LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan If you've been following our blog here, first of all—thank you. Second of all, you've probably noticed that the longer we were on the road last year, the scanter our updates grew—until we finally stopped posting altogether in October.
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LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan Utah might just be my favorite state.
One could argue—and I do—that its parks rival the crown jewels of the National Park System, even Yosemite and Yellowstone. (Don’t come at me until you’ve read this whole story, okay?) Each one offers big adventure among unique geological features that, frankly, make my brain implode. They’re incredible to look at—but when I consider the natural forces that worked together seamlessly to form these vast canyons, stunning arches, and sandstone cathedrals? It’s mindboggling. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan We did a lot of planning before we hit the road. We mapped out our route. We selected our rig after extensive research into trucks and travel trailers. And we made sure we had enough savings to cover not only 18 months of life on the road but also several months of life after the road, when we’ll search for jobs and a new home (without wheels).
Despite all that, there was something we didn’t plan for: Congress’s inability to negotiate a spending bill that would keep the U.S. government open. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan Holt was lookin' good over the holidays. Despite our lack of updates, we are not, in fact, still stuck in Idaho with frozen water gear.
LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan On our first morning in Stanley, Idaho, I rolled out of bed to do the first I do every morning, traveling or not: I went to the bathroom to pee.
The peeing part went fine, thank you for asking. But when I turned on the sink to wash my hands, nothing happened. No water came through. I couldn't even hear it running through the pipes. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan We had lots of reasons for setting out on The Big Trip. Yes, we wanted to see the country, but our insatiable wanderlust wasn't the only thing urging us to quit our jobs and hit the road.
This trip isn't just about living in the moment. It's also about figuring out our future. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan On our sixth day in Canada, we set out for the southernmost tip of Jasper National Park to see one of its biggest attractions: Athabasca Glacier.
Athabasca is a 2.5-square-mile “toe” extending from Canada’s Columbia Icefield, the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains. If you’ve been lucky enough to see a glacier—or, better yet, walk on one—you know it can be a transformative experience. I’ll never forget the glacier calving we witnessed in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park in 2021; I can still hear the ice crashing into the ocean, the thunder of it rattling my bones. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan If you visited our Big Trip page, you probably came away with one thought: Wow, you're planning to do a lot. Maybe too much.
And, if you're a particular Reddit user, you came away with one other thought: Sounds fun in theory but lol y'all gettin divorced. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan Our first visit to Yellowstone happened in September 2017. We were 25, living in a shabby apartment in Long Beach, and hadn't seen much of the world beyond our home state of California. We were also dating at the time, although by the end of our visit, we would be engaged.
We loved Yellowstone. The geysers, the hot springs, the canyon, the bison—our time here felt all too short. When we finally had to leave, we didn't know when we'd get to visit again. If we ever would. LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan You can roll your eyes, but I’ll say it anyway: I’m an introvert. And a pretty extreme one at that.
Starting new friendships has never been easy for me. Hell, talking to a stranger can make my spine go rigid. I can’t count how many times someone’s tried to spark conversation with me in line at the grocery store, and I babbled something bordering on gibberish while looking for an escape. |
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