The end is in sight with COVID but the fatigue is real. Restrictions on activities and ability to plan for the future interfere with maintaining a strong sense of purpose and sense of self.
I was dreaming of an international vacation in 2020 but it became evident early on that would not be the case. By the time I started dating things ‘21 I was stir crazy. It seems too early to fly responsibly but neither myself or my husband love to drive.
A national park were we could predominantly be outside and spread out seemed like the best option. I thought of Zion, where I went for spring break my freshman year of college. Montana springs are cold, wet, muddy and temperamental. That spring break we awoke in a snowstorm and were rewarded for our day of driving with what seemed to us Summer.
The idea was a 4 day birthday weekend. Zion would be 10 hours each way. My husband was not eager to spend 2/4 of our precious vacation days driving and I was unwilling to volunteer to take all the driving on myself which I am not sure would have even been enough to tip the scale my way. His counteroffer was The Grand Teton National Park. A very doable 4 hour excursion. Despite the proximity I hadn’t visited the park in the 5 years I’ve been in Bozeman now.
I found a charming renovated motel and put in my PTO request. Shortly after I paid for the room I started researching the park and learned the majority of the main road is closed in the winter. I began to feel dubious. The road is partially open to allow access to a trail head with a small network that is maintained through the winter for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Not having any experience in the park I wasn’t sure if the accessible areas would be significantly different than any wooded area around Bozeman. Bozeman and Jackson WY are sometimes compared to each other and I wondered if it would really feel any different to be there.
I wanted to make a fun stop along the way and my initial thought was to drive through Yellowstone and get out at the prismatic springs but the road through was also closed. We tried to take a short detour to Virginia City but the whole town was closed for the season except for one gift shop.
In Jackson we checked into the Anvil Hotel anvilhotel.com/ which was bursting with charm. We were just in time to be offered a happy hour drink - adult hot cocoa with a splash of whiskey. The motel is just on the edge of Jackson’s very walkable downtown area. They gave us a parking pass for or vehicle and then we were able to walk practically anywhere we wanted to go in town.
I was dreaming of an international vacation in 2020 but it became evident early on that would not be the case. By the time I started dating things ‘21 I was stir crazy. It seems too early to fly responsibly but neither myself or my husband love to drive.
A national park were we could predominantly be outside and spread out seemed like the best option. I thought of Zion, where I went for spring break my freshman year of college. Montana springs are cold, wet, muddy and temperamental. That spring break we awoke in a snowstorm and were rewarded for our day of driving with what seemed to us Summer.
The idea was a 4 day birthday weekend. Zion would be 10 hours each way. My husband was not eager to spend 2/4 of our precious vacation days driving and I was unwilling to volunteer to take all the driving on myself which I am not sure would have even been enough to tip the scale my way. His counteroffer was The Grand Teton National Park. A very doable 4 hour excursion. Despite the proximity I hadn’t visited the park in the 5 years I’ve been in Bozeman now.
I found a charming renovated motel and put in my PTO request. Shortly after I paid for the room I started researching the park and learned the majority of the main road is closed in the winter. I began to feel dubious. The road is partially open to allow access to a trail head with a small network that is maintained through the winter for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Not having any experience in the park I wasn’t sure if the accessible areas would be significantly different than any wooded area around Bozeman. Bozeman and Jackson WY are sometimes compared to each other and I wondered if it would really feel any different to be there.
I wanted to make a fun stop along the way and my initial thought was to drive through Yellowstone and get out at the prismatic springs but the road through was also closed. We tried to take a short detour to Virginia City but the whole town was closed for the season except for one gift shop.
In Jackson we checked into the Anvil Hotel anvilhotel.com/ which was bursting with charm. We were just in time to be offered a happy hour drink - adult hot cocoa with a splash of whiskey. The motel is just on the edge of Jackson’s very walkable downtown area. They gave us a parking pass for or vehicle and then we were able to walk practically anywhere we wanted to go in town.