Montana, 2018

Over the past couple of years, many plans have been made and unmade to travel over the world. Wanderlust has always been there, but it has become
stronger over the past couple of years. When Freedom is suddenly shackled we become more acutely aware of things we lose the ability to do. The freedom to travel and to connect with other people has been curtailed in the recent pandemic. Hence the phenomenon of revenge travels and The Workationists. I have not been fortunate enough to have travelled widely as of yet. Yet I am fortunate enough to have a family member in almost every corner of this beautiful Blue Planet. One of my dear cous and his recently married wife in the USA are fond of taking road trips and my cous, quite a keen photographer that he is, captures some good images. So I pestered them both to compile something, mostly for my own satiety rather than for anything else. So here is Rishabh and Rachels account of their travels ( this part is pre-pandemic,with other parts to follow). { Most of the photos are taken with an iPhone (https://amzn.to/3nfn7sk https://amzn.to/3254b7u ), but whenever he can he uses his Canon ( https://amzn.to/3qFWNd4 https://amzn.to/3ovKMnF)
with a tamron lens ( https://amzn.to/3nhuNdD ). } The following words are Rishabh’s.

My then-girlfriend, now wife and I, started taking trips together around 2018. Our first big trip centered around Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. My wife was at the University of Idaho for work and chose that as our starting point for our road trip to Glacier National Park.

While she was in Idaho, I flew into Spokane, Washington from New Jersey on the last day of her assignment. Rented a car from the airport (cheapest option available at the time) and drove through the lush landscapes of eastern Washington state into the Idaho panhandle where the University campus is located in the town of Moscow.

My wife, being an obsessive planner, had worked on a very detailed itinerary of towns, places to eat, hiking trails, museums, outdoor activities, and what not!! We made our way back through the Idaho panhandle, entered Montana through the southwestern corner, and drove through the rustic and magical mining towns along the way (http://www.goldmine-idaho.com/).
That same day we stopped at a natural hot spring resort. It sat low on the valley along a rocky river valley known to be frequented by fly-fishermen. You’d know what I am talking about if you have even seen the movie A River Runs Through It.
After a couple of hours of soaking and enjoying the rustic landscape, we got back on the road heading towards the county’s state fair that was happening at that time of the year. After browsing through cowboy gear at the fair and watching the children play carnival games it was time for the Rodeo.
At the Rodeo, we saw cow ropers, bull riders, and the bucking broncos. We learnt it was a professional-level sports event with top-performing cowboys from all over North America.
After our new experience of the rodeo, we made our way to the Airbnb, which was a yurt on the vast open prairie landscape inhabited by no humans and just wilderness. That night we woke to coyotes outside our tent which to us city slickers was thrilling to an extent but mostly terrifying. Our other fears were having bears roaming around so we decided to not leave the yurt till dawn.

The next morning we packed our tent(https://amzn.to/3qzpNmE https://amzn.to/3nnskyt) and made our way to Glacier.

So far into the trip the experience of driving through this part of the US was new and different not only to me but also to my American wife who btw has solo backpacked across South Asia and Central Asia.

We came to love the slow-paced life and allowing time to appreciate the natural beauty around us. Stay tuned for the second installment from this trip, where we’ll share our experience hiking in the Glacier National Park, spending nights in a Teepee tent, and kayaking the choppy waters of Flathead lake.

drkck with courtesy Rachel and Rishabh

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