Digital Nomad Life: Month 112

Month 112 was a transitional month where I finished up a busy season working at the Gorge and traveled back to Colorado to visit friends and family.

I started the month with one more (rainy) day and night in Vancouver before waking up to sunshine and driving to Mount Baker in Washington for a much anticipated day of hiking the Chain Lakes loop before spending the night in a beautiful treehouse Airbnb in Bellingham.

The next day in Bellingham was rainy but I still had fun exploring before returning to the Gorge for a much-needed chilled day catching up on life admin before working Imagine Dragons for three days.

After work, I headed out for three nights in Winthrop with the main goal being to do some larch hikes. I ended up hiking Cutthroat Lake and Pass, and the Maple Pass Loop – both of which had larches that were at the beginning stages of turning golden.

I stopped in Wenatchee to run some errands on the way back to site but also squeezed in a visit to Pybus Market for lunch and went for a walk along the river.

Then I returned to the Gorge for the last show of the year, Luke Combs. I spent a day packing and cleaning after the show ended and had one last dinner and drinks at Sagecliffe before hitting the road to Telluride. I spent a night and morning in Boise, a night in Provo, and a morning hiking to the stunning Fifth Water Hot Springs along the way.

I spent four nights in Telluride, one of my favorite mountain towns, then I drove up to Aurora where I reunited with Toby and Joni and spent six nights hanging out with family and running errands.

We spent the last three nights of the month at one of our favorite RV parks, Clear Creek RV Park in Golden.

Now onto the stats!

Countries Visited: Canada, USA

Places Visited:

• Canada: Vancouver
• Washington: Bellingham, George, Wenatchee, Winthrop
• Oregon: Pendleton
• Idaho: Boise
• Utah: Provo
• Colorado: Telluride, Glenwood Springs, Aurora, Denver, Golden

National and State Parks, Monuments, and UNESCO Sites: Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, North Cascades National Park, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Uncompahgre National Forest.

Islands Visited: No islands this month.

Best Meals: Pineapple, black olive, and red onion pizza from East 20 Pizza in Winthrop; Chicken and waffle and waffle with whipped cream, Nutella, and strawberries from Waffle Love in Provo; Sweetie Pie Detroit-style pizza with pineapple, jalapenos, and whipped ricotta from Brown Dog Pizza in Telluride; Animal style cheeseburger and fries from In-N-Out in Aurora; Daisy pizza (Margherita) from Cart Driver in Denver.

Best Craft Beer: Mango Bomber by Golden City Brewery in Golden, Venture Gose and Pandan Porter from Mountain Toad Brewing in Golden.

Hikes/Walks:

• Chain Lakes Loop at Mount Baker, WA 7.25 miles
• Cutthroat Lake and Cutthroat Pass in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, WA 13 miles
• Maple Pass Loop in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, WA 8.5 miles
• 9th Street to Sunset Peak Trail in Boise, ID 2.7 miles
• Fifth Water Hot Springs Trail in Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, UT 4.8 miles
• Sneffels Highline Trail to Saddle in Telluride, CO 10.5 miles
• Bridal Veil Falls and Silver Lake trail in Telluride, CO 8.9 miles
• Peak 2 Plains and Welch Ditch Trail in Golden, CO 2.6 miles

Watching: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Salem’s Lot (2024), The Twilight Zone (2019).

Reading: Circe by Madeline Miller.

New Posts: No new posts this month.

Highlights

A Day Hiking at Mount Baker

I was so excited to finally make it to Mount Baker this month after many aborted attempts due to heat waves and fires over the past two years.

As the camping grounds were closed for the season and accommodation in the nearby town of Glacier is pretty expensive, I decided to drive there from Vancouver in the morning, hike the most famous trail – the Chain Lakes Loop, check out some viewpoints, and then drive 90 minutes to stay in Bellingham. It was a big day with 4 hours total of driving but it was so worth it!

The trail was one of the most beautiful half-day trails I have ever done with epic views of Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, alpine lakes, meadows, and so many alpine blueberries and huckleberries.

I took my time, feasting on the wild berries and paddling in one of the lakes. What a day!

Larch Madness in the North Cascades

Another must-do hiking adventure before leaving Washington for the season was to do a couple of larch hikes in the North Cascades. I based myself in one of my favorite little mountain towns – Winthrop – and did two awesome larch hikes – Cutthroat Lake to Cutthroat Pass, and the Maple Pass Loop.

I was about a week early for the peak colors but still saw enough golden larches to keep me happy. The undergrowth, especially on the Maple Pass Loop, was brilliant red, too, so it was just such a beautiful time to be hiking. I managed to miss the Larch Madness crowds even though these are both popular Larch hikes because I did them during the week and a bit early in the season.

I really enjoyed just being back in Winthrop too, and Toby even joined me on the last night and we went for dinner at East 20 Pizza and to see Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice at the cute Barnyard Cinema in town.

Soaking in Natural Hot Springs in Utah and Colorado

I got to soak in two scenic, new-to-me natural hot springs this month – Fifth Water Hot Springs near Spanish Fork in Utah, and South Canyon Hot Springs near Glenwood Springs in Colorado.

