Welcome to Bound to Explore’s Travel Guides! Here you will find information and travel tips about our favorite destinations, trip reports, and gear guides.
Mount Edith Cavell Hike| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd One of Jasper National Park’s easiest trails and most scenic views lies underneath Angel Glacier and Mount Edith Cavell. The Mount Edith Cavell hike will take you to breathtaking views of Angel …
Things to do in Jasper National Park | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd After completing a full day of driving along the Icefields Parkway, it felt amazing to drop our bags off at the hotel, shower, and head into town for …
Written by Julie Boyd | Photography by Julie Boyd “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” – John Muir I was exhausted. I had just finished teaching a workshop on essay writing, shot my last wedding of the year, and I made it through mourning the loss of …
Icefields Parkway Itinerary | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Famous for its stretch of unmatched natural beauty, the Icefields Parkway travels between Banff and Jasper National Parks. The 175 mile drive derives its name from the Columbia Icefield, which feeds several …
Johnston Canyon Hike | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Created by erosion over the centuries, Johnston Creek flows through Johnston Canyon before emptying into the Bow River. The glacial blue waters flow under a canopy of lush forest and thunder over …
Exploring | Yoho Valley | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Fresh off an awesome hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers, we still had several hours of sunlight left to explore the area before sunset. Julie had come across Takakkaw Falls …
Visiting Moraine Lake | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd As we planned out our Canadian adventure, Julie and I each had a long list of “must visit” locations. Many of these destinations were shared, and that was especially true of Moraine Lake. If …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd As mentioned in our last post, while visiting Banff, we opted to stay outside the park in Kananaksis Country. We spent most of our first day in Calgary, but after checking into our hotel, we decided there was …
Best Adventures in Yosemite| Words and Photos by Julie Boyd When I was 16-years-old, my dad pulled the car over to take in the majesty of Yosemite Valley at Tunnel View on a family trip to the park. Since that first moment, when I gazed …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd We solemnly swear that we are up to no good. It’s no surprise that Julie and I are big Harry Potter fans. When we moved in together last year, there was no argument, we were both …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd For my most recent birthday, Julie and I made the short trip up to San Francisco for the weekend. While we work to finalize plans for our next big vacation, these short getaways help keep the …
Written by Julie Boyd | Photography by Julie Boyd Monterey is a beautiful seaside town known for its stunning views of California’s Central Coast, and abundance of marine life. While many people come to visit iconic spots like the 17-Mile Drive and the Monterey Bay …
Written by Julie Boyd | Photography by Julie Boyd On the Central Coast of California, Highway 1 winds through a section of rocky coastline known as Big Sur. Flanked by the Santa Lucia Mountains to the east, and the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Back in 2012, when Julie and I first started dating, I surprised her with a day trip down to Julian and we had a blast! Four years later, we decided to return to Julian and explore …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Brian Callender and Julie Boyd While planning our time in Ireland, we had given ourselves a very open schedule so that we could relax and enjoy the last days of our trip. After spending the rest of the trip constantly …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Brian Callender & Julie Boyd We touched down in Dublin close to 10:00 p.m. on Monday night after a short flight from Brussels. I had pre-booked our transportation taking the 700 Route with AirCoach which came out to about $25 roundtrip …
Writted by Brian Callender | Photography by Brian Callender & Julie Boyd One of my favorite things about Europe is the ease and efficiency of travel within countries, particularly public transportation. When I was studying abroad in Oxford, I knew there were three busses that …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd & Brian Callender Belgium was, admittedly, a late addition to our itinerary. We had planned to visit the British Isles, but not the continent of Europe on this particular trip. However, having already been to the three …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd & Brian Callender After a very late night in Oxford, we slept in a bit on Friday morning before heading out to soak up the rest of our time in London. To say that we were …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Brian Callender & Julie Boyd Six years ago, I studied abroad for ten weeks in Oxford and it was one of the best experiences of my life. During that time, I fell in love with the city, the …
Written by Brian Calender | Photography by Julie Boyd On our return from the Harry Potter Studio Tour on Tuesday night, we learned that there was likely going to be a Tube strike taking place beginning Wednesday evening and lasting through Friday morning. While we …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd & Brian Callender On Tuesday afternoon, we boarded our train and were on our way out to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. After walking around for much of the day, our feet were tired and in …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Brian Callender & Julie Boyd Thanks to Friends, I’ll always think of “London Baby” whenever the city crosses my mind. And that’s not a bad thing because I love London and I love Friends :). If you have …
Written By Brian Callender | Photography by Brian Callender & Julie Boyd Six years ago, I visited York for the first time with my study abroad class. The trip was an optional add-on, but everyone went. There was so much that I loved about the …
With two long days of driving and exploring the Highlands firmly behind us, we had a lazy start to our Saturday morning. In doing so, we nearly missed making it back in time to drop off our rental car. We returned the car with just minutes …
Friday morning we were treated to this beautiful loch view from our Airbnb. A view which made the prospect of departing for the long upcoming day an even more challenging prospect. Our host had been fantastic and we wished we had opted to stay for …
Early Mornings & False Starts After a long and exhausting first day in Scotland, we awoke refreshed and ready to tackle our second day. Our original plan had been to take a tour of the Scottish Highlands and I spent a fair amount of time …
Edinburgh, Here We Come Our adventure began bright and early on Tuesday morning. We were fortunate that Julie’s dad was willing to give us a ride down to San Diego to catch our outbound flight to New Jersey where we would catch our connecting flight …