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8 Road-Trip States Ranked

I took the time to be critical and rank some of our lovely states.

Autumn Grace Vancil

Aug 15, 2017

University of the Pacific

Autumn Vancil

There isn’t anything as fun as a road trip. Discovering new destinations, and rediscovering the old, and when the trip is cross country, you get to experience many more things than a shorter road trip. Recently I rode through a number of states on the back of a motorcycle. Some states I loved, others I despised. This whole trip was about 2,000 miles of being on the motorcycle, and it was amazing.

1. South Dakota

This state was the original ultimate destination during our adventure. Starting in Los Angeles we rode to Sturgis, South Dakota for a motorcycle rally and overall shenanigans. While I have been in the state before, I was young so I don’t really remember it. This time however, I was able to appreciate all the beauty this state has to offer. The mountains were cold, but magical. We saw hundreds of Buffalo and other wildlife. Not to mention the huge party in Sturgis that takes place every year (if you don’t know what I’m talking about I suggest you look into it). Nestled in the mountains I was able to see Mount Rushmore and felt more connected to my country than ever. With that being said, the sheer beauty of this state is what made it my favorite on the trip.

2. California

The state I call home was pushed down to number 2. We weren’t in California for very long; I got off the plane at LAX and then we immediately left for Las Vegas, but I still was overjoyed to be in the state that I feel most at home in. Especially since I’ve been stuck in Florida all summer, the cool air of LA was welcomed. The ride through the desert was a bit hot, but nothing compared to the heat of Nevada.

3. Nevada

Viva Las Vegas!! I came here to partyand the city delivered. I wanted to die as we rode through the desert for what seemed like forever, and the city wasn’t as big as I had remembered, and I lost a bit of money, and the drinks were expensive, just like everything else… okay so maybe delivered isn’t the right term. But it was still very fun and I would definitely go back. I will never be staying at the LINQ again though. We had so many issues with everything there, including a false fire alarm going off around 6 AM. So there’s that.

4. Nebraska

A state so boring I almost forgot to add it to the list. I can’t blame the state though, I pretty much slept the entire time we rode through. So actually, I have to give it credit for making it so easy for me to sleep on the back of the bike through its entire panhandle. We did also meet up with some of my dad’s friends in a small town, and that was nice.

5. Arizona

I think we only went through about 30 miles of Arizona, while cutting across the corner from Nevada to Utah, but it was through the mountains and still nice.

6 & 7. Wyoming and Utah

I’m lumping these states together because they kind of melded together in my mind. Both were pretty states, but both were also fairly cold and we got rained on in both. I did however, see 86 antelope so I know there are at least 86 antelope that live in the state of Wyoming. I never saw a cowboy though, so that was a major disappointment. I also was not able to recreate any of the scenes from SLC Punk while in Salt Lake City, Utah, double disappointment.

8. Colorado

This infuriating state. I will start off by saying that we went to a very nice 24hr diner and had good pie and I actually saw a few cowboys, but that’s where my good experiences in this state end. As soon as we got into Colorado the roads got super rough and bumpy. In a car, I might not have noticed, but being on a motorcycle with an already uncomfortable seat, the bad road made my butt hurt even more than it had during the previous 1,800 miles. The road gave me blisters on the back of my thighs. With all the revenue the state has gotten from marijuana I would assume the roads would be much better than they were. Then the hotel was expensive and the pool and hot tub were both closed for cleaning. I shuttled to the airport and then proceeded to have to pay for my carry on, and then security took so long I didn’t have time to pee or get coffee. A TSA agent also yelled at the people in front of me and then was rude to me for no apparent reason, so Colorado gets an F. I will give it another chance, but not for a while.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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