American Road Trip

In mid-July I set out on a three and half week road trip that led me through 17 states, Quebec and Ontario while putting 6973 miles on my car which is why this is quite a lengthy post. Except for the leg from Ouray, Colorado to Fredericksburg, Texas, I was on the road alone. It did not feel as alone as it may sound because I saw so many friends and family along the way. When I could, I chose to take the smaller, less traveled routes because I find it much more enjoyable that way. I've done a lot of traveling in my time, but this was the first time in a long time that I explored my home country. Taking the Transiberian Railway from Beijing to Moscow in 2010 opened up my eyes to seeing how the eastern world morphs into the western world. Traveling through America makes me see not only how big it really is, but how much there is to offer in this country and how incredibly different the landscapes can be.

My first stop was Algonquin Park in Ontario, about 7 hours by car from Burlington, Vermont. It was a beautiful location and I had an epic campsite. I only wish I could have stayed longer, but I was only passing through.

Algonquin Park (Echo Lake) campsite

Relaxing at the Algonquin campsite on Day 1

From Algonquin, I set out on Day 2 for Michigan with my sights on Tahquamenon Falls State Park at the Rivermouth Campground. Spent the night there and was able to explore the Falls the following morning. I went to both the upper and lower falls. How gorgeous they were. 

Sunset from my Rivermouth Campground site

The Upper Falls

The Upper Falls, over 200 feet of vertical

After exploring the Falls and eating a real (non-camping) meal, I headed farther west, but only to spend another night in the U.P. at Michigamme Shores Campground. It was early evening by the time I stumbled across this campground. Very friendly staff, very clean, but my site was close to the main road so it was not as peaceful as the previous two campsites. 

On Day 3, my westbound travels saw me to Stillwater, Minnesota. My good friends, the Kramer's, were en route to Oregon as part of their cross country move. We planned to meet one last time in Minnesota at Zach's parents' home. Stillwater was a beautiful town, just over the border from Michigan. The quaint downtown reminded me a little bit of Burlington. Before meeting up with them, I found a cafe-bike shop called the Chilkoot Cafe, situated up the hill from the main downtown area. Great tea, good brews, good food AND attached to a bike shop! What could be better?! I spent two nights in Stillwater making sure to get my energy out on the bike and running while I was able to. I had the pleasure of sharing a room with two of my favorites, Tess and Evie, four and two years old respectively. 

Watching Octonauts with Evie and Tess in Stillwater, MN

After two nights in Stillwater, I headed west yet again with my sights set on the Badlands, the Needles parkway and Mount Rushmore. I got a bit later of a start leaving Stillwater as it was nearly noon by the time I left the local co-op grocery store with freshly stocked coolers. This was an 8+ hour day on the road. Just as dusk was setting in, the flat, bland, landscape that I had driven through in western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, took a DRASTIC change and blew my mind. Suddenly the earth folded up out of the ground and there, staring from a distance were the Badlands...badder than I ever imagined.

Dusk setting in as I entered the park

The closer I got, the more they took my breath away. The pictures don't come close to doing it justice.

Morning in the Badlands

Wild bison roaming Badlands National Park

After exploring the Badlands in the morning sunlight, I made my way to the Needles Highway, the slow, scenic road through western South Dakota located within Custer State Park. Again, breathtaking scenery. I did this while making my way to Mount Rushmore, a must-see, if one is in the area despite the tourist scene.

Lunch break at Custer State Park: mango, rice cakes and cheese

That was one, long, day...from the Badlands, to Needles Parkway, to Mount Rushmore, through south western Wyoming and finally on to Arvada, Colorado where I'd visit Kelly for five or six days. While in Colorado, I got out on the bike as much as possible. 

Squaw Pass, beautiful sunshine and warmth on the ascent, freezing temps, thunder and rain on the descent. Too bad I forgot my arms or a windbreaker.

Squaw Pass summit

And then there was Mount Evans. I was glad that it was closed to traffic that day. Made for a much more peaceful ascent, but the headwind was brutal! Some sweet mountain goats at the top too. 

