Talley Your Adventure – The Blog

Adventure Awaits!

At Talley Your Adventure, we don’t just plan luxury and culturally rich travel experiences—we live and breathe them. Our blog, travelingtalleys.blog, is where we share the real stories behind our adventures: kayaking alongside glaciers in Alaska, exploring temples in Japan, chasing waterfalls in Iceland, and wandering through storybook towns in Germany. If it’s unforgettable, chances are we’ve done it—or we’re planning it next. Impact-Site-Verification: 8a69d429-4a55-4b53-b8f6-72c437661af5

Nicolette brings deep experience in travel and heritage. With a Master’s in Public History, she’s worked as a Supervisory Park Ranger, Revenue Manager, and Program Analyst across multiple national parks for over a decade. Her career has taken her from managing interpretive boat tours in Alaska’s wild backcountry to overseeing large-scale visitor service projects with million-dollar budgets. And yes—she’s also a licensed 100-Ton Inland Master Boat Captain who’s led cultural and ecological tours from riverboats to remote beaches.

Clinton’s travel roots run just as deep. He’s worked in logistics and operations for the National Park Service and was a key member of the hospitality team aboard National Geographic Lindblad Expeditions. From managing guest services on remote international voyages to coordinating facility software systems stateside, he knows what it takes to deliver seamless, high-end travel experiences—even in the most unpredictable places.

Together, we created Talley Your Adventure to bring our experience, passion, and attention to detail to your travel planning. Whether it’s a fully curated group trip or a personalized vacation built just for you, we combine expert-level service with insider know-how—so you can focus on the magic of the journey.

Want us to help you on your next adventure? Head over to www.talleyyouradventure.com!

@talleyyouradventure_dv
Sakura Blooms – Inuyama, Japan

  • Saguaro National Park #tbt #FindYourPark #Tucson #Arizona

    Hello! This post takes a brief break from the #TravelingTalleys Adventure blog to celebrate #tbt with a look at Saguaro National Park!

    FB_IMG_1526165223484Last year I went out to Arizona to watch my brother graduate from the University of Arizona School of Law. (#beardown) While there, I was able to visit a park that I have had high on my “bucket list” – Saguaro National Park! Back when I was still working as a deckhand on the boat we spent about a month in Mexico, both as a mini shipyard and also for a few cruise weeks. I love Mexico. It was so different than the tropic weather I grew up with in Florida. I especially loved all the cacti. Seeing such large specimens was impressive, more so when adding in the the vastness of a desert landscape or the dryness of the air. All new experiences like this in Mexico and reading into where I can experience this in the United States led me to this addition to my vast list.

    My brother lives in Tucson, Arizona, where the park is located. Tucson is large city near the United States-Mexico border and has a very similar landscape to what I remember back when I was working in Mexico. Very hot, no humidity – and lots of cacti! I don’t 20170514_185533think the #tbt would be complete without mentioning another great location – Mount Lemmon. If you want an escape from the 100 degree days, head up almost 10,000 ft to the top of Mount Lemmon, where it is 30 degrees cooler than down in the city the mountain overlooks. It is still part of the desert, so it was definitely a sight to see a “cactus forest” when hiking around. Worth the hour drive from the city!

    Saguaro National Park is fittingly named after the saguaro, a cactus species which can grow to over 40 ft! Native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the cactus is protected inside the boundary of the park to help preserve its native habitat. The only other area in the United States where this cactus species is located is in California. The remaining are FB_IMG_1526165217126located in the Mexican State of Sonora. Saguaros live long lives, often exceeding 150 years, but because they grow only about 1 to 1.5 inches in the first eight years you probably wouldn’t have guessed! Walking through the many saguaros when visiting the park was proof of this discovery. There were many small, little looking cactus that looked like they were very young. Because saguaros grow slow, a smaller looking cactus could easily be 30 years old! They don’t start to grow flowers until they are 35 years old, and aren’t considered “adult” until they are about 125 years old.

    Saguaro National Park was established a National Park in 1994, but there is so much more history leading up to that date. Back in 1920, the members of the Natural History Society of the University of Arizona became interested in protecting the saguaros, especially after viewing the spiked interest of Americans watching silent westerns that highly featured them. Concerned for their protection and safety, the University of Arizona’s president in 1928 Homer L. Shantz backed the action. His vision was similar to many of the reasons that land becomes part of the National Park Service System. It wouldn’t be until 1933 when President Herbert Hoover designated the area as a national monument. Between 1936 and 1939, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Cactus Forest Loop Drive. In the 1950s the visitor center officially opened. By 1994, so FB_IMG_1526165251850much land had been slowly moved to be incorporated into the monument and Congress re-designated the park a National Park.

