Silas the Sprinter: The Best of 2015 (so far)

Whenever we talk to people about our travels, their top questions always include, "what is your favorite place that you've visited?" or "what has your favorite part been?" Those are two very, very difficult questions to answer. We do so many activities in so many different places and they all have so much value to us, it really is impossible to choose a favorite. However, I have attempted to create a short list of a handful of experiences that have really stood out to me this year. I tried to make this list a top 10, but that wasn't working out super well. I've lumped a few things together that happened in the same time frame or region to try to keep it shorter, but brevity isn't really a strong suit of my writing anyway! Here are some of my (Laura's) top moments of 2015 (so far, up until the end of August) in no particular order. (Side note: I just went through to grab pictures for all these and came up with like 20 million other favorite moments. I don't know why I even bothered trying. But still, here are some of my favorites. Really everything we've done has been FABULOUS and one of our favorite parts of road tripping is seeing all our friends and family along the way. I love you all!)

1. Snowshoeing to the Bradley Hut in Lake Tahoe, CA

This was special because it was within the first few days of hitting the road and happened completely by chance

2. Eating cookies from Laggan's Bakery and hiking the Bow River Loop trail in Lake Louise, AB, Canada

This is a gorgeous trail (not actually the one pictured, but similar) along the river. The chocolate chip cookies were some of the best I've had anywhere. And I eat a lot of cookies.

3. Skateskiing in Teton Canyon and skiing Mary's Nipple on the Idaho side of the Tetons with Kaybe.

Our first long and pretty successful skate. Kaybe gave us a ton of pointers and Titan kept up the whole way.

This was the closest thing we got to a powder day all season. The pow was probably a week old but it was still SO GOOD compared to everything else we skied this winter.

4. Flyfishing and climbing in Gallatin Canyon, MT

We both ALMOST caught a fish. Just the act of casting and hanging out on the river was awesome.

We got to do a bunch of fun climbing, including Spare Rib, a route I would highly recommend.

5. Sleeping in the Flagg Point Fire Lookout near Mt. Hood, OR

A really unique and fun experience.

6. Hiking the Beckler Peak Trail near Steven's Pass in WA with Kristen and Connor

This day was downright magical. I don't know if I've ever been in a better mood after a hike.

7. Backpacking the 170 mile Tahoe Rim Trail in CA and NV

Two weeks of hiking every day. Gorgeous views and an overall rewarding experience.

8. Eating nachos and climbing in Gold Bar with Aaron and with Bela

Aaron cooked us up the biggest platter of nachos that has probably ever existed. The next day we climbed some really stellar lines and had the weather cooperate perfectly for us.

We got really lucky by meeting Bela. He showed us around all over Gold Bar, Skykomish and Leavenworth. We kept bumping into him and having awesome days climbing together.

9. Night canoeing shenanigans and phosphorescence viewing with Clancy and Hans

This picture is from day time and a kayak, but the nighttime canoeing was a bit rowdy to bring cameras along. Phosphorescence is one of the coolest natural phenomenons I've ever seen.

10. Stand up paddleboarding on the White River with Brian and Sean

First time SUPing on a river and first ever SUP for the dogs. They did great and once again proved they are the best dogs ever. The river was a gorgeous color and the day was perfect.

11. Touching our first glacier, the Coleman Glacier

Glaciers are SO COOL. This was the first one we got to see up close and the first one we got to touch. A crazy mist blew in after awhile and just blanketed the whole glacier so you couldn't even see it anymore.

12. Meeting the love of my life on the side of the road