Traveling Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank
When most people think of the word “travel” they think of fancy hotels, all-inclusive resorts, international flights, using a week of precious vacation time and $$$. Let’s take a look at the meaning of travel. Travel is defined by dictionary.com as “to go from one place to another.” Money is not mentioned at all. Travel wasn’t meant to be a luxury, it was meant to be an experience. Pick a place that’s an easy 1/2 day drive from you and GO!
An idea for the adventure-seeking, ground-sleeping, weekend-get-away-going, nature-loving people… go camping! Not only does it allow you to see a destination in a raw and beautiful way, it gets you active, gives your brain a break, disconnects you from social media, and find a different part of yourself that you didn’t know existed. Whatever your reason may be, I promise you will find satisfaction in giving yourself a weekend break.
This trip was very spur-of-the-moment, which makes it even more fun. It’s also my favorite type of vacation to pack for. Ladies, think about how easy packing would be. You don’t have to worry about if your shoes match your outfit or not, you pack little to no make-up, that 5 pound bag of jewelry you usually tote around on vacation? Yea, you can leave that at home… There are no toiletries (besides your toothbrush of course) because there aren’t any showers, and baseball caps turn a hair day gone bad around in a flash.
This weekend, hubs and I loaded up the dog, our tent, some food and camping essentials into the jeep and hit the road. 7.5 hours later, we found ourselves in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana.
We stayed next to a beautiful lake (pictured above) that was a refreshing treat on the 90 degree day for us and the dog. The next morning, we were able to take a 6 mile hike into the mountains that led to a lake with beautifully colored water.
Needless to say, we aren’t in as good of shape as we’d like to admit. So we called it quits with hiking and hit the road. We found ourselves in Red Lodge, MT a couple hours later. Hubs hadn’t been there since he was a kid and he REALLY wanted to re-visit the old fashioned candy store he dearly loved. Besides, Lincoln (our dog) had been such a trooper on that hike that he deserved a refreshing vanilla ice cream cone.
Both of us had driven the Beartooth Pass as kiddos, but were never able to appreciate it’s breath-taking beauty. So we went for a drive… Lincoln loved the cooler temperatures (a drastic change from 84 degrees to 49) and rode with his head out the window nearly the entire time. Just under 11,000 ft. above sea level, we crossed into Wyoming. We made sure we snapped some pics, and then started the descent back down.
Our final night in the mountains we discovered a quaint little camping spot right next to the river. We were able to set up camp, make a cup of chili over the fire, do some reading, and fall asleep to the sound of a rushing river. It was the perfect end to our weekend retreat. We were able to spend some quality one-on-one time together for the first time in too long.
If your life is anything like mine, you need a break. Do yourself a favor. Grab your tent, a good book, maybe a friend or spouse and hit the trail. Your mind, body and soul will thank you.