These past two days have definitely been the most beautiful travel days of the trip thus far, not to mention one of the most scenic drives I have experienced. The further west we go, the more breathtaking the landscape around the road gets. I can only imagine what the rest of the trip will hold!
The day started with the class waking up around 5:30 in the morning and getting packed and ready before grabbing some free breakfast from the hotel. After we all made sure we were ready to go, the van was loaded and the class was mobile once again. We headed out of Denver and straight through the Rocky Mountains. We took Vail Pass to get through the mountains, which granted us the access to witness the panorama of the tree-covered foothills that would roll into the snow-topped mountains that grew taller and taller. Little mountain towns like Vail and Glenwood Springs sparsely populated the highway and every once in a while, we would get a chance to see some alpine wildlife in the form of bighorn sheep. Passing through tunnels and valleys while driving through the Rockies made the winding road seem to be woven into the land as if we were meant to bask in the scenery around us.
After passing through the mountains and stopping to eat lunch, the van crossed the border into the state of Utah. While just as beautiful as the mountains, the landscape of Utah was markedly different. The bluffs covered in tall pine trees and green vegetation were replaced by a desert view with sun-bleached hills made of earth. We even took a break at a rest stop that had a small, elevated viewpoint that gave us an even better look at the wilderness around us. This also yielded a brief view at some prairie dogs chasing each other and small lizards racing by close to us, a small taste of the wildlife of Utah. From there, we continued to travel to the other side of the state, passing cities like Provo and Salt Lake City before driving by the Great Salt Lake, accompanied by the vast expanse of the salt flats of Utah. The varying scenery of this state, going from desert to mountainous urban areas to extensive flat, white ground made the drive through Utah not only an experience, but an opportunity to witness just a portion of the picturesque American West.
Stopping again just across the Utah-Nevada border to eat dinner, the class got our first taste of the state of Nevada in the form of the casinos that inhabited the state. Some casinos were even built into gas stations, the sound of slot machines being unavoidable to customers and passersby. It was an interesting aspect to observe and made for a curious experience at the rest stops we took in Nevada. The landscape of the state was almost similar from the initial desert panorama of Utah. The scorched flat earth gave way to some hills in the distance, which grew higher as the drive progressed. We decided to stop in a little town called Winnemucca for the night before heading out again early in the morning for San Francisco.
We only drove a few more hours before crossing into the state of California. This crossing was noted by an agricultural checkpoint for vehicles on the highway. Seemingly right after we crossed the border, the scenery instantly changed to induce an almost déjà vu sort of feeling of traveling through the mountains of Colorado. The sights were just as, if not more beautiful. Where there were no mountains or foothills, valleys of trees and natural rocky structures filled in the gap. The road itself curved even more than the highway in the Rockies, evoking a more natural feel to the drive. Once again, our journey to the coast was met with a display of natural beauty, as if California was welcoming us. As we ventured further into the state, the rugged scene turned into a coastal city as we drove through Sacramento. It was in California’s capital city that we stopped for lunch, enjoying the legendary burgers of California’s fast food pride, In-N-Out. After we finished our meal, we headed out to our last leg of the drive. We noticed how the scenery around us had turned into palm trees and wetlands, signaling our eminent arrival to the bay. It seemed like such a short time compared to the rest of the trip before we finally reached our destination and witnessed the bay as we drove over a bridge. The boats that moved across the water were the confirmation that we had reached the west coast and the view was just as beautiful.
Overall, the drive served as a reminder of the nostalgia of a road trip. For some of us, this was the first time venturing past the Rockies and into new territory. The horizon would change from state to state and, while we were traveling down the interstate, we were going just slow enough to soak in the natural splendor around us. Sometimes, our journey would turn into hours-long expeditions into wilderness when the space between towns grew larger. When we drove through the Midwest, we were familiar with highways that allowed us the luxury of choosing when to stop for breaks. However, out here in the West, our journey quickly became an adventure as we traveled the wide areas of untouched land and trekked forward. The road out there could only be described as wild and free, a constant declaration that there were still places that encouraged a travel that encouraged the encounter of magnificent nature over the convenience of a faster arrival to a destination.
Brendan
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