Hey there, I’m Megan!

I’m so glad you found my blog.

I’m a 29-year-old former engineer from Indiana with a passion for US National Parks, hiking, and experiencing new places (usually on a road trip). My goal is to visit all 63 National Parks in the US.

Like most of you, my husband and I have regular jobs, and we don’t have plans to sell our home and backpack across the world full-time (I love having a place to call home and seeing the world!).

Having a regular 9-5 doesn’t have to limit your passion for adventure! Using your time off wisely, budgeting appropriately, and making travel a priority in your schedule will give you the freedom to see this beautiful country while also maintaining stability. Being financially responsible and traveling frequently do not have to be mutually exclusive!

On my blog, you will find attainable outdoor travel itineraries to US National Parks and beyond, hiking guides, and awesome road trip ideas that fit into your allotted PTO. I recognize how difficult it can be to fit travel into our busy schedules and tight budgets, so it is my mission to make your trip planning process as easy as possible.

I bring you the guides, itineraries, and information I wish we had for our trips!

Everything on this blog is written from personal experience. I don’t use AI to write any of my content, all of the photos here are my own, and I don’t write about places I haven’t visited.

I am extremely type-A and love bringing you well thought out itineraries that you can fit in your budget and allotted paid time off. For me researching a trip is almost as fun as actually going on the trip!

I recognize the time and financial investment traveling is, so I want to help you make the most out of every trip you take! I believe that a thoughtful, well-planned itinerary will make your trips worth the investment.

Browse some of our most recent trips here:

• 2023: Lassen Volcanic & Redwood National Parks, Point Reyes National Seashore
• 2023: Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks
• 2022: New River Gorge National Park + West Virginia Road Trip

More about me…

I didn’t grow up traveling very often. Every summer my family would make the stereotypical Midwestern vacation to Florida, Michigan, or Gatlinburg (no shade to those places, I was just dying to go out west!).

My first ever flight was my senior year of high school!

It wasn’t until my junior year of college when I had the opportunity to study abroad in Shanghai, China for a semester that my real passion for travel began. 

I traveled all over China with people from my study abroad program and it was truly a life-changing experience. When I came home, I promised myself that I would continue traveling and broadening my horizons.

I also fell in love with hiking. There is nothing more rewarding than a good hike to an incredible viewpoint that you would have missed without the trek.

2 years later, I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree (hence the name “Engineer to Explore”), started my first job, and realized that I had $56,000 of student loan debt. I realized that this debt was only going to prevent me from traveling more, buying a home, and starting a family, so I prioritized paying it off really quickly.

I had to learn how to balance having fun, saving for the future, and paying off my loans so that I would have more freedom and flexibility to travel in the future.

While I was enjoying my first job, I often spent slow afternoons at work daydreaming about amazing places to go see. Even though I imagined quitting my job to travel the world, I also realized that it wasn’t a sustainable long-term plan (I had to make money to pay off my student loans, eat, and house myself).

My first job taught me how to budget my salary and 10 vacation days to maximize my adventures outside of work so that I could travel frequently and make progress toward my financial goals.

During the first year at my corporate job, I was able to explore places like New York City, the Upper Peninsula and west coast of Michigan, Denver, and the Outer Banks in North Carolina. These experiences helped me get better at trip planning and taught me that I really loved exploring the outdoors and US National Parks.

While I knew that traveling and hiking were already huge passions of mine, I also found a passion for personal finance soon after graduating as well. I started wondering if I wanted to be an engineer for the rest of my career, or if there was a way to pivot into something I was more passionate about with more flexibility.

In 2024, I finally decided to take the leap into financial planning and leave the corporate engineering world behind. I now work as a financial planner at a small, fee-only financial planning practice in my hometown and I’ve never been happier!

As my husband and I started traveling more after buying our first home and getting settled, a lot of our friends and family starting asking me for advice on planning their own trips after hearing about ours. I absolutely love helping people plan trips (which typically involves sending them a highly detailed email accompanied by a spreadsheet itinerary). I realized that my logical, detail-oriented skillset translated well into trip planning.

Engineer to Explore was born in the summer of 2023 after my husband and I returned from a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I realized I could help a lot more people plan epic National Park trips with a searchable internet presence and I really enjoy having a creative outlet to share our travel itineraries, photos, and tips.

As a full-time engineer-turned-financial-planner, I know the time, effort, and money it takes to plan a trip while working full-time. My goal is to make that part easier for you so your travels are worth the investment.

Fun Facts About Me

• I am quite type-A and love planning thorough, detailed itineraries. If you’re looking to maximize your trips, you’re in the right place!
• My husband and I got married in May of 2021 and we spent our honeymoon at Capitol Reef National Park. This park will always be special to us!
• My favorite state we’ve visited is Utah, but Wyoming is a close second. We’ve been twice and I already can’t wait to go back!
• My husband and I love doing DIY house projects in our free time. We’ve renovated our entire kitchen, redid all of our floors, opened up a wall in our home, and have a few more projects left to tackle!
• My guilty pleasure is reality TV. I love a good season of the Bachelor, Love is Blind, and 90 Day Fiance.
• I think the most underrated National Park is Lassen Volcanic in northern California.
• I have never had a car payment. Driving older, used cars paid for in cash is one of the things we sacrifice in order to afford to travel more often. Every dollar spent in one area is a dollar that you can’t spend elsewhere (like on travel).

I hope my blog helps you plan epic, fulfilling trips to US National Parks and beyond! Feel free to browse my National Parks guide, read my latest blog posts, or drop me a note on my contact page!

-Megan