Road trips are an American passion.
Once upon a time when I worked for a German-owned company, my foreign colleagues were baffled at why I didn’t know what was going on in Nevada, Illinois, Texas … basically anywhere that wasn’t the east coast. I tried to explain the size of our nation to them, but what I should have done was send them on a road trip.
Decades ago, I drove from Pennsylvania to California, which was quite a journey. This summer, my husband and I drove from Pennsylvania to Montana—a trip I’ve made a number of times and in as little as three days. That’s a lotta drivin’.
What a road trip across America shows us is that this is one vast, diverse nation. Diverse in people, terrain, cultures, food.
Isn’t it wonderful? And isn’t it a reason why we can’t keep track of things going on everywhere? In the broadest view, continental Europe fits into the USA even if we leave Alaska out of the comparison.
We’re big.
There’s a lot to see in this country of mine and on this trip with Red Lodge, Montana as our two week destination, we managed to spend nights in:
Bloomington/Normal, Indiana
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Wall, South Dakota (2 nights) – the Badlands
Estes Park, Colorado (2 nights) – Rocky Mountain National Park
Hays, Kansas (had my first Maker’s Mark Manhattan & liked it)
Kansas City, Missouri – The National WWI Memorial & Museum
Terre Haute, Indiana
Along the way, we could have detoured north or south, east or west on a side road and extended the drive by days in order to see even more.
The People:
The accents change in the mid-west and by the time you get to Montana, the speaking slows down. But you never hear a Texas-style drawl or a Georgian kind of twang. If you keep driving and wind up in California, west coast sounds east coast as long as you don’t run into any Valley Girls (are they still out there somewhere?).
The further west you go, the more relaxed the people become, seemingly less stressed. Is it the lessening of traffic? The widening of roads and highways? Is it that you are more impacted by the elements and so other things seem not to cause discomfort? It is fresher air? The mountains? What do you think?
Wide Montana roads
Geography:
The terrain changes from our mini piece of the Appalachian Mountains (in Pennsylvania, the highest point is Mt. Davis at 3,212 feet) to flat, but elevations stay under 2,000 feet until you get to our farthest stop on this trip, the Beartooth Mountains at Granite Peak’s 12,808 foot elevation—which we see in the distance—and Rocky Mountain National Park where Trail Ridge Road takes you to 12,183 feet.
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- Entering Badlands National Park
Culture:
Our states vary in many ways.
I got a kick out of some of the road signs we spotted along the way, zooming by too fast for photos, but not too fast to jot a note in my handy Travel Journal (yes, that’s a blatant plug—check it out!).
On Route 70 in Pennsylvania, there was a sign: “Underground Boring.” I felt sad for the turf there.
In Ohio, “Drug Activity Impaired Drivers,” struck my funny bone. Don’t you wonder how you’d know if the driver next to you had taken drugs? Does Benadryl count? Was I to watch for someone smoking pot? I wouldn’t know which states it’s legal in, so I’m no good to the cops on that count.
In a South Dakota road construction area, they kindly inform you, “Two minute red signal, wait for green.” In the Badlands on Route 41, we read, “Asphalt Breakup Ahead,” causing us to have compassion for the road.
In Wyoming, a state I’d driven through many times, this was the first I noticed a sign with a J or upside L and dots in the vacant places on it. We couldn’t figure it out, but an online search taught us it had to do with where you could pass. Call me old fashioned, but I’ll stick to the lines on the road.
In Terre Haute we laughed at a “Turtle Crossing” sign, disappointed that we didn’t have to stop for any.
Cuisine:
On the return drive, husband had to go through Kansas City because he swears it is the best place for barbecued ribs. I don’t eat them, but the bonus for me was discovering the National World War I Memorial and Museum. For a pescatarian, that’s a perfect reason to stop in KC.
When I moved to Montana from California in the late eighties, I was a full fledged vegetarian and couldn’t believe how well I ate living in cattle country. The food movement that has, thankfully, enveloped Pittsburgh was already strong out west. This time finding a farm to table option from Cody to Red Lodge was as easy as stopping in The Local or The Wild Table, respectively.
In tiny Spearfish, South Dakota, we ate Italian at Roma that rivals what we just had in Rapallo, Italy in May.
Roma in Spearfish
Our rule is to always seek out the local. Starbucks is a beacon when you start an early morning drive, but we try to find the Babcock & Miles and get a scrumptious latte made by Willis.
