Living in the Natural State

We basically went from winter straight into summer here in southern Arkansas. Well - with a few tornados in between... Right now I'm sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine, upper 80s and (as of now) a nice breeze and low humidity. This will change soon though. Summertime is super hot and muggy round here. I really enjoy the long sunny seasons though! As long as you have a bottle of water in your backpacks, you are good to go to enjoy everything the Natural State has to offer.



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Speaking of backpacks - have you ever shopped at Backpacks.com? If not, you should give them a try. They have the right backpack for all walks of life, a curated selection of backpacks to carry with you on your journey through life. You will find a coupon code at the bottom of this post, so make sure to use it when shopping on there to save some bucks.
My boyfriend and I are very outdoorsy. We remodeled a 1977 10ft Scamp camper last year, so we go on road trips, camping, hiking, and fishing trips a lot. There is so much to see round here, and camping at the beautiful state parks is very affordable and fun.

I think up until the day I met him, I never appreciated Arkansas. He grew up in the boy scouts, so he knows a thing or two about the state, camping, fire making, fishing and hunting, and I'm pretty sure his survival skills will come in handy one day, too! I spent most of my weekends and days off in Texas and Louisiana. But he showed me the beauty of this state! From waterfall hunting and rock climbing up north, kayaking on the Buffalo National River, hiking in central Arkansas (like on Pinnacle Mountain), to fishing in a swamp-like landscapes down south - Arkansas has something for every outdoor lover. You can even find diamonds! Find out more about Digging for Diamonds in Arkansas here.

Spirit Mountain Falls

When you are out and about a lot, you need something dependable to carry around your stuff like water, books/maps, sunscreen, mosquito and tick repellent (very important!), a little first aid kit... Since we don't do hikes longer than one day (yet), I wanted just a small backpack that fits my needs, yet looks cute. I already had a grey one, so when Backpacks.com asked me to pick out a backpack, I knew I wanted another Fjällräven Kånken. Did you know that these backpacks are around since 1978? There are multiple great documentaries on YouTube about the Fjällräven brand, too. You should check them out!

"With the Swedish mantra in mind, “Straight backs are happy backs,” Fjällräven created the first Kånken in 1978 to spare the backs of school children, as back problems had begun to appear in increasingly younger age groups. 

Simple, stylish and functional, the Kånken backpack soon became a common sight in schools around the country, quickly spreading to cities around the world as an iconic (yet highly functional) Swedish export. 

Made out of durable, lightweight Vinylon F, the Kånken has a large main compartment with a large opening, two side pockets, a zippered pocket in the front, handle at the top, narrow, supple shoulder straps, a sitting pad in the pocket and logo that doubles as a reflector."

Besides my love for plain and simple Scandinavian design when it comes to my home AND wardrobe, in my opinion the Kånken is the perfect companion, if it's for school, travel, work, or outdoor adventures. Backpacks.com offers a huge variety of backpack brands though: Jansport, The North Face, Dakine, Herschel... you name it, they have it! Check out their website below (click on the picture to get a coupon, too!), and if you shop, don't forget to use my referral code "GRAPEFRUITPRINCESS" :

What state do you live in? Are you outdoorsy? Let me know about your home state in the comments, and we might put it on our schedule for the next road trip!