Marquette, Michigan. This is a cute little town in the Upper Penninsula right near Lake Superior. They have a fun little farmers market, good bike paths and a good bakery. What more could you ask for?
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| Lake Superior, Marquette |
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta. Although I have been here before, I liked it then and I liked it again! This is a beautiful park in the Canadian Rockies and is not quite as busy as Banff or Jasper, so is quite a treat! It has beautiful views of lakes and mountains and often you will see wildlife here (we saw a grizzly bear!)
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| Day One of the Tour Divide |
Icefields Parkway, Alberta. Yup, two Canadian places in one! It was cold and rainy when I was here, but it was still very beautiful! I also saw several bears here too and had fun camping in some very pretty locations.
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| Waterfowl Lake, Banff NP |
Crooked River, Oregon. As I passed people fishing and sitting next to their camper reading, I knew I wanted to eventually come back to this place again. It is dry and stark, but very beautiful all the same.
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| Crooked River, Oregon |
Bellingham, Washington. A fun town near water (I am seeing a theme here) with a Saturday market (another theme) and lots of good food, beer and places to walk. It checks a lot of boxes!
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| I love a town that loves beer! |
Nelson, BC. Another town near a lake with a nice walkable downtown and everything that you could possibly need nearby. There is hiking, skiing, water sports and more! Oh, and hamburgers and beer (another theme)!
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| Nelson Post Office |
Fernie, BC. A cute little ski town nestled in the heart of the Rockies. Also the downtown is walkable and the guys at the bike shop were very helpful. I am actually surprised this made the cut, as I actually passed through it twice and had to go to the bike shop both times! Booo!
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| Downtown Fernie |
Quebec City, QC. I also liked Montreal, but both cities have such a fun international flair and I enjoyed wandering, learning some history, and eating!
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| La Fresque des Québécois |
Colorado. Yup, the whole state. Actually, for the entire Tour Divide, Colorado was my favorite. I did not really stay in too many towns and a lot of the time I was riding as far as I could and spending most of my town time in grocery stores and crappy motels. However, even though it was hard, some of the climbs in Colorado were just beautiful, and were through forests full of trees, and I could feel the fresh air and I loved it.
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| East San Juans, Colorado |
Peggy's Cove, NS. The lighthouse here is one of Nova Scotia's most known and photographed lighthouses for a reason, as it sits on a rocky bluff and is surrounded by colorful houses and fishing bouys. Once again, places with water make the cut more often than not.
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| Peggy's Cove Lighthouse |
Obviously there were so many more places that I went this year that were beautiful, and where the people who I met were also great, and I could go on and on (as I sometimes do) but for now, I will leave you with these ten lovelies!
Where was your favorite travel destination in 2024? Have you ever been to any of these places and if so, what did you think?
I am here for your Canadian content! Especially the ones that pertain to my life specifically - Peter Lougheed is a fantastic park and of course the Parkway is spectacular. I am biased but I think that the Canadian Rockies is the most beautiful space on this planet. I haven't been to Nelson since 1999! It's not even that far from here, maybe I should go sometime. You had so many great experiences this year, here's to 2025!
ReplyDeleteI have not been to any of these places, and they all sound like winners.
ReplyDeleteArgh how can you force me to pick a single favorite destination???? I can't do it!!!!!! It's mean to even ask me to pick a favorite trip, but at least I can narrow it down to my big road trip in June to IL/WI/MN.
I literally was holding my breath hoping that Nova Scotia got a nod somewhere. Peggy's Cove has a piece of our heart forever (we were discussing going there on Christmas Day again...though it's going to be cold and snowy and icy so probably not a great idea)!
ReplyDeleteFavourite travel destination in 2024 - Montserrat in Spain.
I HAVE been to Peggy's Cove (with you *all the heart emojis*), but nowhere else on your list. (I think I was in Quebec City when I was a kid, but it was before I have any memory of it, so I'm not counting it. Quebec City is on my list! It's shameful we haven't made it there yet.)