐 The best thing about the North Rim of Black Canyon is how incredibly close North Rim Drive winds along the side of the cliffs! Even from the car window, you are rewarded to sweeping views of Black Canyon.

📸 Along the 7mi North Rim Drive, there are 5 excellent viewpoints: The Narrows, Balanced Rock, Big Island, Island Peaks, Kneeling Camel. All are totally worth a quick stop & none require more than a few hundred metres of walking!

🥾 From North Rim Campground, check out the short Chasm View trail to admire soaring views over Black Canyon. There are also 2 hiking trails to explore: Deadhorse Trail (5mi / 680ft) & North Vista Trail (3mi / 360ft return to Exclamation Point or 7mi / 1230ft return to Green Mountain).

⛺️ In the off-season (now!), North Rim Campground is completely free. During other times of year (or if you like to get a bit more off the grid), there’s also great dispersed camping on BLM land just 4mi outside the park entrance (accessible to 2WD & completely free).

❄️ North Rim Drive (& therefore motorised access to the North Rim) closes every year from approximately late November to mid-April. For mild temps & the lowest crowds, visit in October!

⏰ Allow about 1.5hrs to drive along the North Rim Drive (14mi total) & stop at all 5 viewpoints. If you want to check out the short Chasm View walk, add 30min. For any of the longer hikes, figure at least 2 additional hours in the park. Basically, it’s possible to see just about all of the North Rim in a single day 🤩

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

21 hours ago

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1/9

As the tragic Gabby Petito case continues to evolve & more information comes to light about the abuse she endured during what should have been an amazing vanlife trip with her fiancé, I’ve been reflecting heavily on the harder aspects of travelling with a partner in a van.

In many ways, #vanlife is this amazing fairytale where you get to travel the world with all the comforts of home, waking up to incredible views & exploring a new place every day. To do all this with your partner…THE DREAM 👯

But living in a 20ft van with another person can also be a pressure cooker for conflict. Combine the stress of travel & cohabitation & complete lack of routine with the fact that you have absolutely NO where to go to cool off when things get heated. You’re not taking off to respective jobs every day or spending time with friends & family, you’re literally packed on top of one another 24/7 with no opportunity to step back.

Even in healthy relationships, vanlife is a MASSIVE adjustment, one that Dan & I are still working at every single day.

If there’s any “secret” to happy vanlife with your partner that we’ve personally learned this year, it’s COMMUNICATION— discussing plans together, making equal compromises, dividing responsibilities fairly (& then reassessing honestly), asking for space when you need it, respecting boundaries when they need it—and SUPPORT—being there for your partner how THEY need you to be, because it’s really just the two of you out here.

Knowing what it’s been like for us, and particularly that it only works if we BOTH make the effort, my heart aches watching videos of Gabby unravelling. It’s not hard for me to imagine how alone & isolated she felt on the road with an uncommunicative partner, or how badly she wanted to make the trip into something special despite his insistence that she’d never succeed with her blog.

Maybe the more pertinent advice here, then, is to choose your vanlife family carefully. If it’s hard work with the right person, it’s impossible with the wrong one.

And she deserved a whole lot better.

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

2 days ago

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2/9

brookearoundtown

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

3 days ago

View on Instagram |

3/9

HOW TO VISIT MAROON BELLS IN COLORADO 🔔

Located only a short drive from Aspen, the Maroon Bells Wilderness provides truly unparalleled views of the surrounding Elk Mountains— in fact, the twin peaks of Maroon Bells are the most photographed mountains in the entire US! With easy access & excellent trails, it’s not hard to see why 😍

Here’s everything you need to know to plan your own visit:

🕰 GETTING THERE
Due to the high volume of visitors, the Forest Service has implemented a reservation system for Maroon Bells from May to October. The road typically closes for weather in November, but you can still ski in!

Maroon Bells is about 12mi out of Aspen, so the 2 main options for getting there are 🚗 a parking permit ($10), which allows you to enter anytime between midnight-8am & then depart at your leisure, OR 🚌 a shuttle ticket ($16pp), which runs from Aspen Highlands 8am-3pm & returns until 5pm. In nice weather, you can also cycle to Maroon Lake with no reservation!

