Farewell Tour, Part 1

We love road trips. As a child, Mom’s family would take the “long way home” after visiting family in northern Montana. As a 20-something, Mom introduced her British Bestie to the U.S. by driving 3,000 miles through ten Western states. As young parents, Dad and Mom drove a Class A motorhome with an SUV on a flatbed trailer in tow to optimize the comfort of a trip to Banff with a colicky 2 month old. In May 2020, Mom leapt at Dad’s suggestion to buy a truck camper so that we could continue our road-tripping lifestyle while maintaining COVID-level isolation.

This camper deserves its own Substack account to tell its stories. It was our home for two weeks while we visited all of Utah’s National Parks. With a new puppy, we explored the National Parks of California, met up with Grandma in Death Valley, and drove north along the Eastern Sierra back home. It has been our “get out of Dodge” pod when we need a few nights in the wilderness to unplug and stargaze. Most importantly, it served as our personal ski hut for five seasons, offering warm beds and hot chocolate in random snow park lots so we could maximize time on the slopes. Thanks to the ol’ Arctic Fox, our boys can now out-ski Mom on any terrain.

But we digress. The point is that, accordingly, our final summer in America has consisted of some epic road trips. We visited our favorite haunts and explored some new ones, bidding farewell to the great Western U.S. in our standard fashion. Though there was plenty of screen time while driving, we also:

• splashed in rivers

• kayaked in Lake Chelan

• rode horses in Stehekin

• pedaled 18 miles through the woods

• swam in Lake Pend Oreille

• jet skied on Whitefish Lake

• reunited with three generations of family

• drank huckleberry margaritas

• photographed moose, mountain goats, and grizzlies

• hiked in Glacier National Park¹

• soaked in natural hot springs

• made s’mores

After a brief return home to earn some money and sell more toys, we then embarked on another journey (albeit less driving, more recreating.) Our dear friends, whom Mom has known for nearly 30 years and Dad for 25, joined us at Wallowa Lake for a week of boating, swimming, puzzling, fishing, tubing, paddling, hiking, and eating. It was our final week with The Big Red Boat, a monstrosity of a wakeboarding boat that can seat more than a small pontoon boat can and is therefore THE BEST for sharing with friends.

Wallowa Lake Highlights

That was another toy that hurt our hearts to sell today. Little Brother and Mom may have shed a tear or two…

Next up, we’re going to see if we can make a video to share our photo highlights from the summer. Cross your fingers, and don’t hold your breath.

1. Mom asserts that the best place in the world can be located east of the Continental Divide just south of the 49th parallel.