Travel Schmidt

Advice and sometimes reviews of cool places to which we travel. Many are attractions we’ve enjoyed while camping while others are guides to interesting cities or locations encountered during our travels.

Hunting Opal at Klinker Opal Mine

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Let’s play word association. I’ll go first. Opal. Did you say Vernon? Huh? Did you? Did you? Huh? Huh? Yeah, I’d have said Australia too. It’s one of those universal geological facts that everyone learns as a kid for some reason. But opal is found in several other locations around the globe, including Canada. And … Read more

Two Nights in Cody, Wyoming

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What do you do when the start of your Yellowstone camping trip is derailed by flash floods a week before departure? First, you panic. Of course. Then, you regain composure and conjure a whirlwind two-day Hail Mary in Cody, Wyoming. The closest urban centre to the east entrance of Yellowstone, Cody is hardly an unknown … Read more

Two Nights in Grand Teton National Park

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Conventional wisdom says you need to be controversial to get noticed on social media. So, here’s my stab at it. Grand Teton National Park is overrated. I don’t know. Maybe it was unfair sandwiching it between Yellowstone and Glacier? That’s some hefty competition, after all. Like standing me between Brad Pitt and Chris Helmsworth and … Read more

Three Nights in Glacier National Park

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You know a trip is too long when your kid critiques Glacier National Park with a disinterested shrug, stating, “It’s just like more Banff.” First, how that could ever be construed as a negative is beyond me. And second, it’s actually “just like more Waterton”. Sheesh. That is where we stood as we set up … Read more