“We had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life”
– Jack Kerouac
To be in New York, fly into Denver and drive to Washington is no small ordeal. The trip became packed with memories within the first twenty four hours. Putting in disciplined work with photography, seeing these jagged peaks were a dream of mine. I’m happy to say that it finally took place and I shot over 2,000 photos. Looking back through this trip, I can put the places we visited onto a list of my favorite and least. Except, that’ll have to be for a separate blog. Anyways, let me take you to the road. This is where it all started.
Freedom
Hitting Denver, all I wanted to do was hit the road. We were able to upgrade to a Jeep Rubicon and we were ecstatic. I could tell once we started driving that things were different out west. Especially when it came to speed limits. Once we hit Estes Park in Colorado, we set up camp. This was my first time for camping and to have it occur in the mid west was incredible. Our tent was pitched and we could see the sun rise each day over Longs Peak. This’ll be another mountain that I’ll be inclined to climb up, it looks like a hell of a trek.
“We’ve been living out of a Jeep”
My friend, Tom had to ship some gear back to avoid higher costs for the flight home. His response is something I’ll never forget as it sounded bad ass in my own opinion. The post office asked where the package was from and obviously we had no address out there. My friend replied that we should’ve put Jeep considering we lived out of the damned thing for two weeks. Something that I highly recommend if you want to see America.
Bagging National Parks
Going out to Western America, the three of us only had one thing in mind. Visit as many National Parks as we could, which went according to plan. If I can tell you anything, it’d be this for my Northeastern friends. Train as much as you can through the Adirondacks, White Mountains and Green Mountains. There’s something that strikes me with complete fascination when it comes to the trails out west. No matter how difficult the terrain or dangerous the climb was, there’s a beautiful meditative state of mind. The void you step into takes you beyond reality, all that exists is where you’ll put your foot and hand onto for continuation. In total, I was able to hit five National Parks with my brother and our friend. I’ll give an overview for these parks but I’ll list them below for now. They’re definitely some of the most awe inspiring places I’ve seen.
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Grand Teton National Park
- Yellowstone National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Mount Rainier National Park
Choose to Live
If I could come away with one of my most favorable experiences of the trip was living. We often forget during present moments, how much everything we do matters. Adopting a mindset like this will change all that you do. This’ll trickle down into your work, passion projects, and anything else that you take on. I’m hopeful that others go on an endeavor across the country, especially before they make certain cases about important issues. Your eyes will open to a whole new world, which makes me incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to work and chase a passion project.
Thank You!
I’m always appreciative to anyone who takes the time to look at these blogs. These aren’t the kind of trips that one should take things easy and relax. I’m certain that we averaged around four or less hours of sleep each night. When it comes to something that you’d give everything for, sleep doesn’t become a major thought. It’s completely intoxicating for anyone with wanderlust. Anyways, there’s an abundance to write about from this trip. Until next time, grab a plane ticket and escape your hometown.
-Alex
T & H 