Debrief.

I have wanted to write a fantastic narrative of our month-long road trip that was to be the celebration of my final graduation. But somehow it turned out somewhat differently than I expected, and I can't seem to get myself in a mental space to write about it. Don't get me wrong - it was a memorable and worthwhile trip. I am so glad we did it. But perhaps I am just getting older, and let's face it: you just can't duplicate past times that live in your memories into reality. 

We traveled 6,379 miles and stayed in 18 hotel rooms over 28 days, visited 13+ museums, including the presidential museums of Hoover, Truman, Lincoln (amazingly on Juneteenth!), and Eisenhower. We explored national monuments - Dinosaur, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Cahokia Mounds, Antelope Island-Great Salt Lake, Little Bighorn Battlefield, and the Badlands. We were awed by Fish Creek Falls (in Colorado), Shoshone Falls (in Idaho), and the Denver Botanic Gardens. We experienced American kitsch with the world's largest catsup bottle (in Illinois), the giant Van Gogh sunflowers (in Kansas), the Corn Palace and Wall Drug (both in South Dakota), and stopped at the Budweiser headquarters (in St. Louis). And as a special surprise, we even happened onto the Denver Pride Parade! We explored Butte, Rapid City, Des Moines, Peoria, St. Louis, Salina, Salt Lake City, and so many other towns I cannot even remember. We tried to eat in restaurants that featured local favorites like the Springfield 'horseshoe' at Abe's Hideout, and historic diners like Ariston on Route 66 (however, we did cave to the occasional Cracker Barrel and Cane's). We snapped thousands of photos, stopped at too many gas stations and truck stops to remember, were glad we brought a snack bag and refillable water bottles, and were thankful for Purple seat pads in the car. All in all, we had a great time learning, laughing, and sweltering in the heat that hovered in the high 90s most of the journey.

We also managed to find 20 letterboxes along the way, and as you can imagine, visited many cemeteries. Unfortunately, all my planned letterboxes to plant (10+, and a whole bag of HHs) along with our sig-stamps and logbook were stolen the first night in a smash-n-grab, so we were not able to plant any along the way (such a bummer). But, we rebounded by grabbing a store-bought stamp to use as a sig-stamp, a fresh logbook, several colors of new ink, and made the best of it. As usual, planters across the country took us to places we would not have found otherwise. 

I made a photo book of the trip for a keepsake, and I will drop the intro and a few of my favorites snaps here. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as we enjoyed exploring our vast and diverse country. 

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[Intro]

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~Mark Twain

Taking extended road trips are, by far, the most challenging, inspiring, memorable, and beneficial things I have done in my lifetime. So, when I was thinking of a way to mark the end of my near-decade in higher education, the only thing that came to mind was a cross-country road trip with my lifemates – Chuck, Lisa, and Taylor. Driving across the states is different than flying – you are not only an observer but a participant in the traffic, the landscape, and the people that occupy those places you are traveling through. It is simply something I live and yearn for. Big sky. The open road. Small towns. Busy cities. Making connections with strangers and contemplating what it is like for those that live in those places. It is all glorious.

I set to planning with one goal in mind: for Chuck to revisit his childhood places and remembrances in Illinois. I envisioned each day getting there as a day-trip packed with the most interesting, engaging stops. I think we fulfilled that goal.

It was so very different from other extended road trips I have taken. The political climate of the country has all Americans at odds with one another in some way. There was underlying stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, which was still ravaging many places in the US. Mask wearing was contentious in some places, and we felt the anxiety in various ways. Gas prices were at an all-time high, a fact that was not present when I was planning, but thankfully we had budgeted enough to cover the added expense. But what presented the biggest challenge was the first night out; we were victims of a smash-n-grab in my own hometown. Taping the back and side passenger window created additional road noise, but more so, it prevented full view to whoever was in the back seat. We managed but must admit that it created stress and strategy each time we parked.

The following photographs not only capture what interested us enough to snap a pic, but it also tells a story of our time and experience as we crossed the Midwest and back. We are not sorry we went; in fact, we would do it all again. We all learned, as travelers always do, about ourselves, each other, and how much we really don’t know about the environment, other people, and their experience. We explored, dreamed, and discovered far more than we expected. That alone made this journey worthwhile.

tapin' up the damage

we were unaware that Wallace, Idaho
was the center of the universe!

Huckleberry shakes at Winki's Diner
in Montana

those bonnets were amazingly effective in the 100* heat ...
too bad they looked so awkward!

stoppin' for some swag

Pride was awesome in Denver!

Until next time.