Our Favorite Places We Visited in 2023

Love & Latitudes Travel Blog

Each year since moving into the van, I give myself a set of travel goals. Usually, this is just to see new places, but this year I added the task of spending less than two weeks at a time at my home base in Southern California. 

I’m happy to report that we did exactly that! And we saw some banging places in the meantime. I feel so inspired by seeing these new locations, and feel so lucky that this is my life. Come on the journey with me by following along at my landscape Instagram or check out my Print Shop. 

Let’s dive right into my favorite places we traveled to in 2023. 

Iceland: The Land of the Midnight Sun

Iceland is a photographer’s dream—and in fact, I did dream of going here for some time. We finally made it in 2023—and true to form—we made everything more challenging by traveling the Nordic country in a van.

If you’re thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of driving!” Well, Iceland is similar to the size of Kentucky, so driving around the whole country wasn't that bad. Living in a van in another country was quite the experience and showed us a lot about how far we’ve come in making our own van feel like our home. 

The amazing part of traveling in a camper van in Iceland is getting to see so much more of the country than if we just stayed in one spot. We drove the Ring Road (not to be confused with the much smaller, but still pretty, Golden Circle) around the country, hitting such amazing spots as Skógafoss, Jökulsárlón, and Kirkjufell.

One of the highlights of the journey was making it all the way to Arctic Henge. This massive structure is still in construction, but it’s reminiscent of a Stone Henge. The day we got here was my birthday! But most bizarre was that the day we arrived here, we planned on watching the sunset through the monument… Except the sun never actually set and hung in the sky for multiple days because it was summer and so close to the Arctic Circle.

Another reason we adored Iceland was the hot springs. Yes, we are avid fans of hot springs. And we made a point of going to the Blue Lagoon and Krauma.

Next time we travel to Iceland, it'll be to see the northern lights!

Washington: Our Olympic National Park to Mount Rainier Adventure

Not all that exotic, but Washington is new to us, I had been to Seattle for two seconds as a child—and Isiah had never been to the state at all. So when my parents wanted to do a family trip to somewhere totally new, I took a poll on my Instagram stories and Olympic National Park won out.

My parents and brother laughed at me when I said I was going to drive, but 18 hours ain't no thing when you get to stop at beautiful places along the way.

The only thing that could make the trip better was a proposal! That’s right, I got to photograph my own brother’s proposal in the Hoh Forest. I also got to wrangle my family members who couldn’t take a hint that the special moment was happening right in front of them. Yeesh!

And of course, I wasn’t going to stop at just Olympic NP when Mount Rainier National Park was a little further away. At just two to three hours away, we made the trek over a few days to soak up the journey.

Rainier is stunning. There’s something so incredible about driving through the trees thinking it’s nothing too special, only to get a wide-eyed view of Rainier for the very first time. The view is striking, the mountain sitting at a full two miles straight above everything else around it is insane. 

And to make things even better, we saw a TON of animals in the park—and we LOVE animals. With just three days there, it was definitely not enough. But now I undoubtedly need to photograph a wedding there. So who’s going to take me back?

Sunny Side Up: Anza Borrego and Borrego Springs

Sometimes I get so focused on the big travel plans—the national parks, the new states, the tropical countries—that I forget the best travel is the one you just do. So, when we had some downtime in February, we headed to the one place nearby with full sun and beautiful weather: Anza Borrego. 

Lucky for us, we arrived just in time for the superbloom. Lots of rain and early warm temps brought out lots of flowers: desert sand verbena, little gold poppy, and beavertail cactus blooms.

But there’s so much more to explore in California’s largest State Park, from slot canyons to tons of offroading, abandoned mines to ancient palm oases, metal sculptures and so much more.

Yes, Anza has a ton to offer travelers. And a big bonus for us—there’s a beautiful library! Perfect for the nomad community.

Snowdona: Seeing Sedona’s Red Rocks as a White Wonderland

There’s something beautiful about seeing places you love in every season. When I lived in Phoenix, I made sure to head to Sedona just in time to see the fall leaves and experience the full summer temps. But in four years, I always missed the snow. So when I saw snow in the forecast, I made sure to head straight to the epic red rocks of Arizona. 

Snowdona did not disappoint. Red rocks topped with fresh snow are a sight I’ll keep close to my heart. And it’s so fleeting, melting the second the sun comes out and turning the ground into a thick, rich clay. Our van Clyde was coated in it for months!

Death Valley: How I Adore DVNP

Oh come now Diana, haven’t you been here before? Yeah, this is an honorable mention—deal with it.

I first visited Death Valley in 2018—and it was like the world opened up. Death Valley is unique in a way that’s hard to find elsewhere, and I was completely enthralled. So why is it on the list for this year? Well, this year solidified my love for the park. 

Maybe that's because I got to go canyoneering there for the first time. Maybe that's because I got to spend one of my least favorite holidays (sorry, Christmas lovers) with a bunch of amazing dirtbags in the desert. Maybe that’s because I got to go to a workshop there where I saw the ways people fall in love with this park for the first time and see it from different angles. Maybe that’s because I was somehow surprised by the beauty of this park AGAIN during a hurricane creating Lake Manly again or the epic end-of-year wedding I had here.

Whatever the case may be, this park is a contender for my favorite place and that’s why it’s on the list.

Where will next year take me? That’s kind of up to you! Book your elopement or outdoor wedding with Love and Latitudes to photograph your romantic adventure!