My parents, siblings and I took our first camping trip to the Lake Houston Wilderness Park recently.

We had finished putting up the ________ when it suddenly started to rain. Luckily, we had ________ our tent on a high flat ground where water could not pour in. Mom got some snacks and drinks ready for us while we played games and ________ about our daily life, which made wet-weather camping fun. How ________ it was camping under the sound of the rain! We were gathered around in the center of ________ and it was a nice feeling. Even with the rain, I had never been so ________.

The rain died down before dark and the sky turned clear. Soon, Mom ________ a big meal over the fire for the family. I sensed that a hot meal and good ________ would warm us right up. While we ate together, Dad ________ at the stars and told us about his childhood. As we laughed and ________ on our days, the stars shone like diamonds at night.

The following day, we had a good time ________ the rocky trails around our campsite. ________ hiking in the forest, we had a lovely late afternoon boating. It was amazing to see the ________ changing rays of the sunset behind the pine trees. That evening we packed up our ________ and headed home.

I am very grateful for this camping trip, which has left us unforgettable ________.

Now that my children are grown and, for the most part, I have recovered a habit, and a love: solo travel(独自旅行). The ______ was planted when I was 17 and went on a class trip to Spain. After that adventure I sought every opportunity to ______ on my own, because I wanted to ______ as I wished, noting my ______ into my journal.

I ______, many years ago, before I became a dad, arranging to ______ for a summer on an Icelandic farm in exchange for room and board. My ______ were to take a bus along the south coast from Reykjavik and get off at a certain crossroads, where the farmer was to pick me up. The driver ______ at the appointed place, but no one was there to ______ me. And so I put my backpack down in a sheep field and read a book, having ______ myself that when one ______, one is never lost. Sure enough, within a reasonable amount of time my host ______, and I spent a lovely summer haying (制干草) with a family in which not a word of English was ______.

I tell this last story to lessen the ______ of friends and others who have occasionally raised their hands to their faces upon ______ what I was up to. Some are specialists in outlining for me all the things that can go wrong when one puts oneself into the ______. But for me, that’s the whole ______ of travel: to go where I haven’t gone before, to ______ friendships waiting to be made, to ______ a new and, for me, undiscovered environment where being pleasantly surprised is the ______.

My husband and I had been________a train trip and when we saw that Rocky Mountaineer was now offering a Colorado/Utah service, we made our________. The hotels that the company booked for us in Denver for night 1 and night 4 were great. They were in a________area, an easy walk to places to eat, etc. Pick-up from the hotels made our going and arrival very easy. Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge was probably the only________I have about the trip—it’s a bit poor, and no restaurant or bar. After a very early morning on day 1 (our luggage was picked up at 7 am) and long but beautiful day on the train, we were pretty ________. All we wanted was a glass of wine and a few nibbles (点心)which were not ________at the hotel so we had to________ourselves out and walk to another hotel for these. I________would never book there again. 

The experience we had on the train was just________. The seats were very comfortable and we were lucky enough to have an empty dining car________ to our car. That gave extra space to move around. I enjoyed sitting there in a quiet area with my book and just looking at the great scenery________. We ________ big horned sheep, deer, bears and a bald eagle during our time on board. All in all I was very happy with the trip, with the ________of the Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge choice. We are now ________ one of Rocky Mountaineer’s Canadian routes. It’s a lovely way to see this beautiful part of the world and if you’re a train________, all the more reason to check it out!