Summit of Mount Evans

Selfie with the family of mountain goats

The descent from the summit of Mount Evans

A trip to Colorado wouldn't be complete without seeing these great folks, Andy and Katy who live in Wheatridge just a few blocks from Kelly. Great food, great people, great times. 

Aunt Donna flew in to Denver to meet Kelly and me, then she joined me on my road trip. We left Arvada and drove to Ouray where I had a wedding to attend on Saturday the 25th of July (which instigated this whole road trip). We spent two nights in Ouray, the Switzerland of America (Colorado).

Aunt Donna and me on our hike

Ouray

Hiking Ouray

After the wedding, we headed to Taos, New Mexico via Pagosa Springs. We stopped in Pagosa Springs to have lunch with my friend Addie. Lucky I knew so many people along the way! In New Mexico, Aunt Donna and I went white water rafting on the Rio Grande. Our raft was the only one on the day to capsize...

Campsite just outside Taos, New Mexico

White water rafting the Rio Grande

After a day on the rapids, we drove five hours south to Alomogordo. With temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we opted for a hotel room (using Aunt Donna's free hotel points of course). Being in Alomogordo meant we were close to White Sands National Monument. Yet another hidden gem in America.

Looks like snow, but it's sand!!

Road tripping with Aunt Donna in the Golf

Being in the vicinity of Carlsbad, we went to the Carlsbad Caverns after spending the morning exploring the desert of the White Sands. 

From Carlsbad, we drove to Fredericksburg, Texas where Aunt Donna and Uncle Tom have a ranch. Fredericksburg is the hill country or Texas. 

Uncle Tom took me to dinner at the Hill Top Cafe and we saw some live music over a delicious meal. Loved this place. 

Then look who showed up from Vermont!!

Mom!! Fredericksburg with wine to go strolling the streets and shops!

Only in Texas...

And then I discovered Luckenbach....I had been hearing about this place for years now. It lived up to everything I had heard. Luckenbach might be my favorite small town in America. I can't wait to go back. It's a town with a population of 3, yes THREE, and it consists of a stage with outdoor seating and picnic tables accompanied by some outdoor bars. It was pretty great. Sunshine, music and beer. What better way to relax...and of course Mom was there to enjoy it with me! :)

That's a real steer

My first cousins, once removed in Fredericksburg, TX

Rockport, Texas, about 4 hours from Fredericksburg. Made a stop there for an evening to visit Nana. We had a lovely dinner on the town and she invited me over for breakfast the following morning before I started my eastbound journey home. 

Rockport, Texas

Nana: We have to take one of those, you know...
Me: SELFIE?!

From Rockport, it was time to head back home to Vermont. I didn't have much time left to explore from Rockport to Burlington as my move back to Switzerland was quickly sneaking up on me. There was a lot of driving over the next four days and a lot of that was on interstates due to my time constraints. There is one day on my trek home that stands out in particular:

I will never forget this day in Knoxville Tennessee. It has forever changed my perspective...

I had been on the road since morning, mostly interstates at this point, much to my chagrin. It was 17:30 or 18:30, I'm not sure because it was right on the time zone line. Regardless, the roads were heavy with evening commuters rushing home from their offices. I was in the left lane of a two lane highway that had just merged with a two lane highway that was just merging with another two lane highway. That meant I was in the left lane of six lanes of raging traffic. There was an 18 wheeler to my right and to my left was a cement barricade dividing east and westbound traffic on I-40. I was going about 70 miles per hour. Suddenly, my car was swerving out of control. It veered to the right to the 18 wheeler. I took my foot off the gas, I grabbed the wheel and pulled hard to left at which point hitting the cement wall head on seemed inevitable. As I cursed and gripped the wheel, I was certain I'd do a 360 while all the time knowing there was NO ROOM to do a 360 on this packed stretch of road. Then, as quickly as it had started, it ended. I had come to a stop. My car was facing the correct direction. I hadn't hit a single thing, not a wall, not a truck...nothing. I was in shock. My next fear was being rear-ended. I looked in my sideview mirror and was somehow planted JUST inside the yellow line. I was so close to the cement wall on my left that I couldn't fully open my car door. I got out to inspect the problem. Blown rear passenger tire. A blow out, the thing I'd heard dad describe a million times.

