At the risk of sounding supremely cheesy, we are stoked on Revelstoke.

We woke up on Monday morning a little disoriented, as we had crossed into Pacific Time. It was luxurious to have a full kitchen to fix coffee and a dining room table to work at. After a few hours of productivity, we made our way into town. We had spied a bakery when we arrived the night before, and being the absolute pastry fiends that we are, really wanted to see it.

This bakery was called La Baguette, which raised the stakes. We have a La Baguette in Colorado Springs that we patronize regularly, on what we’ve affectionately dubbed “croissant Fridays.” This La Baguette definitely gives ours a run for its money. We got a blueberry matcha croissant, a pecan sticky bun, and a maple latte, and all were perfection — especially the sticky bun. The cafe had lots of great food and energy. You could get breakfast sandwiches throughout the day and beers in the afternoon. And the bread looked phenomenal. We’d be read more

When I studied in Cuba during college, I documented my time there on this same blog. However, rather than report on day-to-day life, I wrote topical posts – food, clothing, holidays, etc. I’ve been wanting to do the same for this trip, since there are many aspects I’ve yet to touch upon but could add more color and dimension to the weekly updates. The first I’d really like to write about it our car set-up.

As mentioned previously, Ryan and I spent pretty much all of July perfecting how the car was arranged to make it optimally organized. There is really only one way to fit everything as nicely as we have it, and we both have this memorized. read more

Fridays are for fun. The thing is, most days feel like Fridays when you add adventure to them, the way we have. This Friday was no different.

After what was truly a magical sunrise in the clouds, we packed up and headed to Banff. We couldn’t believe the mountains towering around us, so jagged and raw — like the Tetons. My grandfather put it best when he texted me: “I think that Banff is the most daunting country I’ve ever personally experienced. The massiveness just says to you, ‘Climb on me, I dare you. I’ll overwhelm you.’” read more

They call it Stormy Mondays. Sunday night, we checked the weather forecast and saw rain at 1 p.m. the following day — ideal for the smoky conditions. However, within hours of going to sleep, we heard rain falling on the tent. And it continued. And continued. By 8 a.m., the rain showed no signs of stopping, so we hastily packed up the car and the soaked tent, driving to West Glacier. There, we posted up in Freda’s, a burger-french fry-shake type restaurant that had WiFi.

We worked steadily throughout the day, the rain falling relentlessly. While customers around us ate their chicken tenders and huckleberry parfaits, we were snacking on our veggie wraps and jalapeño chips, unwilling to pay an exorbitant amount for mediocre food. When we finally wrapped up the work day, it was the perfect time to enter the park — 3:00 p.m., meaning no reservation required. read more

Bidding goodbye to Bozeman, we made moves toward Missoula, the biggest town closest to Greenough. We stopped in Butte to get gas and eat lunch, and we learned some fun facts about the place. First, there’s a massive statue of Our Lady of the Rockies looking down over the town from a ridgeline, supposedly the 4th largest statue in the U.S. Butte is also home to the oldest running Chinese restaurant in the U.S., established in 1911. It has the one of our country’s largest national historic districts, due to all the mining sites it has preserved — it used to supply over 25% of the world’s copper. read more

We’ve loved Bozeman. It is admittedly much hotter here than either of us expected, likely because our first night of camping was pretty brisk. However, the hot weather hasn’t deterred us from some excellent explorations.

We started on Monday at Treeline Coffee, which appears to be a local hot spot. The coffee, pastries, vibe, and branding of the place were strong, making it an ideal workspace. We went for a short lunch run, jumping back into Glen Lake to cool off and eating sandwiches by the water. It was idyllic. read more

On Friday, we awoke at 4 a.m. in the hope of seeing wolves. Ryan whipped up some coffee and drove us to Slough Creek in Lamar Valley, a supposed wolf destination.

We got there around 5:30 and weren’t seeing much. It was quite calm and serene, watching the sun slowly rise over the valley. Just when we thought we were out of luck, we spotted a bison wandering along the ridge. “Aren’t bison herd animals?” Ryan asked. I wasn’t sure. I was just happy that we hadn’t gotten up so early for nothing. read more

Tuesday was an excellent day for wildlife. Up at 6:30, we worked from a quiet workspace above the resort’s coffee shop. The coffee shop was closed and we didn’t know if we were even supposed to be up there, but it was so free of distraction that we stayed. The skies were still grey and stormy looking, making us skeptical we’d have any better luck at climbing.

We debated what to do over lunch. At 2:30, the weather was shaping up to improve on the other side of Teton Pass, so I proposed we head back to the National Park to re-attempt Delta Lake. Ryan was game. read more

Prior to departing Green River, we went for a short run along the dirt road we camped on. We thought we saw animals in the distance, and sure enough, there was a group of wild horses up the way. They galloped off when we got close, but running alongside them, albeit briefly, was absolutely magical. Upon return to the car, we did a short lift workout, using our crash pads and backpacks to do split squats, push-ups, and core exercises.

After a week of being derailed over and over, it was so nice to be back into our normal routine. I genuinely believe that it was so hard for me to concentrate all week because of the lack of consistency. Typically it’s easy for us to get exercise before and/or after work, whether it’s a run, climb, yoga, bike ride, or just walk. Those activities were few and far between this last week, much to the detriment of my mental and emotional health. read more

Wednesday was a productive work day. It was a cool, misty morning in the Poudre that turned to sun by midday. Ryan received word that his watch was un-fixable, so we returned to town at the end of the day to retrieve it. It would just be a couple months watch-less — not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things. Before returning to the Poudre, we went for a short jog around Fort Collins and visited one of our favorite spots — the shipping container eateries in Old Town. We had a healthy meal of a burger, beer, and ice cream, and had thoughtful discussions about work and life. read more

You can’t have high highs without some low lows. What started as an auspicious trip kick-off turned into a nightmarish situation Monday afternoon. The dust has settled, though — we’re not out of the woods, but we’re at least back on track.

Waking up in the comfort of a Vail hotel with family, we were able to work as normal and even enjoy some homemade waffles cooked up by Ryan’s cousin, Jason.

Ryan took the opportunity to fly fish during his lunch hour, during which he fell into Gore Creek (no injuries, a mostly comical scene that no one had the fortune to witness). read more