Pam LeBlanc warms herself on a boulder next to a creek in the French Alps.

Every December, I shake the dirty laundry out of my suitcase, crumple up the last plane ticket, and reflect on the places I visited over the previous 12 months.

This year, I hiked hut-to-hut in France and Italy, sailed on a yacht around the British Virgin Islands, and listened to a glacier groan and splinter in Patagonia.

In all, I booked 17 round-trip flights. I stepped foot in eight states besides Texas and nine countries outside the U.S. I zoomed around Texas, too, reveling in horseback rides and paddling trips in this wildly diverse place I call home.

I did things I’ve never done before, like attach cramp-ons to my boots and scramble up a snow-covered a volcano, and a few I’d rather not repeat, like having my passport stolen in a foreign country.

It sure beats sitting at a desk in an office building. I’m flat-out, can’t-believe-this-is-my-life grateful for what I get to do for a living. And next year’s shaping up to be a doozy, too.

Without further ado, here are my top 10 travel experiences of 2025…

10. Route 66. Next year, the Mother Road will celebrate it’s 100^th anniversary. I zipped up to Amarillo, and from there explored 178 miles of the historic route that cut through Texas between Glenrio and Shamrock. It reminded me, once again, that no matter how far I roam, there’s always something new to experience in my home state.

9. St. Eustatius. So many islands in the Caribbean are crowded with tourists and hotels. Not the Dutch island of St. Eustatius, where I stayed at Golden Rock Resort and went scuba diving on lush tropical reefs, hiked to the rim of a dormant volcano, and gnawed on stalks of sugar cane fresh from the field. Next year, the island celebrates the 250^th anniversary of the First Salute, which officially recognized the United States after the American Revolution.

8. Biking in Idaho. I’ve snow skied and rafted in Idaho, but for years I’ve wanted to pedal some of the state’s Rails to Trails paths. I finally got the chance this year, when I visited the Idaho Panhandle in summer. The highlight? Riding the Route of the Hiawatha, a 15-mile gradually descending path that takes you through 10 tunnels and over seven trestle bridges.

7. BVIs. Time slows down when you kick off your shoes and spend a few days aboard a yacht that comes with its own captain and chef. All I had to worry about on my trip with Dream Yacht Worldwide was snorkeling, swimming and making sure I was back on the boat when it was time to sail to the next island.

6. Great Lakes. Cruises aren’t generally my thing – unless they’re wildlife and education focused, like the Viking trip I took through the Great Lakes. The bulk of the week-long cruise was spent in Lake Superior, stopping at several national parks in Canada. As a bonus, I got to show my husband a little of Mackinac Island, where I worked at a hotel one summer when I was a college student.

5. Yellowstone. I love our national parks, and I worry about their future. That’s why I signed up for an activism-themed trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks with Intrepid Travel. The wolves gave us the shaft, but I watched a grizzly bear trot alongside a river, marveled at herds of bison, and admired the biggest moose I’ve ever seen. I also met Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly, whose father happens to be a good friend of mine.

If it hasn’t rained in many months, it’s possible to hike to Fern Canyon in Santa Elena Canyon. Pam LeBlanc photo

4. Santa Elena Canyon. I’ve visited Big Bend more than 30 times, but I still find new things to do and love while I’m there. This year, I joined Charlie Gandy, who’s putting together the new XTX Trail across the state, for a hike far into Santa Elena Canyon. You can only hike to Fern Canyon during times of drought, but the adventure still involved wading into neck-deep water, plodding through knee-deep mud, and scampering over boulders the size of Volkswagens. In a word, dreamy.

3. Chile’s Lake District. I somehow managed to land in Chile twice this year. A hike to a glacier atop Osorno Volcano that involved ice axes, helmets, harnesses, ropes and crampons highlighted the second trip, when I homebased at Hotel AWA on gorgeous Lake Llanquihue. And did I mention the visit to an estuary, where we ate oysters freshly caught by a diver on our boat?

2. French Alps. With mountain biking, white water rafting, canyoneering and hiking over a mountain pass from France to Italy on the agenda, what’s not to like? I spent a luxurious week at Eleven’s Chalet Hibou, where the focus is on adventure. And I’ll never forget taking a dip in an ice-cold alpine lake.

You can hear Perito Moreno Glacier crack and splinter when you stand in front of it. Pam LeBlanc photo

1. Patagonia. From giant, creaking glaciers to jagged towers of rock and windswept hills of grass, the landscape in Patagonia simply stuns. I visited national parks in Chile and Argentina, hiked to the base of Torres del Paine and through the French Valley, admired Perito Moreno Glacier, and toured an estancia on a 10-day jaunt with Smithsonian Journeys. I’m still blown away.

In between all that were ski trips and visits to the Texas Coast, camping trips to state parks, and a visit with dear friends in Cape Cod.

Already on the schedule for 2026? A long-anticipated trip to Antarctica, a hiking tour through the Cotswolds, rafting down the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and a trip to Nebraska to watch the sandhill crane migration.