I couldn't stand outside the car because it was incredibly unsafe. I got in the car and contemplated what to do next. My options were to sprint across six lanes of traffic to safety....not really an option at all, sit on the cement barricade between east and westbound traffic...again, not really an option. My last option was to sit in my car, seatbelt on and hope that no idiot was distracted while driving. If they were, I'd be rear-ended for sure as I was situated on a highway curve. My bicycle was on the rack on the back of the car. It had remained unscathed to this point as well. I thought for sure that I would die, that someone would slam into the back of my car and I would meet my fate in the cement wall just to my left. I called AAA and I called 911. I thought for sure Mom and Dad would wonder what had happened in the last few minutes of my life. They'd look at my phone bill and see that I had called AAA and 911 and know that I'd had a car problem and that no one had come soon enough to help. 911 took forever to answer the phone. They didn't seem too concerned about my situation. After what seemed like eternity, TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) came to me. The fellow was very nice, but very difficult to understand with his thick southern accent. He informed me that I was in a very dangerous part of the interstate...I had already figured this out....he left to circulate back around to slow traffic behind me. Once his flashing light vehicle left, I was again left unprotected on the small shoulder of the interstate attempting to remain calm...I think I did, considering the circumstances. I gripped the steering wheel, staring in my rearview mirror so that if someone hit me, I'd at least see it coming.

Finally, the TDOT vehicle was in my rearview mirror and had slowed traffic to a crawl. I drove my car to the right shoulder, across the six lanes of traffic to safety. I could finally breath again. TDOT changed my tire and I continued on another 45 minutes to Gatlinburg where I camped in the beautiful smoky mountains at Smoky Bear Campground. As I got back on the road, I noticed that less than 100 feet further up the road, there was no shoulder between the left lane and the cement barrier. Had this blow out happened just two seconds later, I would not have stood a chance of escaping unscathed.

The blow out

That evening I enjoyed a campfire with the neighboring campsite, a family from Michigan. The next morning I was up and out early to get a new tire. There was a local garage just down the road which meant I didn't have to go to Walmart!! They were quite kind and able to order a new tire arriving within three hours. Meanwhile, they asked me for the key for the locking lug on my wheels. I know the TDOT man had given it back to me...it was in my hand, but now I could not find this tiny piece of metal ANYWHERE. I took EVERYTHING out of my car...camping gear, biking gear, coolers, dresses, maps, backpacks....I looked for it with my headlamp under the seats and in all the cracks. It was no where.

The woman at the garage kept telling me she felt so badly for me. She said this to me a final time as I paid her for the tire...I looked at her and said, "Please don't feel badly. It is a miracle that I am standing here in one piece. Yesterday, when the blow out happened, I was on I-40 sandwiched between an 18 wheeler and a cement wall." She froze and he jaw dropped.

I didn't care that I had to wait three hours for a tire because I knew I was lucky to have the opportunity to wait for a tire. Instead, I went to a local cafe, ordered breakfast and waited patiently. I knew that things could have turned out differently.

When the garage sent me on my way with a new tire (with four lugs, not five) and a destroyed locking lug nut, I was in no hurry. I was also not bothered at having to stop at the Volkswagon dealership two hours north and wait for service. I decided it would be a good idea to have them replace all the locking lugs with standard lugs so that in the event of another flat, I didn't run in to the same issue.

When my tire pressure gauge came on in Kingston New York the next day, I had flashbacks of the blow out. Before I had even called AAA, a tow truck stopped and picked me up. He towed me to a local garage at the nearest exit, which was 12 miles north. Turned out all I needed was some air in the tires. Later that evening I was back home in my own bed after three and a half weeks on the road with only 5 days to spare before my international move back to Switzerland.

Kingston NY being towed

This photo of me and my car was shot in the parking lot at the Carlsbad Caves by Aunt Donna.