24 Best RaulersonGirlsTravel Photos of 2024 (Year in Review)

2024 did not start great. There were many personal disappointments, but the worst was my hard drive crashing. This caused me to lose all of my recent travel photos from the past six years, directly affecting the best Raulersongirlstravel photos of 2024. Devasting as it was, I did manage to retake my Tombstone photos and plan to return to the cities I visited in 2023 to retake the ones I lost.

I worked two jobs this year while living in Sierra Vista, my new location. My travel stats for the year are minimal, but I managed to walk 5,880,672 steps, averaging over 16,000/day. One of the benefits of walking everywhere and having jobs that keep you on your feet is that I lost 32 pounds. I’m now at a lower weight than when I returned from my 2019 international travels. So, without further ado, here is what I’ve been up to this year and the best RaulersonGirlsTravel photos of 2024.

First Speaking Engagement at the Phoenix Travel & Adventure Show

My first public speaking engagement was at the Phoenix Travel & Adventure Show. I was one of three panelists sharing travel advice. I was a little nervous, but my friend Julie, who showed up to cheer me on, said I did great. Besides networking with multiple travel destinations, I met one of my crushes from my younger days. Andrew McCarthy was one of the keynote speakers, sharing travel advice from his bestselling book, The Longest Way Home. His stories and travel philosophy are very similar to mine, and he was fascinating to listen to. Afterward, he was gracious enough to allow me a quick photo with him before my speaking engagement. One for the record books, for sure!

FAM Trip to St. Louis

Even though I have been to St. Louis numerous times, it was so much fun to be invited on this Explore St. Louis FAM Trip. Hearing and seeing all the changes coming to this vibrant city in the next couple of years was fascinating. However, the highlight of my visit was being in town to celebrate my sister’s birthday after exploring the Great Outdoors.

The travel writers were invited to stay at the Union Station for the duration. I remember visiting this place when my mom moved to St. Louis in 1995. My sisters and I had fun with the Whispering Arch, and I had to share this experience with my fellow travel writers, who knew nothing about it. The new light show projected on the ceiling of Union Station was freaking amazing. There are 18 different light shows that start with Union Station’s history (42 railroad tracks, 12 rail lines, over 100,000 people traveling/day from 1904 to World War II.) I could have spent hours watching it.

Have you ever seen the Arch from the Mississippi River like the pioneers did during LewClark’sClark’s timeframe? You can be paddling on the Mississippi River with Big Muddy Adventures. We went out early with sprinkles coming down, but it didn’t stop us. We laughed so hard with light rain coming down and accidentally splashing the rowers behind us. At one point, our guide yelled at us to row harder. We yelled back, “We are!” but we weren’t moving. The current was keeping us in place despite us rowing.

We also visited the St. Louis Aquarium, which has interactive exhibits; the St. Louis Zoo, which has new primate canopy trails; and the World Bird Sanctuary, which is saving raptors worldwide. We explored countless restaurants, played mini golf at Puttshack, toured Laumeier Sculpture Park, and walked around Shaw Nature ReI’lle. I’ll write more about these adventures and all the yummy food I devoured later.

Wine Tours through Elgin & Sonoita, Arizona

As I try to acclimate myself to living in Southeast Arizona, some of the best Raulersongirlstravel photos of 2024 came from exploring the small towns around Sierra Vista. I hopped on a few wine tours through the Elgin/Sonoita area, 40 miles southeast of Tucson, with over a dozen to visit. Some places have vineyards on site, whereas others are only winetasting buildings. Each place I have been to has been unique, with its own blends of wine. Learning more about wine, how it is made, the ingredients that go into it, and finding the ones I love to taste has been quite the lesson.

Patagonia, Arizona

Patagonia is a small town in Southeast Arizona among the Sky Islands. It is a renowned artist community, which you can experience when you visit their art festivals in the main park. The downtown has colorful buildings to explore with cute gift shops, galleries, and lovely cafes. Patagonia has a lot to see, especially if you are a photographer. The main park has beautiful flowers that attract tons of butterflies; the old buildings have such characteyou’ll you’ll always find something surprising when walking around the town that needs to be captured.

If you are a fan of hummingbirds or bird watching, the Paton Center for Hummingbirds is a must-visit. Visitors to Southeast Arizona will notice altars placed on the side of the road. My friends took me to a beautiful one near Patagonia, built into the side of a mountain. These family altars are a place to reflect on loved ones who have passed and remember their memories.

There are a couple of cute museums that you have to check out while in Patagonia. La Galeria Dia De Los Muertos is a one-room museum dedicated to the folk art culture and beliefs of Latin America’s most important religious holiday, The Day of the Dead. You’ll find tons of colorful art showcasing skeletons and Day of the Dead decorations. On the same property, you’ll also find another one-room museum dedicated to Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Monsoon Season in Southeast Arizona

Monsoon season happens in Southeast Arizona from June to September. I have been down here for a few of these, which are always different. One year, the San Pedro River flooded, affecting hiking trails nearby for weeks; the next season was dry as a bone, and this year was more of a typical Monsoon season. The wall of rain showed up mid-afternoon and lasted for a short time, leaving an aftermath of flooded streets, parking lots, and waterfalls heading into the wash. It is an impressive sight to see and experience. However, you must be careful hiking here during these months, as the monsoons are highly unpredictable.

