A Winter Road Trip Thank You Letter

Dear America (and particularly your Southwestern States),

After 29 days, 15 states, 4 time zones and 6,171 miles, I have finally returned home to Duluth. Thank you for the safe roads, incredible scenery and hospitable weather that I encountered on my winter break road trip. Spending time with friends and family, rock climbing in places I hadn’t previously visited, and eating lots of good food all helped me to recharge my soul for this new spring semester.

That’s not to say that there weren’t challenges and misadventures to go along with the purely pleasant experiences. Waking up to two inches of snow outside my tent in El Paso was a bit of a shock. The bouldering at Hueco Tanks State Park and meeting new friends at Hueco Rock Ranch were easily worth the cold. After a trip around our beautiful country, I definitely found that the low moments were a small price to pay for the high ones.

Likewise, even though I slept horribly at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California and on my grandma’s kitchen floor in Corpus Christi, the highway rest stops in Amarillo, Little Rock, and Bloomington, Indiana provided some of the most restful sleep of the whole trip.

The contrast continued with food along the trip. The oysters at Flying Fish in Little Rock weren’t the best, but I couldn’t get enough of Rudy’s Bar-B-Q and Salt Lick Bar-B-Que in Texas and Thai food with my aunt Sharon at Saladang Song in Los Angeles. Post-climbing camp burritos and ramen noodles at Joshua Tree with climbing companions Brian, Corey, and Rob were also totally satisfying.

The natural terrain and colors of the country were overwhelming. The layers of reds and tans that make up the cliffs and canyons around Sedona, Arizona were like nothing I have ever seen. I appreciated the inspiring piles of rocks and funny looking joshua trees that give the national park its name, even if the park’s rocks did rip up my hands and bloody my ankles when I climbed them.

Thank you for showing me that deserts and mountains are not always separate and frequently run together, as in New Mexico and Arizona. Though I must admit I have yet to discover the allure of certain landscapes, and Oklahoma remains my least favorite state to drive through.

America, this trip has inspired me to train harder for climbing, but I’m bringing back much more than that. A visit to the Clinton Presidential Library has left me questioning my own volunteerism, and how I can be more impactful to help people in need. Walking with the masses and seeing the characters along Venice Beach made me want to celebrate individualism and be open to people from all walks of life. And visiting with my grandmother Kathryn, as she passes through the sunset of her life, filled me with warmth and empathy for my family.

I doubt I’ll wait too long before my next road trip. This summer will likely take me back to the mountains of Northern Carolina and I’m already excited to pack the car. For now though, I’m happy to be back in Duluth and enjoying the snow and new classes with my Minnesota friends.

With love and warm regards,
Nathan