The last couple of nights around the campfire we have been making lists of our favourite things about the trip, as well as some ‘non-favourite’ things. The list is for us more than anything, but if you like lists this post is for you too! Each list is in no particular order, and we all contributed.
Summary Stats:
127 nights: 88 of them spent in our tents, 93 in our sleeping bags (some cabins and yurts did not have beds!)
14 states and 5 provinces
~27 000 km driven
At least 317 km hiked
Favourite Campgrounds
Fruita (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Indian Garden (Grand Canyon National Park, AZ)
Lake Pleasant (near Phoenix, AZ)
Skidaway Island State Park (GA)
Needles Outpost (near the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park)
Agawa Bay (Lake Superior Provincial Park, ON)
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (ON)
Echo Lake Provincial Park (SK)
Favourite Non-camping Accommodations
Ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert (BC)
Earthship (NM)
Chelsea Station Inn (Seattle WA)
Treesort (OR)
Forest Gully Farm (TN)
Best Comfort Stations
Cloudland Canyon State Park, GA (saved us from freezing to death)
Galveston Island State Park, TX (nice, big, clean, and close)
Worst Comfort Stations
Palmetto State Park (TX)...small comfort station with lots of flies, just one sink, and lots of water on the floor
Bright Angel (Grand Canyon NP)...we had to flush with a bucket that we filled in a large plastic pool; it was heavy and not easy for the kids!
Chassahowitzka River Park in Florida...as Rick put it, ‘the port-a-potties are not for use in non-emergency OR emergency situations.’
States we would MOST like to go back to:
UT, AZ, WA, OR, CA, CO, GA
(And NV deserves another chance...Las Vegas isn’t a fair sample)
US Cities we would MOST like to go back to:
New Orleans, Seattle, Savannah, San Diego, San Antonio
Canadian Places we would like to return to:
In BC: Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and all of the stuff we missed!
The mountains in AB...we’d like to explore in more detail and visit other parks like Yoho. We also missed Edmonton this time around, so we’ll have to go back!
Lots more to see in SK, but we’d like to see more of the north in particular.
In Manitoba, we have way more to see in Winnipeg and would like to explore other parks.
In Ontario, we are already dying to go back to Lake Superior, and will stop in Thessalon for ice cream along the way. :)
Our least favourite animals:
Red squirrel, ticks, leeches, mosquitos, black flies, and anything else that buzzes
Our favourite animals:
Manatees, bison, sand dollars, alligators, crabs, burros, slugs, lizards, bunnies, bears, big horn sheep, and wild turkeys.
Things that sucked:
The tick
The leech
Firewood from Chassahowitzka campground
Packing up at Cloudland Canyon with freezing fingers
Lucy’s epic leg scrape at Miracle Beach Provincial Park (BC)
Sudden rain at Milo McIver
Doing dishes in icy water
Rick’s sleeping mat, which has not yet inflated, but which he says offers some additional insulation from the ground
Traffic and smog in California
Grape tomatoes, cereal, etc. spilling out into the food bin
The mosquito swarms at Purden Lake Provincial Park in BC
Not having a couch to sit on most of the time, or a back on any chair for that matter
Finding mouldy fruit
Discovering the tent zipper was left open
Best museums:
Royal Tyrell in Drumheller, AB
Kennedy Space Centre, FL
USS Midway Museum in San Diego, CA
Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, MB
The Museum of Western Development in Saskatoon, SK
Random list of things we loved...
The pink Buddha in Winnipeg
The epic BBQs at our USA campsites
Convenient covered picnic shelters, especially with power outlets
Good playgrounds, and especially good swings
The ice cream, beer and wine at the Chelsea Station Inn in Seattle
Free firewood (or included firewood) at campsites in SK and AB
Unexpected laundry facilities
Best treats
Beignets in New Orleans
Cookies from the family with the dog in UT
Rain or Shine Ice Cream in Vancouver
Ice cream after a hike in Cloudland Canyon
Persians from the Persian Man in Thunder Bay
Ice Cream treats at Shrug’s Soda Fountain in Seattle
Lemonade at the bottom of the Grand Canyon at Phantom Ranch
Chocolate from Babcia, which didn’t last long!
Watermelon from Deb
Fruit from the Knights
Root beer floats
Cinnamon rolls
Ice cream at the Little Rapids General Store in Thessalon
Hot chocolate on a cold morning!
Favourite Hikes
Second day in the Grand Canyon: Bright Angel trail from Bright Angel to Indian Garden (AZ)
Long hike to ... in Needles district of Canyonlands National Park (UT)
Hoh River Trail and Hall of Mosses in Olympic National Park (WA)
All of the hikes in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, especially Fern Canyon (CA)
Upper Yosemite Falls hike in Yosemite National Park (CA)
Hike to the Pesuta shipwreck on Haida Gwaii (BC)
Anhinga Trail in the Everglades (FL)
Getting close to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Books we shared as a family
See You In the Cosmos, Jack Chang (audiobook)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie (audiobook)
Al Capone Does My Shirts, Gennifer Choldenko (audiobook)
Al Capone Shines My Shoes, Gennifer Choldenko (read by Amy)
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart (all 3 books read by Lucy)
The Giver, Lois Lowry (audiobook)
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, E L Konigsburg (audiobook)
All Creatures Great and Small - James Herriot (audiobook)
...and podcasts too, especially Under the Influence, This is That, and Radiolab
Funny Moments
Nearly walking into a pot shop with the kids in CO, thinking it was the restaurant next door, and having a lady prevent us from doing so.
Accidentally letting the girls use ‘water enhancer’ that was not just flavourful but full of caffeine and NOT for children.
Helping Rick realize his dream of being an ‘elk whisperer.’
April Fools Day when Rick had us convinced for a moment that Doug Ford had stepped down.
Listening to Miriam (and sometimes Lucy) sleep-talking at night.
Having the girls perform their musical compositions, including ‘I’ve Got 3 Eyes’ and ‘I’m Not Cute’
Rick constantly losing his licence to build campfires, particularly the time when he put a whole broccoli stem in the fire, convinced that it would burn.
When a tired Rick said he was going to ‘put out the tree.’ He meant fire. He also said that ‘the raccoon seems to be checking out all of the websites.’ He meant campsites.
Interesting Characters
Yosemite neighbours who were blasting classical music, among other things (CA)
Service dog family at Doheny State Beach (CA)
Kayak lady on the ferry from Haida Gwaii to Prince Rupert (BC)
Valet at our hotel in New Orleans. (LA)
Friendly People
Sarah, with whom we hiked many km in the Grand Canyon
Brent, who is basically a retired version of Rick (Miracle Beach PP, BC)
Michelle and Charlie, who are raising wanderlusters. :)
Dan, Charlie, and Mitch - our rappelling and rafting guides in Moab UT
Aaron - our rock climbing guide in Phoenix AZ
Bobbi and her crew - horseback riding guides in Tucson AZ
Memorable Views
Our first peek at Yosemite Valley - Tunnel View (CA)
Galveston sunsets
View from the Jerome Grand Hotel
Amazing clouds in Banff
Agawa Bay, especially sunsets
Our first glimpse of the Canadian border
Sunsets in Sleeping Giant
Moraine lake in Banff
Everything in Utah
Favourite Drives
Icefields Parkway, AB
Interstate 70, CO
Banff to Drumheller, AB (amazing changes in scenery!)
Drive from Chatsworth through Ellijay to Talking Rock, GA
The Banff to Drumheller is a unique drive. I bet there is no other like it in the world! Now back to reading other campsites. I mean websites.
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