Thursday March 21, 2024
travel
When I first started my blog, I had no idea what to write about for my first post. So I decided that I should create a bucket list of what I wanted to do travel wise. It was a way for me to hold myself accountable to get out and explore along with seeing what I ended the year with doing. To see how my initial plan stayed the same or changed based on what I initially set out for myself. At the end of the year, I did not do exactly what I planned to do, but I did do some things similar. I do think that the list pushed me to keep exploring and accomplishing what I wanted to do in life while I had the time.
So with that I decided to create another list for 2024. Here is my travel bucket list for 2024:
This past year I was able to take a day trip to Sedona which has reignited my interests in exploring national parks in the US. Now I know I did not visit a national park when hiking Devil’s Bridge in Sedona, but it got me thinking on a path about national parks. It has always been on my bucket list, but was not at the top until recently. While climbing Devil’s Bridge there was not a point in the hike where the view was not breathtaking. Being surrounded by the rock formation was an amazing experience which ultimately led to me wanting to put a national park towards the top of my list.
For last year, I included the Grand Canyon as my bonus for my 2023 bucket list and I would still like to visit, but I also have some other parks that I am open to. Other parks that have caught my eye are Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park. Another park that I would like to visit at some point in time is Kenai Fjords National Park since I wrote multiple papers about this park for a class in college.
Nothing beats time with your girls, and what I have learned about getting older is that time becomes limited. Everyone is so busy with their lives and jobs that it can make getting a group together hard. Many ideas will circulate in the chat, but rarely leave since it can be hard to coordinate. Which is why I would love for this to happen this year. Even if it is somewhere close in Texas or a neighboring state, a weekend getaway is still a getaway!
Last year I went to California for the first time to visit my roommate from college. I had such a fun time exploring the San Diego area, doing things downtown, by the beach, and hiking. After going to California, I want to make it a yearly thing where I travel to one new state a year. Although I have been to so many, there are still some I have yet to cross off. There is so much that each state has to offer, so I want to make more of an initiative to explore the US.
Some of my top states that I would love to visit are Utah, New Mexico, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Each of these states have something that I have been dying to do. For example, in Utah and New Mexico, there are different nature activities that I would like to do such as National Parks and running trails. Tennessee has always been on my list for Nashville, I am big on country music. As for Kentucky, I would love to go to the derby one year and watch all the horses race while wearing a crazy hat! Lastly, I heard that Virginia is a pretty state, especially in fall so I would love to experience a traditional fall.
This year is looking to be busy with traveling for family stuff, but I still want to make my travel a priority too. So I looked at what I realistically could accomplish with everything going on. I think it will be great to travel in the US as the country is so large and has plenty that I have yet to explore. And we will see in 10 months time where I ended up!