The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

Last Updated on

Hola, Ecuador!

park carolina quito ecuador

Finally, finally… we are in Quito, Ecuador.

There’s not much else to say about how much we’d been anticipating this trip. I’ve already said it all, and I don’t want to repeat myself too much. Feel free to read more here, and here, and here if you want the whole background on the situation.

But now, we are here. And I’m so excited to have something to write about again!

I guess I’m going to start by sharing the story of our travels and everything that we needed to get into Ecuador. Here we go! [Read more…]

Last Updated on

How I Created My Travel Gallery Wall

Hi, it’s me, your travel blogger friend who left her glamorous, frivolous life in Spain to settle back into the typical patterns of everyday American society for the past 10 months. (Thanks, COVID.) While our next adventures seem to be creeping closer, little by little, I’ve had some time to work on other projects that I’ve enjoyed. And one of them was decorating my very own office! [Read more…]

Last Updated on

Thinking About Our Travel Options for 2021

Reykjavik in December 2017 when I had the whole world within reach

We’re now two months into 2021. Though we all eagerly awaited the end of a very bad 2020, not too much has changed for most of us. The vaccines are a bright spot on the horizon, even though we know we certainly aren’t in a priority group. Matt and I are hoping we’re both vaccinated some time in the summer, and by that point many other people should have been vaccinated first. Could that mean a return to “normal” for us? [Read more…]

Last Updated on

What I Miss the Most About Traveling

travel-italy

Last night, my family and I finally had our Christmas. Yes, on January 9. Most of my family, except for me & Matt, and my sister Carrie, came down with COVID, so we had to postpone our celebration until everyone was healthy again. Luckily everyone is doing well! And while we were all together, we also did one of our New Years traditions — we each write down as many predictions as we can for the new year. Then, we take turns reading the last year’s predictions to see how many we got right.

I was first up. As I scanned through my typed list, which I’d emailed to my dad since I was in Europe last year, all I could say was… “Wow. This is sad.” Because of course, at that point I had no idea we were two months away from getting hit with the pandemic that would be life-changing for the next year, if not longer. [Read more…]

Last Updated on

Why We Decided to Move to Helena, Montana, for a Month

helena montana - feature image

A snowy day in Yellowstone

Ouch, it’s been two months since my last post. That’s definitely the longest I’ve ever gone without writing something new here, and I want to be clear that The Girl Who Goes is NOT over… it’s just that the girl isn’t able to go very much these days.

But I haven’t given up on traveling forever, and with the first COVID vaccines being administered in the U.S. today, I’m feeling excited about my travel prospects for 2021!

Anyway, today’s my birthday so I decided I should write SOMETHING today, of all days. So I’ll share the story of my last travel adventure, during the month of October in Montana. [Read more…]

Last Updated on

Why You Should Visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

black canyon tomichi point

The view from Tomichi Point at Black Canyon National Park — hazy from western wildfires

“Several canyons of the American West are longer and some are deeper, but none combines the depth, sheerness, narrowness, darkness, and dread of the Black Canyon.”
— Duane Vandenbusche, author of Images of America: The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Have you ever heard of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park? No? Well, you’re not alone. But when we stayed in Grand Junction for a week in September 2020, we were so close to Black Canyon that I couldn’t resist the chance to check off another National Park from my personal list.

Matt had never heard of it but was also happy to make the 1.5 hour drive and spend the day exploring. And the more we researched it, the more excited we were to visit. Keep reading to find out why you should visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. [Read more…]

Last Updated on

How to Spend One Day at Arches National Park, Utah

one day at arches - delicate arch

THE Delicate Arch, seen during our one day at Arches National Park recently

Out of the 29 National Parks I’ve been to, there’s one that I’ve returned to time and time again: Arches National Park. Located in eastern Utah, not far from I-70 and near the small town of Moab, Arches wasn’t even a park I knew about until my family visited for the first time in 2012 during our annual road trip. Our memories of its fiery red rocks and blue skies came second only to our memories of a particularly ill-advised hike.

Let me just say… hiking to Delicate Arch at 3pm in the middle of July with inadequate shoes and insufficient water isn’t something I would recommend. Also, it’s 1.5 miles each way, not round trip like we’d thought. All I remember is both of my sisters crying the entire time — Becky because she had a migraine; 10-year-old Carrie because with each corner we turned, we weren’t yet at the famous arch. [Read more…]

Last Updated on

What It’s Like to Fly Internationally During Coronavirus

airplane coronavirus pandemic

As my second year in Spain was coming to an end, it was time for me to plan my return home. Remembering the true horror of last summer spent in Madrid — record-breaking heat waves and a lack of air conditioning — I knew I needed to leave Madrid before July. But in April, at the same time I was considering my exit, the coronavirus pandemic was also taking over the world… particularly Europe. Hoping that things would return to some semblance of normal by then, I decided I would leave Spain on July 1.

In general, I’m accustomed to paying about $300 one way from Madrid to a large U.S. city such as Boston or Chicago. Then, I use Southwest points accumulated from my former life as a traveling tech consultant to get me back to Kansas City. In this case, however, I had to make a choice: pay $2,000+ for a semi-direct flight, or pay $200 to fly Madrid-Paris-Newark-(stay overnight)-LaGuardia-Kansas City? [Read more…]

Last Updated on

Coronavirus Update: Madrid, Spain – May 25, 2020

Day 1 of semi-freedom

Another month has passed since my last post, but it seems that May has gone more quickly than April, and MUCH more quickly than March.

In my last update, I wondered how much longer it was going to be until the end of lockdown. Well, just a few days later, I got my answer. [Read more…]

Last Updated on

Coronavirus Update: Madrid, Spain – April 27, 2020

Hi everyone. It’s been over a month since I last wrote something, and I think that may be the longest time I’ve ever gone without posting. As of this month, I’ve been writing as The Girl Who Goes for three years! (A fact I was reminded of when I was prompted to renew my domain registration.) So, it looks like I’ll be the girl who’s going for the next three years, at least. 🙂

Obviously, Spain has been in the news a lot over the past couple of months. It’s the second-most affected country in the world after the U.S., and third in number of deaths after the U.S. and Italy. That being said, as I begin Week #7 of lockdown – honestly, it’s more than just quarantine – I have seen a lot of changes over the past 6 weeks and glimmers of hope for the next weeks to come. [Read more…]