" Traveling through America isn't real travel,: they say. "I have such a wanderlust for Europe." Puh-lease. The United States of America is still worth seeing, and here's why.
1. It has possibly the most diverse countryside out of any country in the world!
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Grand Canyon National Park's North Kaibab Trail at Dusk
Yosemite National Park's El Capitan with a hazy view of Half Dome
Beautiful view of the ranges in Yellowstone National Park at sunset
I had the opportunity to see all of these on a four-week long road trip around the western U.S. with a friend of mine from college. The diversity in California alone is worth spending years exploring.
2. From deserts to mountains, there is beauty.
A friend snapped a picture of me at Grand Canyon National Park's Plateau Point
Grand Teton National Park's Cascade Canyon from the other side of Jenny Lake
At the beginning of the trip we were in the snow-capped Rockies stretching from Mexico all the way to Canada. A few weeks later, we found ourselves in the blistering heat of the Mojave Desert. No matter where we were there was something new to take in and to cherish.
3. The people are the kindest in the world.
Of course this is a matter of opinion, but the people we met along the way were possibly the best part! We met college students, foster families, stoners, and geniuses. They were all equally hospitable when they heard that we were sleeping in our car and scouring for a shower.
The Moore Family. Bought us dinner, made us breakfast, and sent us with more food than we could carry. Absolutely loving and kind in every manner. Mr. Moore even showed us some crazy magic tricks.
Jacob and Taylor (both on right), some friends we met in a Portland rock climbing gym while slack lining. They have some beautiful hearts for Jesus as well as the outdoors.
4. It's cheap.
Granted, we slept in our car or in a tent almost every night we were gone, so that helped save us on hotel prices, but still! We set a budget of $500 each for an entire month of living. This included 8,000 miles worth of gas, food we cooked ourselves, two AirBnBs, and even the occasional McDonald's stop. Moral of the story is, that much money is barely enough to last you a week staying in a decent hotel and eating out in a popular tourist destination. We put the money on a Visa gift card we got from our local bank and it lasted us up to 3-days before we made it home!
5. Diversity!
This can't really be summed up in a picture per say. But nevertheless, America is multi-cultural to its very core. We met people not only from all over the states, but from all over the world as well! We had authentic food of all kinds, heard languages we'd never heard before, we met people from every background imaginable, and this was only the western U.S.!
In Conclusion...
We soon realized after we hit the first couple of National Parks that everybody wants to come here! We saw more foreign tourists at Old Faithful than we did native! Why in the world would we desire to see other countries before we've even stepped into our own backyard? I challenge you, get in your car and go. If you truly love the outdoors, you won't experience it in an airplane headed to the city. Pack your trekking poles and a couple close friends and take advantage of what many people around the world wish they could!
