I don't want to tell anyone how to suck eggs, but if you do end up going to Canada as GF did, be very careful if you do try to fly in the Rockies. I flew SAR for the CAF out of Namao and spent my fair share of time looking for guys who crashed because they did not know what they were doing.
I recommend taking a short mountain flying course run by one of the flight schools before trying it on your own. Just some friendly advice.
Fly safe