tuesday is yoga day

I can’t believe it has been over a month since I concluded my cross-country journey. The trip has really stuck with me–I keep flashing back to parts of it, the same way my mind sometimes wanders back to the vibrant streets of Florence or the peaceful coastline of Nova Scotia. From frolicking through South Dakotan sunflower fields to watching the majestic Tetons unfold as we drove along (and everything in-between), there’s no shortage of exciting memories for my wandering mind to re-visit. While the highlights of the trip were documented throughout my past posts, I think it’s time to sum up what I learned on this trip.

1. This country is far more rural than I ever imagined. Yes, I knew to expect a lot of farmland. After all, blocks of fields are often the dominant view from an airplane. But it wasn’t until driving through days upon days of crops, fallow fields, and grasslands that I realized just how much rural land there is between our coasts. We’d drive for hours without seeing a building that wasn’t on a farm. Yes, there were exits off the highway, but often they dropped you off 40+ miles from the nearest town.

   

   It’s amazing to think how different life must be for people who live this way… Better plan that grocery list carefully because the supermarket is a long drive away. No access to the museums, restaurants, historical buildings, or other cultural mainstays that perhaps, I have taken for granted. I wonder if it’s peaceful living out there–if those who choose that life are happy to see more cows than people and to be so far removed from the overstimulated, over-commercialized hubs of our country. Just food for thought…

2. Never take a clean windshield for granted. While it’s sometimes rare to see another human along those roads, bugs are EVERYWHERE. I very quickly became a pro with a windshield squeegee.

   

   There were some stretches of the drive where we could only go a couple hours before needing a scrub!

3. There’s nothing like a road trip to teach patience and appreciation for life. This, I already knew to some degree because I’ve been a lifelong road-tripper. But driving such an epic distance, I had to surrender myself to the fact that the miles would only go by so quickly. Rather than constantly thinking about what was next, as was my habit, I eventually began to enjoy the present moment (and present mile).

   

   Further, experiencing such a huge swath of the country allowed me to appreciate the immense diversity of culture, economy, and terrain that we have here. It’s something I think everyone should see, if they have the chance.

I’m back after a few days of extremely spotty internet access! The final day of the road trip took us from the little desert town of Winnemucca, NV to our final stop and my new digs in Napa, CA!

We drove through the Nevada state capital of Carson City, and then up through the mountains to Lake Tahoe. For those of you who have never been to Tahoe, get on it. A glorious blue gem nestled in the mountains, it’s the second deepest lake in the US and is known for its crystal clear water.

My mom had never been to Tahoe, so we stopped at several vistas to admire the beauty.

Somehow, we were able to tear ourselves away from the view and got back on the road! A couple hours of seemingly endless mountain roads later, we were on the freeway heading from Sacramento to Napa. And finally… we arrived and were greeted by a smiling familiar face 🙂

This road trip was an amazing adventure–we drove almost 3,500 miles, took in countless interesting sights, and saw 49/50 state license plates (still looking for Hawaii!). Thanks for following along! Stay tuned for lessons we learned on the road, and for accounts of future shenanigans.

Day Seven (of eight!) took us from the manure-scented air of Idaho Falls, ID to Winnemucca, NV, a smallish town I like to describe as Las Vegas’ northern runt sibling. Utah (new state count: 8). It was our first long-distance stretch in a few days, and we found several cool spots to check out along the way:

1. Hell’s Half Acre Lava Field (ID) – Shortly after leaving Idaho Falls, the roadside turned black and we realized we were driving through a lava field.

   

2. The Great Salt Lake (UT) – After a delicious lunch in Salt Lake City, we drove down to the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

   

   

3. Bonneville Salt Flats (UT) – The area pictured below looks snowy, but I assure you, it was approximately 100º F outside! The white stuff is salt, and it goes for miles and miles!

   

   

   After long day of driving and interesting stops, we settled in Winnemucca, NV for the night. Stay tuned for the final leg of our journey 🙂

Day Six was another whirlwind of exciting scenery. We drove the second half of Yellowstone’s main scenic loop, then down through the Grand Tetons, and finally stopped for dinner in Jackson before continuing to our hotel in Idaho Falls, ID.

The theme of our day at Yellowstone was geothermal activity–Old Faithful is just one of the park’s ~10,000 thermal features! Activity below Earth’s surface manifests itself in Yellowstone in many ways, ranging from geysers to hot springs to bubbling mud pits. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves…

A few more Yellowstone pics:

Trees being eaten away by nearby acidic bubbling mud pits!

A gorgeous hot spring by Yellowstone Lake.

Hot springs by Lake Yellowstone

Couldn’t miss seeing Old Faithful erupt

Next, we headed south through Grand Teton National Park. I had no idea what to expect, but what a beautiful surprise it was! Shortly after entering the park, we had a stunning view of the majestic Tetons, lined up like dominoes behind a perfectly smooth Jackson Lake.

The Teton drive actually ended up being more spectacular than the driving in Yellowstone (though there are more “attractions” to stop and see in the latter). Both the lack of traffic and the open road in the Tetons allowed us to appreciate gorgeous views the entire way.

We stopped for a delicious meal at The Kitchen, in Jackson, before landing in Idaho Falls for the night (new state count: 7). Day Seven will take us through Utah and part of Nevada!

The previous four days felt like both an eternity (when driving through the millionth cornfield) and a brief moment (when waking up 500 miles west of where I woke up the day before). Now, we’re slowing our pace for a couple days to enjoy some of the country’s best views!

From Buffalo, WY, we set our course toward Yellowstone National Park, a drive that first took us through the Bighorn Mountains. The Bighorn route turned out to be one of my favorite scenic drives I’ve ever taken. The scenery changed around every turn, and the roads were just curvy enough to be fun to drive while still allowing me to enjoy the view.

I’ll skip the section after the Bighorns, since it was probably the most boring stretch of road of the entire trip…let’s just say it was a couple hours of straight road and beige tones 🙂

Next, we entered Yellowstone from the east. What a gorgeous drive!

There were warnings all over to look out for wildlife, but things got real when we met a bison in the road!

The best attraction in the park that day was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The Yellowstone River carved (and is still carving) out this deep gorge.

After a long afternoon of exploring, we spent the night in West Yellowstone, Montana (new state count: 6).

On Day Six, we’ll explore the southern half of Yellowstone and drive through the Tetons!

We woke up on Day Four in Wall, South Dakota, one of the gateways to the Badlands National Park. The Badlands turned out to be the highlight of a packed and exciting (and windy) day!

We began our morning driving a scenic loop through the dramatic other-worldly terrain of the park. You’re just driving along the prairie, and then suddenly, the ground drops away on the side of the road and you’re in a scene from The Land Before Time. In my case, you’re also struggling to keep the car on a straight course through 50 MPH winds!

Adding to the drama of the terrain, you see a beautiful range of colors in the layers of rock and the plants growing around it.

What gives this area its name, you ask? Well, “badlands” is a general term for an area of sedimentary rock and clay-rich soil that has been eroded by wind and water. The result is a bunch of canyons, ravines, gullies, and buttes that are very difficult to traverse (thus, “bad land,” especially to the Native Americans that gave it its name). Badlands National Park is one of the best examples of badlands in the US.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the Black Hills of South Dakota and making our way into Wyoming (new state count: 5). These were the highlights:

1. Philly in South Dakota – Driving up toward the Black Hills, we saw a building in the distance that didn’t fit in. It turned out to be a definitely-not-architecturally-accurate replica of Independence Hall, with a Liberty Bell replica in front of it. As a Philly-area native, I couldn’t resist stopping.

   

   

2. Mount Rushmore and the Surrounding Black Hills – We skipped the $11 fee and just drove past Mount Rushmore. It was so much smaller than I’d always imagined! Still, it was cool to check this national landmark off my list. It’s buried in an area of the Black Hills that has some amazing rock formations.

   

   

3. Devil’s Tower (WY) – Right after crossing into Wyoming, we took a scenic drive to Devil’s Tower, our nation’s first national monument! A destination of climbers, the spiritual, and fans of the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it’s a giant wrinkly rock tower that seems to spring out of nowhere in the beautiful but otherwise consistent surrounding area. Days Five & Six will bring us through Yellowstone, so stay tuned!