America is truly The Beautiful. It is diverse and unique from the mountains to the prairies. And while it’s too big to keep track of everything going on from Massachusetts to California, most of us realize what a bountiful nation we live in and cherish it coast to coast.
When was your last road trip?
I have never done a cross country road trip, although I hope to some day. But I think it’s also fascinating how much cultural variety we can find in our own backyards. As a fellow East Coaster out in the Appalachian mountains, it can be surprising how many small mountain communities are left that maintain their own culture, accents, and way of life that may not conform to the mainstream culture around them.
Welcome, Alexi! Not conforming is one of my favorite things to discover when I travel. I think people are innately rebels! There is so much diversity across the USA that I hope we soon start celebrating it. Again.
Wow, love the new hairdo RoseMary! Road trips are kind of a touchy subject for me at the moment, but I grew up with them. Every summer until I graduated high school the family drove across the country – I mean ALL the way across – from CA to NY. Each time my dad would take a different route so we could see as much of the country as possible. That desire to hit the road has become a part of me, in fact, my honeymoon as a road trip through the Pacific Northwest. Your trip sounds like it was… Read more »
Glad to hear that you love road tripping, too, Marquita! And welcome back to the cyber world–you and your posts have been missed.
Wow to your family doing cross-country road trips! We spent a week at my uncle’s cabin in the northern PA forests each summer and I thought that was a big adventure.
Hope you get a road trip in soon. Lots of prayers for your area (and the rest) with the fires.
I like your new photo, Rosemary! Your trip sounds wonderful. Much as I love to experience new parts of our country. I don’t like long road trips by car. When I was younger I got car sick all the time. While I’ve outgrown that, I still find driving long distances tedious and distracting. What a sourpuss, I know.
Ha ha, Jeannette, I don’t think there’s ever been anything sourpuss about you!
I’ve been avoiding fishing boats & being a passenger in cars in Europe because of one each episode of motion sickness. I can totally empathize with someone who gets sick in the car avoiding road trips. Makes sense.
Thanks for liking the new pic. It’s hard not being a auburn-haired person anymore, but the ease of taking care of this is delightful!
I am not much of a travel person. But my husband loves to travel. After marriage, I travelled once or twice to short road trips. I I wish I didn’t have to pop pills for avoiding travel sickness because those made me feel sleepy. Still I must say I enjoyed the drive. A new location, scenic beauty of India, local food in eateries, dressing style of locals & dialect – all these took my mind away from the pain of a road trip at the end.
Moumita, I sure understand about the travel sickness, having been hit with it a few times. Luckily, it doesn’t happen in the car. I would love to travel around India–with the depth of your culture it must be utterly intriguing.
My last road trip was this summer’s trip to Yellowstone, but it was all familiar territory, so I wouldn’t put it in the road trip category per se. It’s been a few years since I’ve gone on a road trip to new places, so I’m itching for an adventure.
That can still be a road trip, Jeri! It was an adventure and that counts for a lot. Next summer: Big road trip for you!
In my earlier life, we used to a do a lot of road trips and loved them–for all the reasons you have mentioned. But as time always seems to be so limited these days, almost all of my trips are fly into a place and then rent a car and drive around the vicinity. I miss those long, carefree road trips!
I know how that is, Doreen. Some places you and I enjoy are only reachable for us by airplane. But then we get to ride trains!
I’ve never done a cross-country road trip. My family gets antsy after 3-4 hours in the car. And I’m a few hours east of you. I just came back from Estes Park. Beautiful place. But we road-tripped from Denver after flying there.
Mini road trips are still fun, Ken. Maybe one day your family will be game for 3 or 4 days in the car instead.
Road trips are a great way to see the U.S. My last road trip there was a couple of years ago up the west coast. I haven’t seen all of the United States, but from what I have, I can appreciate how diverse it is with vastly different landscapes from area to area. That is also true of my home country Canada and I am surprised when visitors (some of whom are American) who have seen one city or one area think they’ve experienced or know what all of Canada is like.
Right, Donna. If people thought that only Toronto showed what all of Canada is, they would be missing out on a lot. I feel that way when people think all of the USA is New York or LA. We’re so much more.
Sounds, and looks, like you had a fantastic trip to the American West even though you live in the East. America is a beautiful country but there is actually beauty in most countries.
That’s true, Caterina–we can find beauty everywhere if our eyes are open.