Best of the 2020 Pandemic Road Trip

We really weren’t sure if taking a long road trip during the pandemic was a good idea. We reasoned we could be careful… wear our masks and social distance. We’d avoid crowds of people as much as possible. We’d be in the great outdoors for much of the time… biking, hiking and camping. We were pandemic-weary like most folks and needed a break from the tedium of being home. After all, we’re nomads at heart and we need to be on the move.

Well, I can safely say after 9,094 miles on the road since mid-June, the 2020 Pandemic Road Trip was a raging success. We’re back in Las Vegas… renewed, re-energized and already looking forward to another chance to hit to road.

Here are the top 8 things we enjoyed most about the road trip.

1. Rediscovering the pleasure of bicycling. Most of us rode bikes as kids. It was our major form of transportation before we got our driving licenses. We biked as a family when the kids were growing up and we sometimes had bikes in marinas when we lived on Nine of Cups. But it’s been decades since we rode bikes for the sheer pleasure of riding and we’ve found that we enjoy it immensely.

The 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes was definitely a highlight of our road trip.

2. Riding the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes was definitely one of the big highlights of the trip. Re-learning how to ride bikes was a small challenge, but once we got the hang of it again, it’s been wonderful. Riding this Idaho trail was not originally anticipated, but when the opportunity presented itself, we were all in. This trail was the first of many longer rail-trails that we hope to ride in the future. We had a taste of the GART (Great American Rail-Trail) in Wyoming, but this 73-mile trail, ridden in both directions (146+ miles total), gave us a satisfying feeling of accomplishment and it’s whet our appetites to do more.

Spokane was awesome!

3. Two Days in Spokane was just the right combination of elegance, fun, exploration, romance and splurge. Spokane is a decidedly lovely city with lots to offer in the way of culture and outdoor activities. What better way to celebrate 35 years of being together?

We cherish our couple time.

4. Couple Time. We share a house with David’s brother and sister, amusingly referred to as the ‘Experiment in Sibling-ship’. For the most part, this is a workable, amenable living arrangement, but there are times when we yearn for just being together alone and road trips are the perfect chance to give us and our sibs a break from the usual.

Spending time with Brad, Catrina and Danielle and their newly acquired ‘skoolie’, Berta

5. Visiting with Family. From our initial family mini-reunion with our nephews and nieces in Trinidad, Colorado to our visit with son, Brad, and his family at the Flat Rocks Campground, we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the younger generation(s). Camping together is a whole different animal than just visiting for a few hours. We prepared and ate meals together, spent lots of time chatting and laughing and catching up and learning new things about each other.

6. Jarbidge. Yup, we learned the answer to the age-old question ‘What the hell’s a Jarbidge?’ What a delightful, isolated, quaint, cool little mining town Jarbidge is. Hospitable people, lovely setting and distinctly unique, Jarbidge is a place we’d like to visit again.

One of the most beautiful campgrounds we’ve ever visited… Sitting Bull CG in Bighorn NF, Wyoming

7. Sitting Bull Campground. Of all the campgrounds we visited in all the national forests, Sitting Bull Campground is still the one that stands out as the best of the best. Perhaps, it was the time of year and all the wildflowers and wildlife or our particular campsite or the weather or our frame of mind when we visited, but this was such a lovely, peaceful, beautiful place.

8. New Territory Explored. Every time we leave on a road trip, we have some idea of our itinerary, but it’s never set in stone. We wander off on tangents, take detours on a whim and go where the road leads us. Colorado was old territory re-explored and we’d spent time in Wyoming in the past. We did make it to Glacier National Park in Montana for the first time and though beautiful, the breadth of closures within the park due to the pandemic definitely put a damper on the visit.

The big surprise was Idaho! We’d never really spent much time in Idaho. Oh, we’d passed through before and visited the Potato Museum and a couple of tourist spots and national monuments, but never really seriously explored. The Panhandle especially was lush and beautiful (no significant wildfires when we were there), rugged and wild and we loved being there.

And though we’ve lived on and off for the past five years in Nevada, we’re always learning more about this state. Jarbidge was definitely not your typical Nevada town. In fact, nothing about the town or the area is like anything else in Nevada. We keep discovering more things about our adopted state and with each new discovery, we like it more and more.

9. Camping with Blue. There’s a certain thrill in finding a new campsite in a new campground in a new forest. Setting up camp a little differently each time to accommodate the differences in each campground. Exploring the trails and paths and sussing out the unique aspect of each place… because there’s always something unique. Being outside, seeing critters scurry to and fro, watching birds, appreciating the smells and sounds of the ‘great outdoors’ (not the generator sounds, mind you!), cooking on a campfire and then warming ourselves near the embers as the sun sets and the evening cools down. Sunrises, sunsets, starry skies and full moons. It’s a grand way to live and travel and be immersed in nature.

It wasn’t perfect everyday. We had some hail and some wind and some rain along the way. Marcie learned the hard way that altitude is not her friend. Many parks and attractions we would have enjoyed were closed due to the pandemic. Blue was in the hospital for a few days. Some of the campgrounds were less than pleasant. A few people were less than pleasant. What we remember mostly though is how wonderful the trip was, all the things we saw and did and experienced.

There you have it… the best of our 2-1/2 month road trip in a nutshell. These are the highlights we enjoyed the most. If you traveled with us, what parts appealed to you the most?

So, one road trip down and another in the planning stages. When? We think we’ll be off again in mid-October. How long? You never know. Where? Now that’s the real question, isn’t it? We’re thinking back East somewhere. We’re hoping to firm things up before we actually leave, but then you know how plans are.