Road Trip Jan 2021

Hello there beautiful people! I went on a road trip to California last month to celebrate my birthday and to spend some much needed time outside of the house (don't we all want that right about now.)

I took quite a lot of pictures and some videos of my 26 hour drive, however quite a few didn't turn out right, or just didn't turn out at all for some reason. But for the ones that did, I have made a fun little folder of things to look at for you! (Filter by name if you want them to be in order.)

I was never a picture-taking person, always more interested in living in the moment myself, so I didn't take pictures on the way out, but I did take them on the way back. I had to force myself honestly. I was just blown away sometimes and completely forgot to pull out my phone. There were quite a few times I just pulled over, got out and leaned against my car and just... looked. It was amazing.

Below are some descriptions of the states as I drove through:

-California's northern forested mountains were gorgeous let me tell you. "Breathtaking and massive" don't even begin to describe it. You really have to be there to understand. And once you get farther north and you can see the caps covered in snow it's a whole new world. Beautiful. I can't wait to go back someday.

-My drive through Nevada was a lot of mountain paths and tunnels. (The first two videos that should show are actually from the drive out.) Driving at 80 miles an hour down a winding mountain path is not new to me having been in Greece, but it was still nerve-wracking with semi trucks and lifted jeeps and pickup trucks on either side the entire time.

-Utah also had fantastic mountains, but they felt different. Especially once you got to the Great Salt Lake where it feels like you're on Mars, not Earth. On my way back I took a detour route (due to some traffic accidents and construction) that led me across the Bonneville Salt Flats instead and that felt just as alien. A vast plain of nothingness with enormous shadowed mountains looming in the distance. Just bizarre, pasty ground and a long, thin stretch of road. It's so crazy to drive 80+ miles per hour for more than 30 minutes and still not see the other side. Really makes you feel how empty large parts of the world are, almost untouched by humanity.

-Wyoming makes me understand completely why there are still people who don't work on ranches, but want to dress like cowboys in the 21st century. Its clifftops, mesas, and open plains were beautiful if a bit haunting with their emptiness. Tiny towns in the middle of nowhere that seem to pop up as if summoned from the very dirt itself. A place where it really does feel like it's you and the land. First time I've ever seen tumbleweed too. So that's cool.

-And then South Dakota. A lot of it felt very homey compared to Minnesota, as I'd imagine a lot of the Midwest does. Grassland plains and hills with winding rivers and streams dotted here and there. The Black Hills were gorgeous as well. Dark trees even during the day keeping the winding roads covered in eerie shadows as you drive through. Beautiful. Just beautiful. I also kept running into funny things in South Dakota: The beginning of the Oregon Trail, Deer using the train tracks (silly deer), a farm co-owned by the "Boner family" I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, and gas stations called Kum & Go. Because of course they are.


26 hours is a drive I wouldn't wish on anyone, but the amazing sights along the way made it all worth it. It's been years since I've been on a proper adventure, and I relished every minute of it. Cheers 2021. What a way to begin a new chapter.