A 2024 Travel Recap

Teddy and I started doing a travel recap of the year in 2021 and have continued it through 2022 and 2023. The questions are pretty similar each year, but change a bit depending on what type of travel we did for the year.

This year we took two road trips, one to Colorado to visit a state we had both been to separately but never together. We visited all the national parks in the state while we were there and a few local parks. Then in the fall, we took a trip out to California and combined visiting some additional national parks with a PSU football game against USC. We did a few camping trips this year, most of them being within the state, and then Teddy did two hunting trips to Kansas and I did a two longer weekend trips with friends and a solo glamping trip. We also prioritized exploring more locally this year and we did some scouting trips where we visit towns within about two hours of us and make it a day trip.

Overall, we got to explore some incredible places this year together and you’ll find some of our favorites of the year below!

Top Experience from the Year

• Teddy – Getting a buck on the hunting trip in Kansas.
• Steph –

Top 2 Overnight Stays

Teddy

• Hotel Palomino in Ridgeway, Colorado
• Airbnb Cabin in Topanga, CA

Steph

• Stonebrook on Fall River near Rocky Mountain National Park (Hot tub right by the river!)
• Hotel Palomino in Ridgeway, Colorado

Favorite National Park

• Teddy – Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.
• Steph – If I’m picking a National Park, I’d say Rocky Mountain but if I also loved Colorado National Monument. I found it so surprising. It reminded me a lot of Utah.

Favorite Hike

• Teddy – Cub Lake Loop in Rocky Mountain National Park
• Steph – Scout’s Landing in Zion National Park, Utah and Cub Lake Loop in Rocky Mountain are a tie for me.

Favorite Run

• We took one morning on our California trip and did a run on both a dirt trail and a paved trail through Yosemite Valley. It was so peaceful with the most breathtaking views, and not many people were out. A sure highlight of the year when it comes to running.

Favorite State Park Inside PA

• Teddy – Ridley Creek State Park. There is a historical site there with tours of an old home as well as the farm. One of the volunteers took us on the tour of the home where we learned so much and then we spoke to another volunteer who told us all about the farm animals.
• Steph – Colonel Denning State Park. We visited on the 1st of the year for a First Day Hike and it had just snowed and was beautiful. Felt like I was in Narnia.

Favorite State Park Outside of PA

• Teddy – Ridgeway State Park in Colorado near the Ouray area.
• Steph – I found Ridgeway State Park in Colorado beyond peaceful. We did a walk there and it felt like one of those thin places. The other one that really stands out is Kodachrome Basin in Utah. It was also incredibly scenic and peaceful.

Favorite Camping Weekend

• We both said Hershey Road for this one. Their campground is well taken care of, the sites are big, they have a beautiful pool and we cook every meal on the flat top. It’s just a beautifully relaxing time.

Favorite Scouting Trip

• We both also agreed on this one. We did a scouting trip where we visited York County and rode the Northern Central Railway, got crabs at Captain Bobs, and visited a coffee shop and local orchard.

Best Wildlife

• Teddy – We saw a bear cross the road right in front of us in Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It was incredible.
• Steph – Agree with Teddy on the bear, but I also love the two moose we saw along the Cub Lake Trail in Colorado

Favorite View

• Teddy – Sunset at Glacier Point with a view of half dome.
• Steph – The view down into Ouray on the Ouray Perimeter Trail. We only did a few miles on this one but it had incredible views of the town.

Favorite Scenic Drive

• Teddy – Million Dollar Highway in Colorado
• Steph – Driving from Estes Park to Loveland. Teddy did a fishing trip out there so I drove him out and picked him up later and having a coffee, listening to a favorite audiobook, and taking in the scenery just put this over the top for me.

Favorite Meals

• Teddy – Steak at C.O. Ranch House in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
• Steph – My favorite drink of the year was the Vanilla Latte in Ouray, Colorado at Kami’s Samis. For dinner, I loved Native in Honesdale, PA where I still dream of their bread and butter.

Favorite Sunrise or Sunset

• Teddy – Sunset from the hunting blind in Kansas
• Steph – Sunrise in freezing Bryce Canyon. There’s just not another sunrise like it.

Historial Site

• Teddy – The Cliff Dwelling Tour at Mesa Verde National Park
• Steph – The tour of the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour in Silverton, Colorado

Favorite Town

• We both absolutely loved Ouray, Colorado. We stayed there at the Palomino Hotel (another favorite) for 3 nights and could have stayed even longer.

Biggest Disappointment

• We both said King’s Canyon National Park for this one. While the General Grant Tree was impressive, there’s not much to easily do in the park. It was still enjoyable for what it was, and looking back we probably should have gone to Boyden Cavern, but it just wasn’t what we expected.

Most Overhyped Places

• Teddy – Los Angeles.
• Steph – I knew Los Angeles wouldn’t be for me at all so I didn’t expect it to be enjoyable. I thought Yosemite was overhyped. Hear me out. It’s not that Yosemite isn’t beautiful, but so many people say it’s their favorite National Park, and there’s just so many others I would rather visit. So this one to me is overhyped, but still worth visiting.

Most Surprising

• Teddy – Great Sand Dunes National Park – The scenery and magnitude was beyond expectation.
• Steph – I found this question hard so I’m going to share a few. 1) The majesty of the trees in Sequoia just blew me away. 2) Colorado National Monument is one I hadn’t done much research on so it just blew me away and I felt like. I was in Utah again 3) I had visited Mesa Verde before but hadn’t been able to do a tour, so being able to see the cliff dwellings up close was just so meaningful 4) Cub Lake Loop in RMNP. There were very limited hikes we could. doin the park because it was still covered in snow, and this one exceeded any expectations I had

The Stats

• Miles Driving – Just under 5,000 miles
• Miles Hiked – We each hiked about 90 miles, with about 75 of them together
• New States – 1
• New National Parks – 8 for Teddy, 3 for Steph
• New PA State Parks – 10
• Road Trips – 2
• Camping Trips – 7 Weekends

Each trip we go on, we learn more about ourselves, each other, the state, the people living there, and the history. We are incredibly thankful to be able to travel and have loved having our dogs along for the adventures! We’re excited to see what 2025 has in store!