To get to Fifth Water it was a nearly five-mile out-and-back hike. The weather was perfect the day I did it, and the fall colors were beautiful. There are numerous pools of different temperatures and some are bright turquoise while others are clear and emerald green. I met some cool people while I was soaking and just loved the whole experience.

South Canyon Hot Springs wasn’t as impressive but it was super easy to get to and I was the only one there. It is a 5-minute walk to the two main pools which were a little murky from the muddy bottom but really relaxing and the setting is pretty with red mountains all around.

Fall in Telluride

I rushed down to Telluride to catch the fall colors and even though I was about a week past the peak, there were still a lot of golden aspens.

I did two challenging hikes while I was there which I felt really good about – I’m hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in early 2025 so I am trying to train as much as I can – and I also wandered around town, ate out a few times, walked along the river, took the free gondola up to Mountain Village, and relaxed in the hot tub at the hostel.

It was great to be back in one of my favorite mountain towns in the U.S.

My First Corn Maze and Hay Ride

Somehow, despite being in the U.S. for nearly nine years now (!) I have never done a corn maze or hay ride and that just isn’t right. I rectified that oversight this month when we visited Mile High Farms which had a corn maze, a hay ride, a petting zoo, a pumpkin patch, and some food and drink vendors.

We went with family including some of the cousins’ kids so that made it even more fun. It’s definitely something I would like to make a tradition when we are in the U.S. at this time of year.

Life in Golden

We only just got back to Golden but I am so excited to be back and to be spending two weeks here. This little town feels like a home for me and I love staying at Clear Creek RV Park where we can walk everywhere and hike straight from the RV. The fall colors along the creek are popping right now too.

I’ve already walked the Peak 2 Plains and Welch Ditch trail three times, been to a couple of my favorite breweries and restaurants, and walked around town.

Lowlights

Hurt Neck

On my last morning in Winthrop, I must have slept funny because I woke up with a very sore and stiff neck – oh the joys of getting older. It took about five days to be able to get some movement back and it made it very hard to work the last show of the season.

It still isn’t 100% better now and I keep re-tweaking it in my sleep although it luckily hasn’t been as bad as when I first did it.

Ear Ache

I ended up with a very painful blocked ear after continuously using my silicone earplugs when I was staying at the hostel in Telluride. It was excruciating at some points in the day but luckily I had a syringe and ear drops with me because it had been blocking on and off for a couple of weeks, and after flushing it with warm water about 20 times I finally cleared it. 

Spending

I don’t include international flights in my recaps. Some of my costs are shared with Toby or other travel partners.

Total: USD$2650

This was a pricier month as I left the Gorge, so I spent more on accommodation and food. We also had some extra expenses for the cat and the RV, and I had lots of bits and pieces I needed to buy.

Accommodation $717

My 13 nights of paid accommodation for the month consisted of one night at a treehouse Airbnb in Bellingham, two nights in a dorm room and one night in a private room at North Cascades Mountain Hostel in Winthrop, one night at an Airbnb in Boise, one night at an Airbnb in Provo, four nights in a dorm room at The Bivvi Hostel in Telluride, three nights staying in the RV at the Clear Creek RV Park in Golden.

My 17 nights of unpaid accommodation for the month consisted of one night staying with a friend in Vancouver, ten nights in our staff RV onsite at the Gorge, and six nights staying in the RV outside a family member’s house in Aurora.

Food and Drink $712

Clothing $0

Transport $137

• Gas $127.50
• Trains/Buses in Vancouver 9.50

Activities $38.50

• Barnyard Cinema – Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice $16
• Mile High Farms entrance and pumpkins $22.50

Other $759

• U.S. Phone plan $35
• Spotify $12
• One Drive storage $2
• Garmin monthly subscription $15
• Netflix $3.50
• Hulu $8.50
• Toiletries $76.50
• Cat stuff $260.50
• Hip pack $36
• Drivers License Renewal $32.50
• Portable battery $30
• Backpack rain cover $12.50
• DSLR camera $125 (Toby paid half for my birthday)
• Charity $85
• Costa Rica car hire cancellation $25

Website Costs $12

• Monthly payment for Keysearch $12

Vehicle Costs $274.50

• RV and van insurance $79.50
• RV oil leak repair $187.50
• Car wash $7.50

What’s in Store For Next Month

I’ll be spending the first 11 days of the month in Golden where I am planning to do a hike or walk daily, get on top of blog work and life admin, and do some more trip planning for our winter travels as well as meeting up with friends and family in Denver.

Then we will be dropping Joni at the sitter and flying to Costa Rica for the rest of the month – a five-week trip in total. We’re not sure where will be going for our first four nights (depends on the weather because it is the rainy season) but after that, we will be spending a week at an all-inclusive with Toby’s aunt and uncle at a resort on the Pacific Coast.

I have never done an all-inclusive before and it is not even close to my normal travel style but I am excited to try something new and to have a little luxury in my life – my birthday falls during this week so it is perfect timing.

For the last week of the month, we will probably head to the Caribbean coast to explore Puerto Viejo and the beaches around there, then we are planning to cross into Panama for a week to do some island-hopping in Bocas Del Toro, a part of Panama I haven’t visited before.

To read additional Monthly Recaps, you can find them here