The Bucket List

Trail of the Ancients and the Grand Circle

Virtual Road Trip Covid Style - 2020-22

The Bucket List

Remaining healthy during the COVID 19 Pandemic was the most important matter on the agenda for 2020. Road tripping across the border into the States was impossible. Planned trips were moved a couple of times and finally cancelled. The border between Canada and US was closed. Any kind of travel is impossible. For that matter, it is not even desirable. More on the Virus

During the lockdown, I went through the whole website, tweaked where necessary, made the changes for the upcoming cancelation of Flash, made new movies, and created the photo album.

While going though everything, I realized how lucky I am to have travelled when I did and to be able to do the things I have. I feel like I've done it all. I've been to an Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Quilt Gardens in Indiana, the International Peace Garden between Manitoba and North Dakota, and National Parks and Monuments all across Canada and the United States. The beautiful cacti forests of the southwestern deserts captured my heart. Of course, we can't leave out "North to Alaska" (which ironically, living up to it's legacy, might just be our "final frontier").

The road south lead us to Oatman, Route 66, Pony Express stations, Tombstone and ghost towns - oh so many ghost towns. Then there are those crazy places we discovered along the way. We have explored the haunted Myrtles Plantation, Luckenbach, Texas, Niagara Falls, New Orleans, Dollywood and Graceland. We've been to Washington, DC., the Mexican Border in Arizona, and Universal Studios in California.

We've travelled every twisty, winding road that Karen could find on the map. We have braved the incredible Burr Trail and the back road from Shonto to the Navajo National Monument. We have driven the dusty roads of Highway 261, Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley.

But after all that, there is one trip left on our bucket list - the Trail of the Ancients. So as 2020 pushed to a close and there is no travel post for this year, I decided to travel the Trail - virtually! Maybe someday we will be able to make it come true. Thanks to Wikipedia and all the Trail of the Ancients websites for giving us the itinerary.

We have to leave a few things to our imaginations. Those crazy things we do along the way - the unscheduled stops, where we ate, the animals, the flowers, the backroads, and of course the "change of plans" that completely derail us. Those remain to be seen.

Trail of the Ancients

The Trail of the Ancients is a collection of National Scenic Byways located in the U.S. Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. These byways comprise:

• The 366-mile Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway in San Juan County, Utah;
• The 116-mile Trail of the Ancients Scenic and Historic Byway in Montezuma County, Colorado;
• The 662.4-mile Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway in McKinley and San Juan counties, New Mexico;
• The 100.3-mile Dine' Tah "Among the People" Scenic Road in Apache County, Arizona;
• The 26-mile Kayenta-Monument Valley Scenic Road in Navajo County, Arizona.

The byways highlight the archaeological and cultural history of southwestern Native American peoples, and traverses the widely diverse geological landscape of the Four Corners region of the Colorado Plateau. It was the first National Scenic Byway that was designated primarily for its archaeological sites.

Day 1 - Calgary to Kalispell, Montana