📱 RESERVATIONS
Reservations sell out AGES in advance, so if you don’t manage to nab one online, either head to Aspen Highlands for a standby ticket (when available) or check out any of the Maroon Bells listings on AllTrails, since people will post & sell reservations they aren’t using— the latter is how we got our reservation just 1 day in advance!

📸 BEST VIEWS
For the best views, you definitely want to get to Maroon Bells early (& since the parking permit requires you to enter before 8am, that should be no problem). The alpenglow & sunrise is just incredible in the early morning, plus there are no shuttle bus crowds yet!

It’s about 3min from the carpark to the famous viewpoint at Maroon Lake (shown here), so truly anyone can experience this part of the wilderness.

🥾 HIKING TRAILS
Unsurprisingly, there are heaps of amazing hiking trails through Maroon Bells, but for the average visitor, I’d recommend checking out the flat Maroon Lake Scenic Loop (3mi, 120ft gain) & the more moderate route to Crater Lake (3.6mi, 500ft gain)— both offer incredible views of the peaks and are easy to do in a day!

~ What other Qs do you have about visiting Maroon Bells??

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

3 days ago

View on Instagram |

4/9

Our last stop in Colorado this week was something totally different 🏜

Little more than a short road, a campsite, and 2 large carparks, Great Sand Dunes is absolutely minuscule compared to most other national parks.

It doesn't really have (signed) hikes and can't offer much in the way of quick viewpoints, but as the country's largest "sandbox", this park is more fun than just about anywhere.

And that's exactly how we spent our time in Great Sand Dunes National Park— wandering through the sand in search of beautiful patterns, captivating camera angles, and steep dunes that just begged to be leapt from— having fun ✨

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

4 days ago

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5/9

Even with all the early snow & 18-degree nights, there’s no question Colorado’s been good to us 🤩

We have one final stop before crossing into New Mexico for the next adventure… any guesses?

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

5 days ago

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6/9

give us just a FEW more weeks of autumn 🙏🏼🌎

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

6 days ago

View on Instagram |

7/9

brookearoundtown

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

7 days ago

View on Instagram |

8/9

A brief departure from all the photos of me & our van to bring you: a wild fox at Maroon Bells 🦊

Just as we were leaving the trailhead the other day, Dan spotted a little fox out the window & we all but flung ourselves outside in excitement. He was hardly fazed by our presence, trotting through the scrub before crossing the carpark and actually getting onto the trail near Maroon Lake, weaving through people & alarming more than a few families (some of whom actually grabbed their children, like this tiny fox was going to try & drag them into the woods 🙄).

We followed him (at a respectful distance) the whole way to this spot. Seconds after this photo, a passing dog charged full-speed at the fox & chased him off into the forest, but for a few SWEET moments, we watched him pose in front of the mountains almost as if he’d planned it.

What an unbelievable & totally unexpected highlight from what was already my favourite place in Colorado 🦊✨

~ Instagram compressed these photos pretty hard, but if you zoom in on the 3rd picture, I swear none of his little fox feet are touching the ground #twinkletoes AND how sneaky does he look in the last photo ugh I love him 🥲

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

7 days ago

View on Instagram |

9/9

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

21 hours ago

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1/5

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

2 days ago

View on Instagram |

2/5

brookearoundtown

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

3 days ago

View on Instagram |

3/5

brookearoundtown

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

3 days ago

View on Instagram |

4/5

brookearoundtown

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The crown jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, few places in the entire country are as beloved and highly sought after as the richly diverse Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona, en español). Surrounded by vibrant coconut palm jungle, flanked by the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and home to a spectacular assortment of crescent-shaped beaches, Tayrona features on just about every travel itinerary (and if it’s not on yours, it 110% should be).

The good news: it’s possible to explore Tayrona National Park completely on your own— hiking through thick vegetation to swim at …

4 days ago

View on Instagram |

5/5

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined. — Henry David Thoreau

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