What I Learned Road Tripping the United States

I drove 2,000 miles in 6 days. I saw six National Parks and a fair chunk of the southwest. I crossed three of the country’s major climatic regions and traversed coastal, arid, karst (or cave), and mountain landscapes. Wandering these beautiful parks plus driving more than thirty hours gave me a lot of time to think. Here's what I came up with.

The U.S. Is So Varied and Unique

Many people have the impression that the United States looks the same everywhere, with the same strip malls, superstores, and fast food chain restaurants. Sometimes that certainly does feel true. And I can testify that, to an extent, many towns across the country do feel similar. And if you spend all your time in the urban/sub-urban areas of the country, you will get this impression, no doubt.

But if you venture out of the way just a little bit, you'll surely find parts of the country that you never expected to see, that are truly unique and enticing with awe-inspiring biodiversity and geology available nowhere else in the world.

Each of these parks was unique and had something I never expected to find, from cool geological features to interesting wildlife. I absolutely loved the colorful beauty of Saguaro just outside Tucson, Arizona. Saguaro cactuses grow nowhere else in the world other than this small patch of desert, and they can grow to be up to forty feet tall. I mean, how awesome is that!

I loved discovering the wonder of Carlsbad Caverns that was hiding underground. Did you know that Carlsbad Cavern's "Big Room" is the largest single cave chamber (by volume) in North America? Did you know that Joshua Tree National Park in southern California is bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island? And, just like Saguaro, it has unique Joshua trees that grow nowhere else on Earth. You can only see them right here!

I mean, there's just a limitless number of interesting things to see. The world is full of diverse geography and gorgeous biodiversity. And being a fairly sizable country, the United States surely has a lot of amazing diversity to call our own.

If you’ve ever wondered why anyone would live in this or that part of the country, I’ve had the same thought. And road tripping across the U.S. answered my question. Ever place I went had its own unique beauty, and everywhere I stayed had something fun to do or see or experience for the first time.

Take a drive out of the familiar, be open and curious, and you’ll find your answer, too!

If you're interested in traveling the southwest, I've got a four day itinerary through five national parks that I obviously highly recommend. This is all the best parts of my road trip without the extra driving that I did to get from point A to point B. Grab yourself a National Park Pass to save on entrance fees (it pays for itself in about three parks), and I promise, you won't regret it.