We have arrived. Yesterday marked the final day of our coast-to-coast journey across the United States. We started out in Massachusetts and ended in California nine days later. We visited three national parks along the route. The trip was filled with new sights, new music (my son’s picks, mostly), and new opinions. Here are some of the opinions I arrived at on this trip:
The best state in the country for a road trip is Colorado. It’s much more diverse than I expected. As we entered the eastern border of the state, we were still in the Great Plains, and the corn fields stretched out as far as the eye could see. I think if you took all of the corn fields in Massachusetts and mashed them all together, they’d probably fit inside a single corn field in Colorado. Who knew Colorado was so corny! After you get past the corn fields, you come upon the Rocky Mountains. I can’t say they are taller than I expected – I knew they were big. But they are vaster than I thought. We drove through them for a LONG time. They kinda creep up on you, with some little hills, then big hills, then little mountains, then big mountains. Once you think you’re all the way through them, you’re not. They just keep going on. As you reach the western edge of the state, you come into the dessert. The dull monochrome landscape is a stark contrast to the lush mountains that you just drove through. It seems like all of the diversity that the United States has to offer can be found in Colorado! Also, the speed limits are mostly 75, and there aren’t a heck of a lot of cars, so bonus points for that too.
Arizona is the worst state for a road trip. Keep in mind that I did not visit the Grand Canyon, which may have raised it a few notches. But other than the Grand Canyon, I don’t see that Arizona has a lot to offer. It’s tan. All of it. Rocks, bushes, grass – all tan. The only thing that breaks up the tan is the gray of the road. Every minute spent driving through Arizona felt like 10 minutes. We didn’t see any road runners or jackalopes, so I gotta take off some points for that. I also have to take off some points for the temperature, which ranged from 100 to 110 degrees. Honestly, I can’t think of a good reason to go back there, except, of course, for the Grand Canyon. And when I do that one, it’ll be in the middle of winter, so hopefully only 90 degrees.
California is stupid when it comes to gas prices. We saw a lot of variety in gas prices as we crossed the country, from $2.74 in Neveda to $3.79 in Illinois. But once we hit the California border, all of a sudden, the price for cheap gas jumped to $4.99! Holy crap, California, what gives? Are you giving away free caviar with each fill-up?? At those prices, you should be!
LA drivers suck! I thought Boston drivers were bad. Nope, LA drivers are much worse. Impatient, LONGGGG on the horn, failing to yield when they should, driving way too fast for the road conditions, and never, EVER, letting anyone into their lane without complaining vociferously. Honestly, LA drivers, take a chill pill, will ya?
The war of the billboards is a close one, with adult superstore billboards slightly outnumbering Jesus billboards. In the eastern states, it was pretty close between the two. In the middle of the country, Jesus wins by a long shot. But then you get to Las Vegas, and adult superstores make a comeback in a big way. The dark horse in this race, though, is the lawyer billboards. There are a lot of them across the country, but in Las Vegas, they outnumber even the adult superstore billboards by probably at least 2 to 1. We didn’t start counting them early enough in the trip to be sure, but I think they pulled ahead of both the Jesus and adult superstore billboards. Lawyers for the win!
Denny’s restaurants stretch across the entire country. I expected to see McDonald’s all the way across, but not Denny’s. I thought Denny’s was a dying chain, but it doesn’t look that way from the road. Denny’s is alive and well along the country’s highways! Which seems odd, because you know what they say: You don’t go to Denny’s, you end up at Denny’s. Evidently a lot of people end up there. I haven’t eaten at Denny’s in years, and the last time I was there, I swore I’d never eat there again. I’m pretty sure I swore the same thing the next-to-last time I ate there too. And maybe the time before that. Anyways, it’s been a while, and if you’d asked me a couple weeks ago, I’d have sworn that I’d never eat at one again. And yet here I am, thinking about going to Denny’s, because if all those people all across the country think it’s that good, I must be missing something. I think I’ll go there for breakfast tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Coal is alive and well in the western half of the country. We saw some trains with hundreds of cars, most of them coal cars. In one case, the train was so long that it had three engines at the front, three more in the middle, and two more at the end. That one had an estimated 200 cars! How apropos is it that coal is being lugged around the country on trains – both seem so outdated in my mind! An old-fashioned energy source being shuttled around by an old-fashioned mode of transport.
My trip isn’t quite over yet. Today I helped my son move into his new apartment, and I’ll spend the next few days visiting with family and being an LA tourist. After that, it’s back to the east coast, this time with a much shorter commute, since I’m flying.
Things won’t be the same, though. From this point forward, we are a divided family, with 3,000 miles between family members. And for that reason, I’m really glad we took the long route to get here. We spent nine days exploring the country together and building some really great memories. Our family lore will now forever include:
“Is that a hill or a bluff?”
The Utah Apocalypse
The Hades Town soundtrack
Hugging the yellow line
The best part of making this drive, though, is that it makes California seem like it’s not all that far away. I mean, all I have to do is jump in the car and drive for a while, and I can visit my son any time. I know, I know, it’s a longgg drive. Believe me, I know. But from this point forward, I’ll always know its something I can do.
Peace, Y'all
Kimba
Some photos/videos from Zion National Park
© Kimberlee Martin, 2021. All rights reserved.
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