I’m only in Idaho for a couple more days, and I can’t leave without talking about Coeur d’Alene. It’s a native tribe. A river. A lake. A scenic byway. A resort. And a city. Over the past month I’ve driven the 25 minutes to Coeur d’Alene several times, and I was giddy every time. What an amazing area of the country.
I’m enjoying my month in the Silver Valley of the Idaho Panhandle, nestled in the northwest Rockies between the Montana border and Lookout Pass on the east, and the Coeur d’Alene River and Fourth of July Pass on the west. The mountains in this valley are densely covered with many types of evergreens, and it’s truly breathtaking.
I arrived safe and sound in Kellogg, Idaho on Monday afternoon. I was exhausted after three days of driving about 8 hours a day. This week I’ve been catching up on sleep, client work, and I’ve managed to catch a cold. After several weeks of going 100 MPH, I think my body—and immune system—decided it’s best to lay low for a bit! I’ll start exploring this area of Idaho soon, but first a recap of my journey west.
Read More from From Saint Paul, Minnesota to Kellogg, Idaho on one road
I’m in Minnesota for the rest of the month, after spending last week in Colorado. I know, I know. I need to explore places other than Colorado! I promise new and exciting adventures are on the horizon. But first, a recap of another amazing vacation in my favorite state (so far!)
Pontoon picnics and common loons. Floating on a tube in the lake without a care in the world. Amaro on the rocks and laughs with great friends. Gourmet food cooked by others. These are a few of my favorite things about summer in Minnesota.
It’s been two weeks since I returned to Minnesota after spending a month in Colorado. And I have a confession: it was a trial month for my big “year of traveling around the country.” I already had things scheduled in Minnesota during June and July. This trial month was a huge success, and I know I’ll be continuing my cross-country adventures soon.
Read More from Reflections on a month in Grand Lake, Colorado
I’m back in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (More on my next adventures soon.) On my second day traveling back from Colorado, I decided to turn it into a fun day of exploring U.S. history—specifically the state capitols of Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. It was a great experience that I highly recommend!
Trail Ridge Road, known as the “highway to the sky,” fully opened on Friday morning. My stressful hike around Monarch Lake on Thursday was apparently just the appetizer for the insanity that is driving to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park. I can confidently say it was the scariest drive of my life.
This has been a month of firsts for me, and I finally checked off another big one: my first solo hike in the mountains. Little did I know the 4-mile hike would be as stressful as it was. I seriously thought I was going to get mauled by a bear or trampled by moose. And it’s all because I don’t know sh!t.
Much of Colorado experienced my favorite kind of snowstorm this Friday and Saturday: heavy, wet snow that sticks to the trees and melts within a day or two. It snowed 11 inches here in Grand Lake and just 24 hours later there was only a trace of snow remaining.