Northwest and Canada Plan
When Scott and I returned from South America, we knew we would travel again: sooner rather than later and for a longer period of time. We distracted our wanderlust with various weekend trips throughout Colorado and Utah: rock climbing at Shelf Road, hiking Longs Peak, backpacking in Arapahoe National Forest, biking in Fruita, skiing at Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Yet even after all of those adventures, we yearned for more.
Scott returned from the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2015 with inspiration, motivation, and an idea: convert his Chevy Astro van, Buster, into a camper van and head north for half a year. It was then that our plan began take shape.
We knew that we couldn't leave right away. Between traveling through South America for three months and then directly moving to Denver, our bank accounts wouldn't allow it. Besides, we were still in awe of our new state and were looking forward to exploring its mountains and rivers. To prepare for our trip, though, instead of grasping for straws and finding any job out there to make money, we altered our lifestyle. We started almost exclusively eating at home, didn't buy what we didn't need, and spent our free time with friends outside where our entertainment budget never exceeded the cost of a six pack.
Between our budgeting and saving techniques, we set a departure date and began our research. After our time volunteering in Patagonia we knew we wanted to work with our hands again and learn some new trades in the process. Working on a ranch refining our cowboy skills and learning how to farm were set high on our list. So began our scouring of workaway hosts that offered these opportunities.
After contacting a few hosts that met our criteria, we quickly realized that there is a season to sign up for manual labor in the summer months. We had applied too early and were denied multiple times as ranches and farms were looking for minimal help during the winter months and weren't sure of their summer schedule in October.
Putting our workaway search on hold, we focused our attentions on building out the van and creating Head to Tales. We knew we wanted a platform to share our experiences and after weeks of brainstorming and intense effort, we finally launched our website. This felt like a small victory in lieu of not making much progress in other areas.
Coming into March, we began getting responses from our possible workaway hosts. Slowly, our plans began to change. We decided it would be in our best interests (and offer more opportunities) if we didn't limit our search to British Columbia and Alberta. Instead, we began searching for hosts in the Pacific Northwest along with Wyoming and Montana. After many inquiries, we narrowed it down and selected three that we believe offer everything we could ever want in an experience like this.
After going to Flagstaff for Scott's brother's graduation, our first stay will be on a ranch near Sun Valley, Idaho. This ranch seems like the perfect starting point in our quest to become the cowboy and girl Texas expects of us. From maintaining fences, bailing hay, and chopping firewood to participating in cattle drives, we were thrilled to hear back from our hosts, accepting us from June 12th through July 5th.
After perfecting our roping and riding skills, we will take a month-long break and slowly make our way up and over through Alberta and British Columbia. During this month-long vanlife excursion we hope to take in Yellowstone, Glacier, and Banff National Parks before parking it just over an hour outside of Kamloops, BC.
Here, for the entirety of August, we will continue to perfect our ranching skills and techniques in the shadow of Wells Grey Provincial Park. Bursting at the seams with glowing reviews, we were so happy to have secured this experience with these particular hosts. And for an entire month, no less!
From our time on the ranches, we will begin to make our way south. Winding down through Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland, our final workaway experience (on this adventure) will be on an organic farm just outside of Crater Lake National Park. This farm grows many different fruits and vegetables they eat themselves and also sell at the local farmer's market. Being able to produce our own food is something Scott and I have been interested in for quite some time. Ending our trip spending two weeks tilling the earth and tending to the produce, we hope to emerge with newfound knowledge and appreciation of where our food comes from.
After departing from the farm, we have one week to make it down to New Orleans (2,627 miles) for my sister's wedding. This momentous event seemed like the perfect way to end our trip, even though it wasn't in our original plans. Scott nor I have ever been down to the big easy, so we plan to go out with a bang: beignets, hurricanes, voodoo, Bourbon Street, and a wedding that will be one for the books. As this wonderful week-long celebration unfolds, we will try to figure out our next step...
As our departure date gets closer, more and more people seem to be asking what we will do after we are done. Our answer? We don't know. We may return to Denver, a city we have both fallen in love with, along with its people. We may try and be liftees at a ski resort for the winter season. We may move abroad for a year and try our hand at teaching English or utilize other skills.
The point: no matter where we end up, the most important thing to us is that we are going. We heard somewhere that routine is the enemy of time. By breaking the mold and shattering routine, we hope to walk hand in hand with the time we are given, cherishing each and every moment in this life.
