Should've Been a Cowgirl Road Trip 2022 Stats
If you follow me on Instagram (@the_everydayadventurers) then a couple weeks
ago you may have noticed that this Dorothy wasn't in Kansas anymore. Instead I
was on my annual solo road trip with this year's destination being Montana to
visit one of my besties, the amazing Kristin, who is working as a park ranger in
Glacier National Park. In this article I am giving y'all a quick overview of my trip
with some trip stats and pics (don't worry….more in depth articles are
coming soon!). I hope you enjoy!
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Days Gone: 11
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This year's road trip was the shortest one I have had in awhile
coming in at only 11 days on the road. I definitely could have
easily stayed gone for another 11!
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Miles Driven: 3,232
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This number isn't including the drive to and fro Canada
(with that included I would say it is definitely much closer if not more than 4000), but
I will admit I'm really not surprised by the number. It
felt like all I did was drive on this trip. lol
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States Visited: 4 (NEBRASKA, COLORADO, WYOMING, AND MONTANA)
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No new-to-me states were visited on this trip, but I had no
issues returning to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
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*Fun fact* One of the items on my bucket list is to take a picture
with every state sign which I am finding is harder than I anticipated
due to locations of the signs (or lack thereof lol) but I am determined to try my best!
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Countries Visited: 2 (USA and CANADA)
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Before leaving on this road trip Kristin and I discussed taking a trip into Canada
to see a park that has been on both of our travel bucket lists for quite some
time so I made sure to finally get my passport before leaving. By some
traveling God miracle we were able to make the Canada trip work and I
was able to take my first (of hopefully many) steps outside of the US.
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National Parks Visited: 3 (GLACIER, KOOTENAY, AND BANFF)
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If I don't visit a national park on vacation I feel like a failure and this trip
I managed to make it to three! Two of which were in another country!
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Miles Hiked: 20.46
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Compared to past vacations this number is a little on the small side, but
imma let it slide cause the hikes on this trip, while shorter, usually
had quite the elevation gain.
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Trail of the Cedars, Glacier National Park
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Monument Hill via the Spirit Trail, Hot Springs State Park
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Manitou Incline, Manitou Springs, Colorado
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Wildlife Seen: 12
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I am ALWAYS down to see some wildlife while out exploring, from a safe
distance of course. On this trip I pretty much hit the wildlife lottery seeing
a moose, bears (yes plural and we even almost hiked right into one!), mountain
goats, bighorn sheep, marmots, a peregrine falcon, a golden eagle, bison,
chipmunks, squirrels, deer, and loons!
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Moose - Redrock Lake in Glacier NP
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Black Bear (we think lol) - Glacier NP
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Mountain goats (with baby!! so cute!!) - Glacier NP
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Golden Eagle - Buffalo Bill Center of the West Cody, Wyoming (pretty sure this bird could eat me...)
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Buffalo (with babies) - Hot Springs State Park
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Loons - Lake Josephine Glacier NP
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Highest Elevation: 7,005 ft
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The air definitely was feeling a bit thin up here and the steep hike up
to the Lake Agnes Tea House wasn't making breathing any easier for
this used-to-flat-land Kansas girl, but I have to say the views were worth it.
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Lakes Visited: 12
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Mountains aren't the only thing in abundance in this part of the world!
While on this trip I spent a good chunk of time listening to the slap of
waves on beautiful colorful rocky shorelines at the 12 lakes pictured below.
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Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park
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Avalanche Lake, Glacier National Park
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Whitefish Lake, Whitefish, Montana
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Lake Josephine - Glacier National Park
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Grinnell Lake, Glacier National Park (that water was FREEZING)
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Redrock Lake, Glacier National Park
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Fishercap Lake, Glacier National Park
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Lake Louise, Banff National Park
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Mirror Lake, Banff National Park
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Lake Agnes, Banff National Park
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Peyto Lake, Banff National Park
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Moraine Lake, Banff National Park
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Bucket List Items Crossed Off: 3
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I don't think you are ever too young to start crossing things off the
bucket list and I am so excited to announce that on this trip I was able
to cross off 3 items including "go kayaking," "visit Glacier National Park," and
"visit Banff National Park."
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Whitefish, Montana
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Moraine Lake, Banff National Park
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Trail of the Cedars, Glacier National Park
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Cowboys Seen: NOT ENOUGH
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The title of this road trip was at one time "Cowboy Take Me Away" in the
hopes I would find myself a cowboy to ride off into the sunset with, buuuut then
I swore off men and that goal was removed and the name changed. BUT
that doesn't mean I wasn't still hoping to look! Lol Unfortunately, the only
place I really saw any cowboys was in Cody, Wyoming and even then
there weren't many. *sigh* My disappointment is unmatched. Lol
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So there is my 2022 road trip in a nutshell. This trip came at a very good time as
I definitely needed to get away for a bit and I
am so glad I got to spend so many days with Kristin this time around! I definitely
did NOT want to leave her or come back home to real life. *sigh* I hate being an adult
that needs to work in order to pay for these vacations. lol As I mentioned more in
depth articles and pictures are coming soon so be on the lookout
for those! Hope you are having a wonderful summer full of adventures!
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