Somewhere, USA

Somewhere, nowhere, anywhere, EVERYWHERE… dependent on the day.

Favorite place? My FAVORITE place? That’s a loaded question. Favorite place for what? For living? For working? You’re going to have to be more specific if you have hopes of getting any semblance of an answer. I get asked this occasionally. We all do. Usually it pertains to Glacier, sometimes to the world.

The answer? If we told you, we’d most assuredly have to kill you. Or lie. Trust me when I say we’d prefer to do neither.  The only way we’ll spill our secrets is to take you there… but first we have to make sure you’re capable of cherishing it.

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We all have places we hold near & dear to our hearts. Some because of memories past, some for aspiring memories future. Maybe the best days of our lives happened there, maybe our hearts were shattered & rebuilt amidst their humbling presence. Wherever your respective place(s) may be, all of ours are united by something: they are beloved &, for many, secrets kept close to our hearts.

I have a favorite place. Many actually. Some are fleeting, others are for life.  Some I even have pictures of that I’ll share with the people I trust most- the people who might be able to appreciate them in a way akin to my own. Rarely I’ll let the location seep forth, more often I’ll make them figure it out themselves. Make them earn it. Half of the adventure is the process undertaken chasing these spots.

Fleeting favorites you ask? That seems rather fickle. Frankly though, we simply can’t let every location we visit permanently latch itself onto our list of “favorites” for what meaning would such a label hold if we did?

The true forevers are those whose names you daren’t utter above a whisper.

The true forevers are those you actually want to capture in that journal you’ve brought on every trip for the past few seasons yet somehow been “too busy” to write in except for those adventures that matter most.

These places are the bastions of strength getting us through long workdays. They’re the places that take our breaths and minds away when we least expect it- a miniscule thought & we’re instantaneously transported across oceans.

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We all have forever favorites. A few are longstanding love affairs, some are newfound passions, one in a million take the pinch-me-is-this-real fairytale form. Though we love them all, we feel fortunate to find that fairytale not just on the pages of books but in real time.

It’s a place of pure magic, a place that makes you believe anything is possible.

Though we will not tell you its name, we will tell you that it’s found at the corner of flawless & awe-inspiring. It may be hemmed in by hallowed walls but its essence will soar well beyond their confines. If you’re like me, it won’t have cell service nor will it be reached by car. Its trailhead is tucked in amidst unassuming tumbleweed down roads long-since-forgotten. Its path leads you straight into the heart of “did I inadvertently tunnel to the other side of the world” territory.

To embrace it you must be willing to be inspired, to accept that such a place really does exist. You must succumb to having your life changed for an eternity by mere moments. You must be willing to be humbled.

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Every so often we come across a person we would like to take to this place, these places. We connect with them in such a way that why wouldn’t we want them to be privy to these steadfast spots?

Yet, these instances cause us pause. Part of what makes these spots the fairytale they may be are the pre-existing experiences attached. The ones you had when you first set foot within them. By introducing another factor into the equation you risk marring the memories, you risk introducing an alternate ending to the story. What if they see your megalith as a mere pile of stones? Ah, but what if they don’t?

“We shoot backcountry bloggers” reads a bumper sticker slapped to the side of a stop-sign on a country road in the middle of Somewhere I Love, USA. For all the places sacrificed in magazines, there is a plethora of spots that remain anonymous. Still, we fear our favorites might end up antagonistically splashed across the pages of Outside or Backpacker for a paltry sum of money. Be warned: if you choose to be responsible for such a divulgence, it may be taken as a personal affront to those of us who tipped you off. We will hold you culpable for your cavalier actions.

Those who know me know one of my favorite adages is “it’s the places that make you come but the people that make you stay.” Sometimes, just sometimes, though it IS the places themselves that hold you captive and the people accessories to help you remember them by.

What is (are) my (our) favorite spot(s) you ask?

If we’ve shown you a picture, consider yourselves amongst the privileged few. You need no name, only patience. You’re probably already on the short-list to visit.