As a parent of young sprouts, I don’t get to travel for spring break – or any time – nearly as much as I once did. Last year, we did take a spring break trip to Boston. While the trip itself was wonderful, the actual travel experience with the one-year-old was awful.
But I travel often with all the rest of you – through the Instagram pictures of you and your family kissing the Blarney stone (and…wow…it appears that Ireland was the spring break hot spot this year!), through the Facebook updates with the anniversary pictures of you and your husband on a beach in Cancun, and through your blog post details of your recent mission trip to Nicaragua. I bet I am not alone in my vicarious travels.
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I was not compensated in any form for writing about this vacation destination.
Between the two-year-old with severe carsickness issues and the four-month-old who eats every three hours and has unseemly timing for diaper blow-outs, car trips have become such a source of misery that we barely leave our house as an entire family anymore. It makes me sad to think of the experiences we are missing out on, and I hope that we will be routinely packing our bags again soon enough.
I’ve decided to start a series called “The Vacation I Didn’t Take” in which I will tag along in vicarious spirit with a friend or family member on an actual vacation or experience. Hopefully, soon enough I will resume blogging about my own travels on a more regular basis.
Today, I start with a vicarious trip to visit my super cool seeester-in-law, Ashley, in Bigfork, Montana. Ashley has a bachelor degree in recreation and has enjoyed a post-grad life of seasonal work all around the United States. Her work has taken her to Tennessee, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wyoming, and now Montana.
Her niche of work allows her a freedom to travel and move about, gaining experience in a variety of different areas. She is serious and hardcore about what she is doing when she is doing it, and she puts her whole heart into her work. I’ve long been envious of her “who knows what is coming next” lifestyle and her fun gigs, but never more than now.
You’ll see what I mean.
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
For the last couple of years, Ashley has worked as a musher. A musher! Sledding behind adorable pups through snow-capped mountain goodness…how cool is that? Cool enough that the mushing company where she works, Base Camp Bigfork, has been receiving lots of attention lately. Last year, Ashley and some of the dogs were featured in National Geographic’s online travel blog. And this recreation camp has been featured in several print publications and in several broadcast TV productions recently, including one for HGTV. Base Camp Bigfork is located just outside of Bigfork, Montana.
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
Definitely on the agenda for my trip would be a selfie taken with this cutie.
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
And I might have to take a pic with that stinkin’ cute doggie, too!
Snow experiences are only one part of the awesomeness of Ashley’s life at Base Camp. The camp, near Glacier National Park, Swan Lake, and Flathead Lake offers year-round activities. Kayaking, canoeing, hiking, biking, paddle boarding, and a multitude of other outdoor activities fill her days at Base Camp. Even a non-outdoorsy person like myself can appreciate the splendor of this place.
If I were to visit Ashley this time of year, it probably would be too cold to go kayaking, but Ashley’s photos sure make a summer trip look intriguing.
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
But let’s get back to what is obviously the main attraction of my spring break dream vacation, shall we? Those too-cute-for-words Inuit sled dogs.
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
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| Photo courtesy of Ashley Gramlich/Base Camp Bigfork |
There it is, folks. The place I wish spring break had taken me this year. Bigfork, Montana. To be honest, I had never given much thought to traveling to Montana until Ashley began work there as a musher, and now it seems like a must-do on my travel list.
So in an ideal world, I would have spent spring break visiting my super cool sister-in-law and having an unforgettable sledding adventure with Norman, Thor, Cowboy, Enzo, Pitsiak, Suka, Shatu, Ermine, Miki, and all the rest of the pack of cuties. Fingers and toes are going all crossy-crossy for a future trip! When Scooter Britches outgrows her carsickness issues (please, Lord, please!), this place will have to make our trip list since the activities are family-friendly.
If you wish to drop in for a vicarious or real-life visit of your own, visit Base Camp, Bigfork LLC. And be sure to hop over and give them a like on their Base Camp Facebook page.
I hope you enjoyed some highlights from my trip. Many thanks to Ashley and Base Camp Bigfork for granting me access to their incredible photos.
I look forward to seeing all of your great vacation pictures and stories!
The post The Spring Break Vacation I Didn’t Take: Dog Sledding in Montana appeared first on The Gifted Gabber.