Road Trips

Road Trip 2023: Goblins, Canyons and Sands of Time

/ Oleksandra Budna / 1 Comment

Between visiting my brother in California, exploring new parks in Utah, trekking down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and hiking in Colorado – our 2023 road trip promised to be epic. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short so the mountains of Colorado remain untouched by our hiking boots. And even though my mountain soul was really looking forward to that part of our trip, the Rockies have been around for almost 80 million years so I figured they will still be there in a year or two when we make our way back to Colorado. Plus, our truncated trip already featured quite a few beautiful places and exciting adventures. We returned with thousands of pictures, even more great memories and loads of sand in different colours – from the red sands of Utah to the yellow ones of California – tucked away in our camping equipment and clothing. So here are a few highlights.

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The mountains are calling: Our trip to Yosemite

/ Oleksandra Budna / 2 Comments

I am a mountain person at heart: the love that was born during my school trips to the Carpathian Mountains and nurtured during all those adventures around North America. So when the mountains call, as Muir so eloquently put it, I must go. Last summer, as I was planning our trip to California, many places were added, then scratched off the list. One destination, however, remained non-negotiable – Yosemite National Park, Muir’s old stomping grounds right in the heart of Sierra Nevada.

view from Olmsted point in Yosemite

Sierra Nevada – view from Olmsted point in Yosemite National Park

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The ups and downs of our road trip to California (in lots of pictures and a few words)

/ Oleksandra Budna / 4 Comments

“We forgot to do our highlights of the trip,” said my husband right after we crossed the border.

“Well, good thing we still have another four hours of driving ahead of us.”

We love road trips. Every summer we pick a destination, map out stops along the way, pile into our car and go. Sure, long driving stretches can sometimes be tiring but they provide a nice transition from the structured busyness of everyday life. A drive back works in reverse offering an opportunity to leave our vacation behind. That’s when we reminisce about everything we’ve seen and done and try to narrow all the experiences down to ten best. Not an easy task.

below sea level sign in Death Valley    view from Olmsted point on Tioga road in Yosemite

This year’s trip took us from 282 feet below the sea level in Death Valley
to almost 10,000-foot altitudes of High Sierra.
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The magic of Gros Morne in two parts – Part II: Journey to the centre of the Earth

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We drive through a small fishing village of Trout River, and the paved road turns into packed ground. “Are you sure this is the right way?” asks my husband. “Of course,” I reply trying to sound more confident than I feel. We can’t afford to get lost now. It’s almost six and I know the Tablelands visible from the Trout River campground look best in the late afternoon light. With rain in the forecast for the next two nights, this might be my only chance to witness this sight.

As soon as we check in at the campground, I grab my camera and head down to the Trout River Pond but not without promising to help set up when I come back. I follow a short trail down to a small pebble beach. There are a couple of kids skipping stones, a lone kayaker disturbing the otherwise perfectly smooth pond, and across a long, narrow strip of water rise the golden slopes of the Tablelands. Imposing and otherworldly, they are admiring their reflection. And who can blame them. Bathed in the evening light, they are spectacular.

Tablelands across the Trout River Pond

The Tablelands admiring their reflection in the Trout River Pond

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The magic of Gros Morne in two parts – Part I: On foot, by boat and back in time

/ Oleksandra Budna / 7 Comments

I adjust my camera bag and look up. Gros Morne Mountain looms in front of us, and the only way to the top is via a path strewn with rocks and boulders of various sizes. About a kilometre of a steep climb that will take us an hour to complete. Once we get to Gros Morne park’s highest point, we will trek across the top of the mountain and then come back down via a path clinging to the mountainside. Even before we begin, I know this 16-kilometre hike will not only be the highlight of our Newfoundland trip and the year in general, but also one of our all-time favourites.

Gros Morne mountain trail

Gros Morne Mountain is calling

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Our road trip to Newfoundland – Part II: Life on island time

/ Oleksandra Budna / 8 Comments

Welcome to part II of our Newfoundland trip highlights. Part I was all about glorious landscapes, incredible trails and curious wildlife. (If you haven’t read it, you can find it here). But, of course, Newfoundland is no deserted island. Connecting with people who live there and learning about Newfoundland’s human history and culture were among our most memorable moments of the trip.

Salvage in Newfoundland   old boat near Lobster Cove in Newfoundland

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Our road trip to Newfoundland – Part I: Icebergs, whales and trail tales

/ Oleksandra Budna / 9 Comments

Here I am again, at the corner of Lawrence and Dufferin, waiting for the light to change. Our three-week trip to Newfoundland seems like a distant memory even though we just came back. It feels as if I’ve never left this intersection. I also feel like I’ve been gone for years. Both. At the same time. Long road trips do that to you. They fly by while also stretching time to infinity.

watching sunset in J.T.Cheeseman Park in Newfoundland

Watching our last sunset in Newfoundland — seems so long ago

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The Best of 2016

/ Oleksandra Budna / 7 Comments

It’s hard to believe 2016 is drawing to a close. And it was quite a year when it comes to outdoor adventures, both close and far. With a three-week road trip all the way to Los Angeles, lots of camping with family and friends, my first solo trip and endless microadventures, it is next to impossible to narrow down ten best. But I’ll still try.

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Our westbound quest: of all things big and small

/ Oleksandra Budna / 15 Comments

“It’s about the journey not the destination” might be a cliche but that’s the principle we apply when it comes to planning our trips. We usually go for the slowest mode of transportation possible to get up close and personal with the lands through which we travel. This year, our road trip took us all the way to Los Angeles to see my new niece, and while walking or biking to California would have been fun, I wanted to see the kid before she started school so driving it was.

Monumnt Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion, Leo Carillo, Bryc Canyon, Capitol Reef

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Lake Superior Circle Tour: Part II – Porcupine Mountains, Apostle Islands and more

/ Oleksandra Budna / 3 Comments

In my previous post, I wrote about the first part of our Lake Superior Circle Tour, which included a train ride through Agawa Canyon and exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. After we left the Bay Furnace campground near Pictured Rocks, we made a few stops at various waterfalls and arrived at Porcupine Mountains shortly after sunset. The Lake was unusually quiet and perfectly smooth, and the transition between water and sky was seamless, almost invisible.

Lake Superior at Porcupine Mountains

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