Leaving Vegas for Utah

by James Walker

Day 1 - Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

So far my discussions about our trip across (parts of) America has been light on specifics and more about my longing for travel. I could talk for days and days about how I'd love to be on the road or walking down the street of some far-off city, but this blog is supposed to be a log of my past exploits, so I'll fill in a few details.

Our trip originally came from an idea of Erinn's that we could drive across the United States and see something like 20 states. We would have gone all the way from the west coast to the east coast and back, driving about 6,000 miles. It would have been crazy, so we scaled it back and ended up with just 5 or so states, most of them new to both of us. Officially we passed through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Idaho, but the substance of our trip was mainly just Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

On paper, our trip looked like this:


View Larger Map

That would have put us at 2,585 miles, but all the sightseeing, detours, and wandering gave us right around 3,700 miles. It was quite a lot of driving for just 12 days, but we made it work and we had a great time. I've been on many drives down I-5 to southern California where I've gotten sleepy and bored and needed someone next to me to keep me awake, but there was so much to see on this 3,700 mile drive that we rarely got sleepy and never got bored. One of my favorite drives was the drive on I-70 through Utah and into Colorado. The landscape itself was so dramatic and in just a single day's drive it changed so often that I couldn't have fallen asleep if I wanted to. I felt like to sleep would be to miss the very thing I was here to see on this trip. From the beautiful countryside of the valley at the beginning of I-70 to the dramatic bluffs and canyons in the middle to the beginnings of the Rockies on the western side of Colorado, I was taken in by the beauty and variety of the land.

And this was all in the first few days of our trip.

We begin, as I said before, in Las Vegas. It was hot when we drove in that night at 10pm and it was already getting hot the next morning when we left at 8am. There's not much to see in this neon city except big buildings and slot machines so while we appreciated the inexpensive-yet-luxurious Orleans Hotel, we were happy to leave it behind (for now).

We left Nevada, drove through a corner of Arizona, and wandered into Utah.

Grand American Camping Adventure: A Look Back

The very first picture of our trip. Headed to Las Vegas

We were gone for roughly 12 days and in some ways it seemed so much longer than that. In other ways it seemed much too short.  On our trip we visited national parks, big cities, small cities, and everything in between. Every moment seemed packed with adventure even when we were just driving across an empty valley with hardly much more than a few barns and windmills. It was amazing. Erinn and I keep wishing we could pick up a little silver bullet trailer and stay on the road indefinitely.

The week that we've been back has been full of its own surprises, mostly good, but it has been tough getting used to the daily grind after being so fully swept off our feet by our travels. Someone asked me recently how my trip was and I responded by saying "It was great. Now I'm just getting used to being home again." As quickly as our trip went by and as short as 12 days really is, it sometimes felt like we had been gone for months. Life at home has a very different rhythm from life on the road.

The truth is that we were pretty tired after our trip. The long days driving do take their toll on you and I was looking forward to having some time to recoup. But as soon as we had unpacked, we both wanted to pack it all up again and head out on the road.

We both started and ended our trip in Las Vegas, mostly because nice hotels are cheap and it was close to where we were headed to/coming from. That first night we were anxious and excited and couldn't wait to get moving. The last night we were holding on tight to the very last hours of our vacation. Really I don't think either of us even viewed our trip as a vacation. I saw it as an opportunity to see states I had never seen before and spend time with my best friend.

Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/grand-american-camping-adventure-a-look-back/

Home

The truth is, I'm hooked.

In two weeks we've driven over 3,700 miles and as tiring as it was sometimes, I didn't want it to end. I loved everything about being on the road, always moving toward some new destination, seeing new towns, new mountains and valleys, new views.

I'm happy to be able to relax and sleep in my own bed, but I already miss having somewhere new to be.

I can't wait for the next trip.

Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/home/