July 2020 – December 2020
Going into 2020, I expected the year to be full of energy and excitement. Not only had I some thoughts on some wonderful travels, but my partner and I began to plan our wedding in Colorado. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic spread world-wide, I like many others just hoped to see the light at the end of this infamous year. The pandemic dashed all of my international travel plans. Once the summer came around and it looked like the effects of the pandemic had started to lighten, I turned towards domestic travel. I entertained the thought multiple domestic locations; however I settled on visiting a college friend in Portland, Oregon.
Portland
Yet, even with this visit, fortune did not favor me. My birthday is in early September, so a great time to enjoy the outdoors. My ideal birthday celebration is to take a hike in the outdoors on a trip. However, it just so happened that I had arrived in Portland, Oregon at the peak of their 2020 wildfires. I spent one day walking around a smoky Portland and one day on the slightly-less smoky coast.
I will admit, smoky Portland during a pandemic with post-BLM movements gave off an eery aura. I felt like I had stepped into a post-apocalyptic world, with empty streets, boarded up shops, broken windows, and protest street art all over the city. Even though I had visited Portland, I had not seen Portland. I look forward to another opportunity when the skies are clear to enjoy all the outdoors of Portland has to offer. My friend did not have to work on my second day in Portland. Therefore, we decided to take a day trip to the coastal towns in order to escape the smoke. Although better than Portland, smoked plagued Oregon’s coastlines. Air may have been breathable, but viewability was limited. Yet, I still had a sense of calming while on a PNW beach.
After these short day trips, air quality had significantly deteriorated, keeping me and my friends inside their house for the rest of my visit. At that point, I decided to fly back home two days early, so that I could at least spend my birthday hiking with my dog.
Colorado and Utah
Despite all of what 2020 had thrown at us at this point, I still had a glimmer of hope since my partner and I planned our wedding for late December. Yet, even these plans were dashed as Colorado’s COVID-19 positivity rate quickly climbed in the winter months. Eventually, we had no choice but to elope in 2020 and post-pone the full wedding to 2021.
To celebrate our elopement and to at least scratch that travel itch, we drove Moab, Utah for some winter hiking at Arches National Park and at Canyonlands National Park. We planned to be in Moab for two days of hiking, one day at Arches and one day at Canyonlands. We enjoyed one gorgeous day of hiking at hiking and some wonderful desert night photography with some friends. Yet, once again, 2020 decided to bite us. A snow storm rolled into Moab, thus closing both national parks. We decided to head back to Denver a day early.
Despite all of these hindrances, we made best with what we could access. Overall, 2020 had been an enjoyable year and I excitedly looking forward to when traveling, whether internationally or domestically, becomes safer.
Until next time,
ã……_ã……