Day 10: The Journey Home
After reaching the bottom of Pike’s Peak, we quickly found ourselves back in the hustle and bustle of Colorado Springs. As Mom maneuvered through the mess of cars, I attempted to get the GPS ready to take us home.
Thankfully all was resolved and within a few hours we made it to Kansas where I saw a whole lot of corn and signs for a Wizard of Oz attraction. We decided to stop driving fairly early this day (we were only about half way across the state), but we were already quite tired and gas stations and hotels were few and far between. Even at the exit we decided to stop at for the evening, there was just one gas station, one hotel, a couple of restaurants and then fields as far as the eye could see.
Within the next day, we finished our drive through the rest of Kansas, and we drove through Missouri, including St. Louis, where Mom and I both missed The Arch even though it is apparently right next to the freeway (I still cannot believe I did this).
Ohio^
We eventually wrapped up our day by trucking on through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. After 10 days, nine states, two national parks, two national natural landmarks, a national memorial and the filming locations of three movies (that we know of) and a television show, we pulled into our garage and closed the book on this 5000 mile trek.
Was it an exciting and fun trip? Yes, absolutely. Would I drive halfway across the United States again? It’s possible. Would I recommend it to others who haven’t done a road trip? Yes.
If you have not had the opportunity to see a lot of the mid-western/western region of the United States and there are many places that you would like to visit, then I most definitely recommend grabbing a buddy and road tripping it. By driving, we had the opportunity to see the landscapes of the states (although sometimes I saw too much landscape) and we were able to make unplanned stops at places we previously had not heard of. We were additionally able to comfortably pack a lot of food (I recommend a cooler that plugs into your car) and many clothing and hiking items without having to worry about meeting the luggage guidelines if we would have flown.
Now that my mom and I have seen so many different places, we now know which areas we would want to fly out to and visit again. Besides the entertaining factor of Mom and I having to maneuver half way across the country and having to spend nearly every hour of every day with each other, I found this trip to be eye-opening and educational *gasp.* I learned all about the history of Mount Rushmore (more than I learned from National Treasure and North by Northwest at least), why Devil’s Tower is important to Native American’s, and how to properly use bear spray, among many other things.
So whether it be you and your son, you and your mom, or you and your three best friends, maybe a road trip is exactly what you didn’t know you needed.