    We missed the large amounts of blooming flowers when I was visiting the park with my parents, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying our time. The park was deserted (haha) and we were easily able to hang out and take our time walking among the cacti forest. We stopped at the gift shop/visitor center on the way out and bought prickly pear syrup! It is very good in a variety of things – such as ice cream or in tequila drinks! 🙂 I highly recommend it. Not to mention getting good food and visiting unique, fun places. Arizona is a pretty “hot” place.

    There are so many different landscapes throughout the United States and the world and each offer a unique history and culture. Keep getting outdoors and visiting all the great places there are to explore. Until next time!

  • Ancient city of Utrecht #Traveling Talleys

    Welcome back! This post will focus on our next adventure: The beautiful, historic city of Utrecht! After our reunion with old friends who live in Germany, all four of us headed to Utrecht for a long weekend. Utrecht, like Amsterdam, has a very lively, long history that stretches back to the High Middle Ages, and has been the religious center of the Netherlands since the 8th century. This is evident with the Dom Tower – an 20180509_103858impressive structure that is one of the highlights of visiting the city.

    The Dom Tower is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands at 112.5 m (368 ft) high, and was part of the Cathedral of Saint Martin. Built between 1321 and 1382, the design of the building is in the Gothic-style created by John of Hainaut. One of the coolest things about the Dom Tower and the Dom Square where it resides is the history literally below your feet! Roman fortifications were built around 48 AD to hold about 500 Roman soldiers. This traiectum or Roman fort, saw the replacement of the original wooden walls with sturdier tuff stone walls. Around 275, when the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border, Utrecht was abandoned. You can still see these Roman ‘ruins’ by going below the tower with a tour guide, which is exactly what we did. Below, you not only learn about the Romans you also learn about the extensive history of the city.

    Fast forward a few centuries to 695 when Willibrord, a Northumbrian missionary saint, was sent to Utrecht to preach and establish churches – including the monastery at Utrecht. Willibrord is considered the first Bishop of Utrecht. Besides being a very holy 20180406_162429man (he was made a saint quickly after his death on November 7, 739), Willibrord started a religious revival in Utrecht.

    In 1321, the Dom Church’s construction started. This important structure was used to show the power of the church in Utrecht, and even survived a tornado in 1674! Part of the cathedral was damaged but overall the Dom Tower remained. Utrecht’s importance as the center of Christianity continued throughout her history, into 1522 when Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens was elected to pope.  While today the walls of the fortified town have become obsolete, you can still see the ancient outlines preserved by history. While walking through the city, through the stone where the outlines of the wall use to rise is a green light that is filtered up from below, almost like a laser wall. You can only see it when you walk over it, but it is there to highlight the old walls while not disturbing the newer buildings and renovations of today. Pretty neat!

    Utrecht has a history that is filled with large gaps and, while it does answer a lot of historical questions, it seems to ask more and more as you learn! I find 20180406_152234that history is amazing because of this concept. We should always be curious about history and try to find the who, what, when, where, and why associated with all historical events. We can’t always answer these questions because historical records are destroyed through age or conflict, are moved, or are never written. Utrecht has such a long, extensive history that it is hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together – but that’s also the fun! (Just remember – to help your future historians out, try and keep a good journal!)

    History is great, but it was nice just walking down the street and…navigating the waterways with out own privately rented boat! What great excitement, to actually pilot a small boat through the extensive canal system of Utrecht?! What I found really cool is the system of wharves that accompany the canals. A wharf is an area where a ship may be moored (tied to the shore/dock) to load or unload. When walking on the brick or stone walkways above the canals, you are looking right at the store or home entrance. Below is the cellars – which are right at eye level when in the canal. Tying up to the wharf allows you access to these “underground” entrances. The cool thing about Utrecht is that there are staircases leading to these wharves, or you can access them via food. This is much different than Amsterdam and I think makes Utrecht more unique!

    We shopped and ate at a few restaurants along the canals and sat down in the wharves a 20180407_121535few times. All in all, it was a very relaxing few days in a new city. We tried croquette (kroketten), which is a small bread-crumbed fried food usually shaped as a small ball (bitterballen!) or almost like a egg-roll. It is really good! We were even able to take in a live show – a cover band that was preforming in the evening. With our hotel only a short walk away from the city center, we were able to walk to everything and take our time going through this amazing city!

    My next post will focus a little more on both the smaller German and Dutch places we visited along our trip before heading out to Croatia. The Netherlands is a gorgeous country with very happy people who are uniquely “Dutch”. In all my travels, it’s been nice to see what makes a certain person “who they are”, and a lot of the times it boils down to where they are from or where they grew up – or their nationality. The Dutch are very kind, loving, bicycle crazy (!) individuals who are wonderful in all aspects – just like the majority of everyone else. Read through this article to see other ways that Utrecht is enjoyed by many, and hopefully these blog posts are inspiring you to make your next trip include the Netherlands!

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  • #TravelingTalleys visit Historic Amsterdam!

