Two-year-Nomadiversary!

We are enjoying the trips down memory lane, remembering so many of the places we've seen over the last two years. We decided to try to choose two favorites each, and this is what the list looks like:

Abe: Mount Rushmore SD and Washington DC

 

Kel: New England (mainly the cemeteries in NH and MA but also the coast of Maine (Belfast, Bar Harbor & Acadia) and all the leaves everywhere in Autumn... Don't make me choose!) and Lincoln's New Salem IL (historical site)

 

Rhanna: Charleston SC and Williamsburg VA (Kel chooses these too, but Rhanna got to go first when we made the list 😜)

 

Thane: Rocky Mountain National Park CO and Shenandoah Caverns VA

 

Emrys: Mount Rushmore and Indiana (the playground at the campground, in particular, which had a wooden ship to climb on)

Gwynnie: Bend OR and Salt Lake City UT (mainly she liked the Spring weather, which was ideal for spending all day outside)

 

After much deliberation, dilemma, and debate, we want to amend these memories to our Favorites list:

-Yellowstone WY (this last visit, I think our favorite moment was listening to a man spontaneously sing America the Beautiful while walking around the Grand Prismatic Spring. Just wow.)

-Jackson WY and the Tetons (loveable town and stunning scenery)

-Mount Baker WA in North Cascades NP (an under-visited NP due to its remoteness, but wow, it's impressive.)

 

-Hurricane Ridge WA in Olympic NP (coming around the last bend in the road and seeing the mountains come into such a majestic view made us all gasp and clutch our chests in surprise - truly an astonishing sight!)

-Avenue of the Giants CA (jaw-dropping, everyone go there)

 

-Thor's Well OR (picturesque and unique!)

-Caw Caw Swamp SC (blackest swamp water ever, and so quiet! Just a stunning new type of beauty for us)

-The Angel Oak SC (seriously large and ancient tree, awe-inspiring)

-Cape Cod MA (The cemeteries!! The history!! The cemeteries!!)

 

-Learning to speak Gullah at Pin Point Heritage Museum SC

 

-The staircase in Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield IL (the whole neighborhood is amazing)

 

-Seeing the Space Shuttle and the Enola Gay in DC was very moving

The field where the Battle of Bull Run occurred was spooky and emotional and definitely haunted.

-Running through the drenchiest downpour imaginable in the Olympic rainforest was memorable and hilarious

 

-A similar rainy run in Key Largo FL was also hilarious.

 

-Running for safety during a tornado warning with sirens blaring and crazy winds and flooding rain was less hilarious but still memorable. (Savannah GA)

We also ended up making a list of animals we've enjoyed seeing; it's a super short list compared to the actual amount of animals we've seen, but still fun to write down and remember:

Bighorn Sheep and Elk in RMNP
Black Bears in Shenandoah NP (tiny compared to the bears we know in the Sierras!)
Alligators in the Everglades FL
Trumpeter Swans in Yellowstone (lots of other animals there too, but the swans were exciting, as was Em's first close-up bison)
Moose in the Tetons (it was far away but still exciting)
Beaver in IN
Pronghorns everywhere
Armadillo in FL (alive! Lots of dead ones in TX)
Porcupine somewhere (we can't remember where we were! Lol)
All kinds of lizards and tropical birds in crazy FL
Prairie dogs in WY (adorbs!)