Fairbank Historic Townsite

My friend Anthony and I went out one afternoon to explore the Fairbank Historic Townsite. This town is a neat place to explore, with its old buildings depicting what the old West used to look like when it was a bustling railroad stop. At one point, its wild and crazy atmosphere even rivaled Tombstone. Now, this quiet ghost town has picnic benches where you can enjoy a nice afternoon admiring the old buildings from the outside and learning about the town through the signs showing photos of days past.

Fairbank is also a great start or mid-point for the San Pedro Trail. One part of the trail takes you to Grand Central Mill Ruins and another to Fairbank Cemetery. If you do hike the trail, make sure to bring plenty of water. The views from the top of Fairbank Cemetery are beautiful as well as seeing some very old resting places. You can see a huge portion of the San Pedro Valley and the Cottonwoods that line the river in the distance.

Our Lady of the Sierras

My friend Nick drove me to see Our Lady of the Sierras, built on the Huachuca Mountains in Hereford, Arizona. We had a great afternoon, including a picnic lunch, and visited the shrine. This was perfect because I could replace/retake many photos I lost of the exterior. However, I didn’t get into the chapel because something was transpiring inside, but it was still nice to spend time there and look out over the San Pedro Valley.

The Continental Divide in Bisbee, Arididn’t

I didn’t even realize that this was here. Above the Mule Pass Tunnel is a marker that claims to be the Continental Divide. The marker states that this portion of I-80 was constructed by prison labor in 1913-1914. As impressive as it looks toward the San Pedro Valley from the Mule Pass, the Continental Divide is actually 120 miles east in New Mexico. What a cool mistake to visit!

Lowell, Arizona

When visiting Bisbee, home of the Lavender Pit, take a detour to explore the tiny town of LIt’sl. Its Main Street has vintage cars lined up in front of old buildings. Bring your camera; there are plenty of photo opportunities everywhere you look. Plus, head down to Bisbee Breakfast Club for a scrumptious breakfast to begin your day exploring Bisbee. The day I visited Lowel, an old car festival displayed several more vintage and classic cars, which were fun to walk around and admire.

Douglas, Arizona

Another new town that I explored was Douglas, Arizona. You might not think there is much to do in a border town, but I was pleasantly surprised. Douglas has beautiful street murals downtown, across from the historic Gadson Hotel, an amazingly beautiful cemetery, and fabulous restaurants, like El Barron, where I tried delicious authentic Mexican food. The Gadson Hotel, opening in 1907, was and still is a jewel of the Southwest. Its lobby is gorgeous with its marble staircase and Tiffany-stained windows.

Art Car World Museum in Douglas, Arizona

Located on an unassuming corner of Douglas, Arizona, Art Car World is a one-of-a-kind museum that should be in the mainstream art world. The uniquely decorated vehicle collection fills almost three buildings. I was able to tour the facility a couple of times and walk around the cars, listening to the history and stories of this amazing collection curated by Harrod Blank, the actor on Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

One of my favorite vehicles is the camera van. As a photographer, I so geeked out over this vehicle, spending tons of time slowly walking around the van to inspect the over 2700 cameras on this vehicle. The cool thing is that a working camera takes candid people’s reactions to seeing the vehicle displayed by the van. Other vehicles are decorated with horses, animals, jewelry, and even stained glass. Art Car World is an absolute must-see in Southeast Arizona.

The museum is not officially opened yet (still under construction), however, you can make appointments on the weekend to get a tour of the vehicles they have already on display. Art Car World is located at 401 E. 9th St. in Douglas, Arizona, minutes from the Mexican border.

Exploring Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona

Outside of Tucson in Oracle, Arizona, there is a place that looks like it should be on Mars. On September 16, 1991, eight people sealed themselves inside the largest self-sustaining closed ecological system ever built, Biosphere 2, for two years to research and study uniquely designed ecosystems. Today, you can take a self-guided tour through each area, like the Human Habitat (where the researchers lived), see where the agriculture/crops grew, walk through the desert, marsh, savannah, and rainforest, and see the ocean/beach from above. Yes, you read that right. They built a coral reef to study the impacts of climate change on ocean health. Walking around, you will still see research done by the University of Arizona on plants and the ecosystems within Biosphere 2. This should be on your must-see list when visiting Southeast Arizona. The amount of information you can learn from one visit is staggering.

Halloween in Bisbee, Arizona

I know this is a bit cheesy, but what an incredible, fun night I had with my good friends Anthony and Nick. These two guys have been absolutely wonderful when I needed friends. We explored all around Sierra Vista, enjoyed going to the movies, and had one good laugh after another. I couldn’t have made it through this year without these two.

We dressed up for the big Halloween party in Bisbee. I was the Queen of the Underworld, which was supposed to go well with their costumes. However, I ended up being too pretty that night to pull it off (and yes, I know…humble I adidn’t didn’t matter, though; once we got to Bisbee, we were drinking and dancing with all the other amazingly costumed Halloween-goers.

Summary

Even though this year had its ups and downs, I explored some new places in St. Louis and more of Southeast Arizona while working two jobs. Living in Sierra Vista has me close to Bisbee, Douglas, Benson, Tombstone, Tucson, and many other towns. I’m hoping that 2025 will offer me more opportunities to travel and allow me to get back into writing more often. One can always hope…

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