    Hello and welcome back after an exciting National Park Week! Hopefully you all enjoyed your outdoor public lands, wherever you may be, and found a new park along the way!

    Last week’s posts focused on the various parks Clinton and I visited during our European travels, but I am now going to back up and start from the beginning of our trip – landing 20180401_043537.jpgin Amsterdam at 9 a.m. after an overnight 7 hour flight (with a connection that started at 5 p.m.) the night before. Whew! We slept a little on the plane, but honestly we were so excited that we strapped on our backpacks and started walking around the town! No exhaustion here! Our first stop was a really small coffee shop to get a little breakfast and coffee. The place was right in the thick of the tourist area (basically where you get off the train, which we took from the airport) and is called Naked Espresso. After stretching out on their benches and relaxing for a little bit, we decided that our plan was to drop off our bags and then head back into the city. Our Airbnb hosts were very gracious to let us access the place early, and we were very happy to have our bags off our back. (Note: we each brought ONE backpack, and that was it. So when I mention our backpacks, I’m talking about all our clothes, toiletries, and anything else we may have brought or bought throughout our trip!) Our Airbnb was a little bit outside the city, about an hour walk or a quick train ride in. We walked mostly everywhere- I’m in a 100 mile fitness contest for the Spring season! The apartment was near two wonderful parks – Rembrandt Park and Vondel Park. I highly recommend you do Airbnb wherever you feel comfortable – it’s the best way to see a city outside of the tourist part. Plus, it’s usually less expensive.20180401_141445.jpg

    We planned to be in Amsterdam for 3 nights and 4 days to really get a good feel of the entire city. We planned our days based on the area of the city we wanted to focus on. After we dropped off our bags, we headed back into the city just to walk around and get that “tourist” feel. We came back to the apartment and close by was a cafe called Frits. Really great food and drinks! We were happy to have a low key night in such a great town.

    Amsterdam is known for many things, but one of the best things I love about the city is the beautiful architecture and the amazing history.  Our second day was spent walking around the main city center to take in the architecture and history. The Netherlands, like most of Europe, was conquered early on by the Romans. The major difference is that the Romans didn’t build or really influence the city of Amsterdam much. This allowed the people of the city to build a city-state that focused more on their 20180402_102006own necessities – mainly, manipulation of the seas! The Dutch are well known for their triumphant nautical history, and this does not disappoint in Amsterdam. With major powers leaving them “alone” for the most part, and no Church-sanctioned feudal relationships or distinction between upper or lower class, Amsterdam was able to thrive as a society on individualism and a free, open, progressive attitude.  By 1600 the Dutch controlled the sea trade between England, France, Spain, and the Baltic. This was the height of Dutch control and influence and gave rise to the Dutch East India Company. Half of the sailing between Europe and Asia was managed by the Dutch, and Amsterdam’s residence enjoyed many of the exotic products that were imported. The Dutch, and subsequently Amsterdam’s, power would fall when the British began to increase their maritime capacity, but the great history and beautiful architectural buildings are still around the city to remind us of their powerful past. Fun fact – the 17th century canal ring in Amsterdam is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List!

    Amsterdam has a thriving “museum district” that we visited for a day. Taking the non-traditional route of visiting the House of Bols was an exciting twist to our usual museum/archive route. The House of Bols is a family named liqueur company that 20180403_140523specialized in the production of Jenever, or “Dutch gin” for lack of a better word (please note it is not actually “gin”). This predecessor to the gin we know today, which is usually from England, is (in my opinion) MUCH better! Lucas Bols, the grandson of the founder, was a major shareholder with the Dutch East Indian Company, and therefore had exclusive access to many of the exotic herbs and spices that were imported from around the world. This allowed him, and his product, to flourish. Today, there are over 300 liqueur and spirit recipes through the House of Bols, and we were able to try some of them! It is really important to note that there is a special way to drink Jenever from the tulip glasses with which they are served. The shape of the glass prevents you from grabbing it to take the shot – you need to sip the top part off first! It was a lot of fun learning about the history of this alcoholic beverage and to try it for ourselves!

    One of my main goals when visiting Amsterdam (and subsequently, throughout the entirety of our trip) was to get out on the water as much as possible. When we visited 20180403_152139.jpgAmsterdam eight years ago we were unable (based on the vastness of our trip and the amount of time we actually spent in one city) to get into the canals. I was determined to remedy this during our trip! Amsterdam has a diverse fleet of about 200 or more tour boats throughout the year. While the first canals were logically dug for water management and defense, today you can enjoy a pleasure tour throughout the year! I highly recommend you take time and go on a boat trip. Through the House of Bols we were able to add on an hour canal tour, and I know you can do the same with various other museums throughout the city. Learn some history, take in the sights, and travel on the canals!

    Amsterdam was a very exciting city that we were happy to visit again after so many years. Below you can view the many other photos we took during our trip. Next blog post will be about our visit with our friends around Utrecht! Until next time!

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