These early adventures are the basis for my great love

These early adventures are the basis for my great love,

Travel

Travel is one of my greatest passions. It is one of only a handful of things I have done in my life I feel is worth talking about. This great love I have didn’t come overnight. My grandparents, Omie and Opie, lived in northern and central Wisconsin most of my childhood. In addition, my mother’s family owns a “hunting and fishing” cabin between Minocqua and Tomahawk on a private lake. Trips to see Omie and Opie at their various lake houses and visits to my family cabin on Swamp Lake were always filled with memorable times and great life lessons. Furthermore, my mom had good friends that lived in Driggs, Idaho, nestled up against the Grand Teton mountain range and most of my dad’s family lived throughout California. From my fifth birthday until I was in high school, I believe I made at least six cross country trips towards California. Because I am proud of where I am from, you will never hear me discount travel through the incredible state that is Wisconsin, but my adventures to northern California were the basis for one of the greatest loves of my life.   

My trips out west revealed many places that will always be amongst my favorites, and were really the beginning of this great love affair. Mount Rushmore and Deadwood, South Dakota, were my two favorite stops east of the Rocky Mountains. Don’t get me wrong, the Black Hills of western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming are wonderful but there is nothing quite like the raw natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains. The Big Horn Mountains were the first of many summits driving west on interstate 90 bound for California.

Two must-stops in every lifetime of travel: Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. I simply do not have the capacity to describe the way these tremendous national parks make me feel. The variety of wildlife, large bodies of water, countless mountain ranges and other natural wonders make these places truly breathtaking! Video footage and pictures will never do justice to a three-hundred and sixty degree view of Yellowstone Lake, watching Old Faithful erupt boiling water 130 feet in the air or any other of the countless wonders located here.

Because I made this journey west a number of times, my family would take different routes.  Deadwood, South Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park were really the only constants, although Jackson, Wyoming, was an easy stop since it was so close to the southern exit of Yellowstone. We went as far south as the Grand Canyon and as far north as Billings, Montana. Crossing the state line into California was a moment I remember celebrating in the car with my family. Because we were usually heading out to see my grandparents who lived in Grizzly Flats, we typically stayed north. It was sort of like a “we finally arrived” moment. I remember the heavy smell of the pine in the California north woods, a smell I still associate with my childhood family vacations now, as an adult. We usually stayed close to my grandparents’ property visiting Lake Tahoe or Sacramento but occasionally we would poke around central and northern California.

I will never forget the first time I saw the Pacific Ocean. I think that sealed the deal for me. Growing up in Wisconsin, the largest bodies of water I spent time at were lakes and rivers that you could easily see across. I realize Lake Michigan was close but my family usually didn’t spend a lot of time in eastern Wisconsin, except trips to Green Bay. And when I saw that ocean….I knew that I wanted to see more - as much as I could. I looked out, as far as I could see, where the ocean meets the horizon and wondered what was out there. I still get that feeling today. It sort of represents the future for me. Someone I’ve never met is doing something I’ve never done in a place I’ve never been. As long as that exists, I’ll never stop traveling.

Whether I’m entranced by a mountain range or staring at the horizon of an open sea, this is defiantly more than just a hobby. The more I travel, the more I realize that I have yet to unveil all the fruits that this great love of mine has to offer. You can start at anytime, anywhere. Just leave your house and go somewhere, no planning needed. Sometimes the “no plan” plan is the best way to go anyway. The goal of this blog is to tell my stories, help educate others on their future travels and, of course, meet new people who are on their own journeys. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving.