5500 Miles, 17 States, 9 Days, 1 Epic Adventure (WORK IN PROGRESS!)

Preface: Late in 2011 the idea of an epic road trip began to bounce around between Sarah and I. After some loose planning and thought we came up with the idea to drive through every state north and west of Texas while hitting several of our “Life List” destinations in the process. We didn’t want to plan everything out to the last detail so that we could leave ourselves open to opportunities along the way but we did plot each of our desired stops on a map to establish a route that would help us reach each of them while also passing through the maximum number of states possible. The only thing we booked in advance was our Vegas hotel room at the Bellagio and our campsite in Yosemite National Park just incase they filled up before we actually arrived.

Supplies: Each of us packed a suitcase with several days worth of clothes, toiletries, and personal items. I brought my T2i and both HD GoPro’s to capture the events of the trip. Sarah packed an ice chest of drinks and food as well as a box of snacks for the road. We also brought a tent, a mattress topper (to use as a mattress in the tent), pillows, blankets, and various camping equipment for Yosemite and any other opportunities we had to camp during the trip as well.

Day 1 – 5.19.2012: We woke up at around 2:45 AM with the goal of departing at 3AM and arriving at Mount Rushmore before they turned the lights off for the night (10:30PM). Fortunately we had already packed the car the night before so all we had to do was get dressed and hit the road. We headed out I-10 West until we reached Comfort then headed north through Fredericksburg. Our route took us down a number of back highways winding up through the Texas Panhandle until we finally reached Oklahoma several hours into our drive. We were only in Oklahoma for about 45 minutes before we reached the Kansas state line and nearly ran out of gas as we learned the hard way that not every town on the map has a functioning gas station. Both Kansas and Oklahoma were exceptionally flat and exceptionally boring which seemed to slow down the clock and make the day drag on a bit. After a couple of very long hours immersed in a constant stench of manure we finally crossed over into Nebraska, narrowly avoiding a major midwestern storm cell in the process. We had been traveling at a good pace but I did not take into account the amount of small towns we would be passing through on our trip when I was doing our time calculations and we were beginning to fall behind schedule. The idea that weather could play a factor in our travels also seemed to evade me but we were fortunate enough to get through unscathed and only slightly further behind schedule than we already were. Nebraska was a nice change of pace from what we had been driving through the previous few hours and we stumbled across a few really cool landmarks that we had never heard of before. We spent a few moments at each of them but couldn’t explore as much as we would have liked due to our ongoing time crisis. As our luck would have it however, our time crisis soon resolved itself when we reached western Nebraska as I had also failed to take into consideration the fact that Mount Rushmore was in a different time zone than San Antonio. We gained back the hour that we had lost and hurried along through a small part of eastern Wyoming before cutting over into South Dakota. Finally, at 10:15PM and with fifteen minutes to spare, we reached our destination. The parking lot was deserted and we had the whole of the observation deck to ourselves. We let ourselves relax a bit as we sat on a wall gazing at the monument and taking in the beautiful South Dakota night but eventually our exhaustion started to get the better of us so we made our way to nearby Horsethief Lake Campground to set up camp for the night.

Day 2 – 5.20.2012: After the long day prior we finally dragged ourselves out of bed at around 9AM and slowly got ready for the day. When we emerged from our tent we were greeted with a picturesque landscape that had been invisible to us in the dark of the night before. A clearing in the forest directly in front of our tent framed a small lake sounded by trees and mountains. It was a beautiful sight to wake up to and put us in a better place than any coffee or energy drink could. Knowing the clock was ticking however, we packed our car and a few moments later we were back on the road. Thanks to our campsite’s close proximity to Mount Rushmore, it only took us about twenty minutes before we were back on the observation deck staring up at the faces carved into the mountainside. The daylight enhanced the experience and provided a perspective that the darkness of the night couldn’t offer. While the monument was most certainly breathtaking while lit against the stars, the view of the surrounding landscape greatly added to the experience of Mount Rushmore. The Black Hills National Forest went on for miles in every direction and offered beauty that had thus far been unsurpassed on our trip. We wandered through the crowd as we took photos and tried to absorb what lay before us. After a short while we knew we had to depart to make it to Missoula, MT by nightfall so we made our way to the gift shop and purchased a few souvenirs for friends and family. While in the gift shop we ran into some other San Antonio natives who happened to recognize my UTSA shirt and were also on a road trip of their own. We conversed for a bit and wished each well before finally setting off towards our next destination. Our goal was to make it to Missoula by nightfall but we also had a very important detour that added quite a few additional miles to our route. Given that we wanted to hit every state north and west of Texas, we had to drive about a hundred miles due north so that we could cross into the “Legendary” state of North Dakota before we could turn west towards Missoula. Once we were out of the “Black Hills”, South Dakota became a gigantic expanse of farmland that continued on as we crossed into the lower western corner of North Dakota. Almost immediately after we entered Montana however, the scenery changed dramatically and what was once an expanse of grassland soon became a wondrous mixture of hills, mountains, and forest. Montana is known as the “Big Sky” state and we immediately recognized why. The vast blue sky just seemed to feel bigger than it ever had before. The amazing scenery in Montana made the time go by quite quick and the fact that almost all of our drive was on a major interstate made the miles go by quickly as well. There were times where you could see mountains in every direction and for a short while we could even see the peaks of Yellowstone National Park. Soon enough we were exiting the highway in Missoula and looking for a place to stay. Using my phone I was able to find a small KOA so we opted to go that route and quickly setup our camp so that we could hopefully catch up on some sleep.

Day 3 – 5.21.2012: At 6AM we were one of the first ones awake and moving about in the KOA Campgrounds. We had again arrived in the darkness the night before but this time when we climbed out of our tent the view was considerably less remarkable. Our campground was in the middle of the city, crammed between a residential neighborhood and a strip mall. While there wasn’t really much to see it did have clean restrooms and hot showers so we took advantage of those on our way out. An hour or so later we were on the road and headed for Seattle. Montana continued to dazzle us with its beauty as we made our way through the rest of the state and the northern portion of Idaho gave us a similar performance. Once we made it into Washington however the land returned to an expanse of flat farmland with the sole exception of a large canyon formed by the Columbia River and Wanapum Lake. We reached Seattle in the early afternoon and after getting lost a few times we finally found ourselves at our next destination: The Space Needle! Ever since I was young I’ve had a fascination with architecture, specifically towers and very tall buildings so going to the Space Needle has always been high on my list. We anticipated having lunch in the restaurant but we were quickly informed that the lunch hours had just passed and all that we would be able to order were things off of the happy hour menu. Not to be deterred, our intention was to have lunch at the Space Needle so we did the best with what was available to us. We ate several things off of the happy hour menu including three delicious bowls of clam chowder. Rain clouds blocked our view for most of the time we were in the tower but we were fortunate enough to have them clear off for about a half hour so that we could get a good view of the city from our elevated vantage point.

Day 4 – 5.22.2012: The alarms went off at around 7:30AM and we climbed out of bed still tired from the night before but ready for the day ahead.

Day 5 – 5.23.2012: After the latest night yet, we still managed to wake up and get moving fairly early.

Day 6 – 5.24.2012: We woke up at about 9AM and spent some time getting ready in the tent but it wasn’t until I unzipped the front entry that the reality of being in the middle of Yosemite Valley finally hit me.

Day 7 – 5.25.2012: We were sad to be leaving Yosemite but excited for our first visit to the city of Las Vegas!

Day 8 – 5.26.2012: After fighting off the urge to stay in our luxurious Bellagio bed forever, we packed our things and said our goodbyes to the city of Las Vegas. Our extended slumber put us an hour behind schedule but after over a week on the road, we were needing all the rest we could get. Our next stop was the Hoover Dam which we arrived at less than an hour after leaving the Las Vegas city limits. We parked on the Nevada side and slowly made our way across the dam, stopping every few moments to take in the sheer magnitude of its presence. The Hoover Dam is a wonder of modern construction and I now feel that its definitely something everyone should see in their lifetime. Once we had gotten our fill of actually being on the dam, we headed over to the entrance of the Memorial Bridge Walkway and trekked out to the middle for a better view. The Memorial Bridge offered great shots of the dam but the unfortunate presence of a vast multitude of power lines strung across the separating expanse was quite an unsightly annoyance. Beyond the dam and the bridge, there was not much else to do there so we returned to the road with our GPS feeding us the fastest route to the Grand Canyon. We drove for several hours along a few deserted Arizona highways until we finally reached the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park! The park headquarters is nestled inside the Kaibab National Forest and strangely enough you can’t really see the Canyon at all. Even as we walked along the pathway guiding us to the canyon rim, all we could see were trees in every direction. Then, without warning we were suddenly standing at the edge of one of the largest and widest canyons on the planet! It was a very surreal feeling standing there, looking out over this place that is so often talked about and revered by American culture. Though this may sound impossible to anyone who has not been there and has always heard the hype, but the immensity of the Grand Canyon is vastly understated!

Day 9 – 5.27.2012: We set our alarms for 8AM so that we could get up and be ready to catch the free continental breakfast before it ended at nine. Worn and dreary we packed up and got a quick bite before we set out for the last day of the trip. Even though our only real destination was home, we did see some pretty cool stuff along the way. New Mexico offered miles of magnificent landscapes and our route even took us a few miles along the historic Route 66. We also made our way through Roswell, NM which allowed us to see what the world would look like through the eyes of someone wearing green tinted glasses. Ultimately though, we were ready to get back to our apartment and actually have some time to start taking everything in. After nearly 14 hours of driving through some of the most desolate areas of New Mexico and Texas, we arrived at home in San Antonio!