The Forgotten Memorable Trip (FMT)

Huckleberry and goat cheese burger at McDonald Lodge, Glacier NP

Two years ago, literally from the moment I type this, I was eating a huckleberry elk burger at Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park, journaling about my experiences alone at the dinner table.  I was nearing the end of two transformative days in that magical landscape, in which my only regret was not planning to spend more time there.  I was four days in to my 10 day Northwest U.S. vacation, a trip that was life altering for me in many ways, including being the inspiration for this blog.

Earlier this evening I read through my journal entries from this solo venture out West, which allowed me to check Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon off of my 50 Before 50 list.  To be quite honest, my journaling in the midst of adventures like this isn't that great - I pack so much stuff into the day that there is hardly time to sit down and write. Between the hiking, driving and hopes of a good night's sleep for an early morning sunrise, I just didn't write in the detail I wanted to, and many days I didn't journal at all.

So once I got home from this trip, all I wanted to do was write about it.  I would get up early several mornings a week and just write, and for one who is not a natural early riser, this was a passion project indeed.   I would get lost in the memories as I put them into the blog notebook I purchased at Powell's Book Store in Portland, where I was reminded by its cover that "The World is Waiting for You and the Stories You will Tell".

But then I was afraid to actually share it.

So the notebook sits full of memories I have yet to "type about".   In reading through the many pages of boring yet amusing details coupled with my natural yet vulnerable emotions , I feel reluctantly eager to share, even after all this time.  The fervor and energy put on those pages meant so much to me at that time, and set the wheels in motion for all that has come since then... even through a pandemic.

Despite there being "newer" trips and tales to tell, I feel that I need to close the circle on what I had hoped to do in back in 2019 - share my story of a solo woman traveler dabbling in landscape photography and soul searching.

More to come from my 2019 NW adventures...