TRAVEL: It's Good for You!

We arrived back in Desert Hot Springs last Monday evening after a long, uneventful, peaceful drive from Trementon, Utah. I must say that interstate 15 wins the prize for me for being the most beautiful interstate in the US. From the grand view of the Tetons, and the rolling green hills of Idaho, through the ridges and canyons of Utah and Arizona, I was amazed by how lovely highway driving could be.
I didn't take any photos on the way home as our focus was on getting home as quickly as possible. We were thankful for the safety of our drive and the ease with which we traveled. Tanner proved himself to be good company and seemed to enjoy tagging along.

I kept some statistics of our trip so here's a little numerical summary.
We drove a total of 4897 miles. Gas prices varied quite a bit from state to state, but even so, the price of gas is silly cheap in the US. Here's a rough outline:

$3.09 Mesquite, Nevada

$2.97 Park City, Utah

$2.45 Caspar, Wyoming

$2.53 Wall, South Dakota

$2.49 Brandon, South Dakota

$2.45 Burnsville, MN

$2.49 Fargo, ND

$2.55 Mile City, MT

$2.49 Wapiti, WY

$3.09 Trementon, UT

$3.17 St. George, UT

$3.48 Yucca Valley, CA

California remains an expensive place to live with the highest priced gas on the entire trip.

We visited 10 different states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho. 

On the way home I kept track of the temperature. (all temps in F) When we left MN it was 67°. When we reached Fargo, North Dakota it had dropped to 41°. It climbed back up to 54° by the time we got to New Salem, North Dakota and remained there in Wibaux, Montana. We hit 62° in Mile City, Montana, and were happy to see 74°in Wapiti, Montana. It seemed to stay in the low 70's throughout our day in Yellowstone and reached 82° in Trementon, UT. As we drove southward home the mercury started to rise, indicating the arid climate of the deserts hitting 94° in St. George, UT. It got over 100° as we traversed the Mojave Desert. It was in the 90's as we pulled into our house around 9.00 p.m. on Monday night. Hard to imagine a 50° shift in temperature in only 3 days!

Our National Parks pass served us well. Each place was unique and beautiful in its own right. We were in a few big cities but lots of small towns which reminded us that the US is diverse and vast. Many foreigners who visit the US, naturally want to see New York, Chicago, Los Angeles. And these cities are also part of what makes the US the US, but...it's really the small towns and the wide open spaces that lend an extra view into the life of an American. We found that people were mostly very nice, just seeking to make an honest living, understanding life from their little corner of the world. It's what makes the US hard to understand at times but beautiful all of the time. 

We were reminded that the US offers amazing opportunities for trips and adventures. After living in Europe for 17 years, and traveling to some of the most amazing places in the world, it's easy to forget that in your own backyard are wonders like Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, canyons and ridges and mountain ranges and lakes and streams that abound. The wildlife in the National Parks is so awesome. We saw prairie dogs, deer, and bison along with numerous types of birds. It was refreshing to be surrounded by these wonderful and wild open spaces. 

For me, this road trip re-confirmed what I have known now for years. TRAVEL is good for one's soul. Whether it be a drive across country or a trip across the pond, it's just good and healthy to get out and see another way of life. To experience another's place is to build understanding in your own perspective. To travel to another place is to put a human face on places. Could I live in Wibaux, MT? Probably not. It seems quite unlikely that we will be making a move to Utah or Idaho anytime soon and I don't think I'm the one to try to drive up the population of humans in Wyoming. But I am thankful that I've met folks for whom there is no other place they'd rather be. I'm thankful for the diversity of my homeland even though at times, it makes the US a very complex and complicated place. 

America the Beautiful: Part 1

We drove about 650 miles today entering 4 different states! It was a beautiful drive, stunning really, and we are enjoying our very comfortable digs outside of Park City, Utah. For a pet friendly hotel, this place is really nice. Our room is huge, the grounds have plenty of areas to walk Tanner and the price was great! There is even a swimming pool and hot tub but I think we'll be skipping those amenities. We get a full breakfast in the morning, which isn't a given in US hotels so all in all, we're pleased with our first day of travel.
This morning as we readied ourselves to go, Tanner was decisively going with us. He was in the car for a half hour before we left! He's a pretty good traveler, except for his incessant flatulence, which I guess is the cost of having a 10 year old lab!
Having not driven any appreciable miles in the US for a very long time, both of us were truly blown away by how lovely the drive was today. Driving by Las Vegas, Nevada was sort of surreal. It's really an odd place! As soon as we entered Arizona, the landscape got dramatic. Towering rock formations and multi-colored ridges dotted the landscape. Having just come from the desert lands of Israel/Palestine/Jordan, we were surprised by some of the similarities in the landscape. In fact, we even chuckled a bit when we saw signs for Mt. Nebo and the Jordan River! Having been to the "real" ones of both of those places, we were amused that those who gave these places their names co-opted those holy places.Upon entering Utah, our 4th and final state for today, the magnificent canyon formations surrounded us. Soon, snow-capped mountains came into view as well. Parts of the US got lots of snow yesterday so we were happy to have clear, blue skies the entire way. We were also surprised that it stayed light until well after 8.30 p.m. It made the driving much easier and more pleasant to be able to take in the views.
We hope to do a similar amount of driving tomorrow, hoping to land in Rapid City, SD. We're expecting a fairly beautiful drive once again.
It's truly fun for us to experience the US via road trip. The wild west feeling that we had a few times today is a bit unique to the US. And just seeing the various landscapes, the small towns, the different communities that are scattered about our route reminds us of how diverse our nation is.
This trip has also been made easier by the thoughts and prayers that so many of you have shared with us. We are so thankful that we have the flexibility we need right now to take this trip. Let me just say another thank-you for all of the support we feel during this trip.
I'm happy to be traveling in our nice Honda CRV. I think Doug has a dream that one day, we'll travel like this couple on a big motorcycle. Except that he would want to add a sidecar for Tanner, of course.