When I first got my driver’s license, I did not yet realize the freedom and potential for adventure that it gave me, but it didn’t take me long to realize that if you have a car and time, you can go anywhere (within reason). This realization has led to a fascination with driving that inspires me to this day. It blows my mind that the great web-like network of roads connects your driveway to the most exotic places in this hemisphere. You can go out and stand in your driveway right now: that pavement is connected to the pavement of Going-to-the-Sun Road, the Million Dollar Highway, the Pacific Coast Highway, and all the most beautiful and famous roads in North America (and South America for that matter). I marvel at the distance you can go on the big interstate highways. If you fancy, you can take I-80 all the way from New York City to San Francisco or I-70 from Baltimore to the deserts of Utah. If you have enough patience and taste for adventure, the interstate system makes the entire country your playground, with no plane tickets required. I’ve had the opportunity to go on a few great road trips so far in my life, and I hope to go on many more. I’ve explored Central Pennsylvania and Upstate New York, I’ve driven up the East Coast from South Carolina all the way to New Hampshire, and I’ve traveled from the mountains of Western Virginia to Coastal New England. All these trips were memorable in their own ways, but one of my road trips in particular, a multi-week trip from Pennsylvania to Moab and back, stands out as my most adventurous and most memorable.
I believe everyone should drive across the country at least once in their life, and although the Moab trip did not take us all the way from East Coast to West Coast (Moab sits in the Southern Utah desert, some 1200 miles from the Pacific), that trip was the closest I have come to accomplishing this goal. There is something truly magical about seeing the land change as you leave the wooded East Coast for the seemingly endless flatlands of the “Middle” before finally glimpsing the Rockies rise up ahead of you like some Goliath over your insignificant David. The drive is a long and sometimes dull one, but it makes you appreciate not only the size of this country, but also the geographic diversity that it possesses. The flat dullness of suburban Ohio, the rugged mountainous beauty of the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado, and the otherworldly red desert of Southern Utah are all part of the same country, even though they feel like they could be on different planets, as in some new Disney Star Wars spinoff show. Seeing all these landscapes sequentially, and seeing the land change from one to the other is a mind blowing experience that every person should strive to see someday.
The trip took us over two weeks in total because we had no desire to drive more than seven or so hours per day. We took our time getting out there and back stopping frequently to experience the unique towns we passed. As many road trips are, this trip was about the journey just as much as it was about the destination. Moab just served as an interesting turnaround point and an excuse to explore the country. Moab is one of the most famous adventure towns in the world. It is directly adjacent to two National parks: the world famous Arches and often underrated Canyonlands. The land surrounding the town that is not part of these two national parks is nearly all Bureau of Land Management land, meaning it is public land, free for exploration. Moab is also world famous for its off-road terrain, and we certainly put my dad’s stock Toyota Tacoma through its paces on some cool trails.
A lifelong goal of mine is to visit all fifty states, and this trip served as an outstanding vessel for checking off a ton of the traditional “flyover states”. In order to keep it interesting and to visit as many states as possible, we took the southern I-70 route on the way out and the northern I-80 route on the way back. In all, the trip took us to fifteen states, six national parks, four national forests, and nine state parks. We camped every single night of the trip, both to keep costs down and also to better experience the places we were visiting. We slept mostly in state parks across the country, but once we reached Colorado and Utah we slept in national forests, national parks, and on other public land. The camping made it feel like even more of an adventure. There were some days where we woke up only having a general plan of where we were going to sleep that night, which added to the feeling of heading into the unknown.
Highlights of the trip include off-roading the aforementioned stock Tacoma on the famous Shafer Switchbacks in Canyonlands National Park in the pitch black, sleeping at 11,000 feet in Breckenridge with temperatures dropping into the low 40s in August, and spur of the moment finding one of the most underrated hikes in Colorado (we didn’t get to finish unfortunately) before eating Buffalo Chicken Pizza in our tent. There are so many epic memories that I never would have had if I didn’t choose to put the key in the ignition and point the car west. I would recommend that everyone takes a similar trip at some point in their life. If you have the time and patience to do it, driving is a much more interesting way to travel and see the country and the world. If a trip of this sort is not within your comfort zone, my advice would be that no real adventures have ever been had inside your comfort zone. Ride the pavement right out of your comfort zone. Start the car.