In March we were not sure about a 2020 trip. With the COVID pandemic and stay at home recommendations and then the protesting, we wavered about where to go and even traveling at all. The original 2020 plan was to go to Alaska to check off our 49th state. That was scratched early on since we could not get through Canada. In the end, a road trip was just what we needed. After being home for the equivalent of a long summer vacation, it was time to venture out. It was wonderful to explore some new places and visit a few of our favorites. Some were just as we remembered and others were unrecognizable given the development over the 5 years since we had been through. As we meandered we realized that we have now thoroughly explored the Western mountain regions. We knew it was time to come home no one had any place else that screamed: "visit now".
As always, we are grateful for the people we met along the way who shared their favorite restaurants, ice cream spots, and information about the places we were visiting, but they call home. Unlike other trips, we deliberately did not visit friends even when we were close by. During these strange times, we chose to keep our traveler germs to ourselves and not put anyone in the awkward situation of feeling obliged to open their home to us. It definitely changed the tone of the trip and we hope we can visit sometime soon!
On the last stretch of road before home, we played our usual game of trip trivia (with M&M prizes). Throughout the conversation, we reflected on the trip highlights- McCall, kayaking on the lake, Swimming in Thermopolis, biking and hiking in Zion (specifically the Narrows), the bears, the ice cream and other food adventures! We loved exploring so many of the roads that are fantastic on a motorcycle even though we were in the car. Ali is, without a doubt, Jim's girl. She can't wait to trade vehicles and go back to experience the curves!
While we love to travel, it's nice to be home. The girls love rasing their rabbits for 4-H and we are eternally grateful to the Bruegger family for taking care of the 6-pack while we were away. It's strange to be looking ahead to so many weeks of summer and time at home. With that, we are already planning a few weekend adventures to add some exploration to the coming months. Until then...
PS For those of you who have been following our game of license plate bingo, we came up 2 states short. Unfortunately, we did not see plates from Rhode Island or New Hampshire. A strange outcome in strange times!
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