Roadtrips 🏔️
Roadtrips 🏔️
08/26/23
I roadtripped around the country after my internship ended and before classes started (I hacked together three screenshots to get the entire trip approximately on the same image bc maps limits the number of destinations you can have)
My path was:
Dallas, TX > Albequerque, NM > Flagstaff, AZ > Kingman, AZ > Big Sur, CA > Santa Clara, CA > Redwood NP, CA > Gold Beach, OR > Eugene, OR > Mt. Rainier NP, WA > Yakima, WA > Kootenai National Forest, MT > Kalispell, MT > Glacier NP, MT > Great Falls, MT > Billings, MT > Gillette, WY > Mt. Rushmore National Monument, SD > Grasslands National Forest, SD > Minnesota > Wisconsin > Illinois > Indiana > Ohio > Pennsylvania > Binghamton, New York
12-mile backed up traffic on interstate 40 West in New Mexico
I didn’t plan the trip beyond setting the destinations on my maps, and ran into some unexpected trouble along the way, i.e., getting stuck on highway 40 an hour outside of Albequerque, NM due to a truck pile up on a single lane highway due to construction.
I was stuck on the highway in my car from ~ 7 PM until 7 AM the next morning. It was absolutely not fun because I had all my stuff in the front and backseat, and my dog took the trunk area along with his bed, so I alternated between sleeping on my center console (painful) and sleeping with my head on the window (also painful).
I was reminded of the importance of carrying lots of water because we nearly ran out of water in the desert while stuck in traffic for 12 hours (we had plenty of food)
Wildfires in Plains, Montana
The other issue was when I was on my way to Glacier National Park in Montana: a wildfire broke out in Plains, MT so the roads were closed off, and I had to take a detour to get to Kalispell, MT.
Even including those events, the roadtrip was really fun. It was definitely exhausting because I drove nearly 6,000 miles over 9 days, but I got to spend a lot of time with my dog and just enjoy the change in scenery
Here are some photos: