a few last thoughts

while i gave a lot of my opinions in my previous post, i thought that i would conclude this portion of my blog with a few conclusions.

first of all, this trip was amazing: a true once-in-a-lifetime, you-aren't-the-same-afterwards trip. i am fantastically glad that i went on it. i feel like i have now undergone one of the american rites of passage, leaving going hunting and a trip to alaska still on my list. i saw and did things i would never ever have done otherwise--everything from eating my first fried green tomatoes to seeing a glacier. it also has served another very important purpose: giving me a framework with which to view america, both the parts i have experienced and those i haven't. for example, i know that i would really like to be able to go back to oregon and spend a couple weeks seeing the coast, crater lake when it's not half-frozen, and parasail the columbia gorge, as well as do some rafting. also, i know that i have no real desire to spend more time along the southern california coast, unless visiting friends or family.

this trip has also taught me how to travel--how to make long drives by myself, how much i can tolerate, what my limits are. i know how much water i need to hydrate in different climates, how to live out of my car for both short and long distances. fyi, if you are doing a long trip, DEFINITELY pack towels, paper towels, plastic silverware, a blanket, pillow, batteries, emergency medicine kit. i know how long and far i can hike, that i don't really have the lungs for mountain climbing. i know how long i can go without a real vegetable and how my body reacts to a sudden decrease in protein.

all of that being said, there were also downsides to this trip. for sure travel with someone who you don't have a problem being up front with--it will kill you traveling with someone who you feel can't take what you have to say. be sure that you don't try to do too much over a short time, particularly if you are by yourself. it might be fine driving 8 hours two or even three days in a row, but you probably really won't want to on the 4th day. also, if going on a super-long trip like this, plan in a vacation or two amidst your travels. i pit-stopped in spokane and glorieta, nm, both for a few days, doing nothing, which i at least needed. traveling like this, while fun, can be as much work as leisure, at least if you do it like it did: seeing a whole lot.

if i take another big road trip again, it probably won't be as long, and i certainly won't try to see as much every day. i'd like to go hit the midwest--kansas, nebraska, oklahoma, colorado--where i didn't go at all on this trip. but i'd like to spend at least 3 weeks out there, not including the days traveling out that far and back, exploring--and maybe more time. and there's not even that much in ks, ne, and ok.

also, and i know that i have said this before, i wish i had packed camping gear. while i probably wouldn't have wanted to camp by myself (i feel like that would be a little like putting a 'kidnap me! i'm alone!' sign on my head), it would have been fun with mum was with me, as well as cut costs a little.

would i do it again? definitely. and i certainly don't intend to end my exploring of the u.s. with this epic trip. my parks pass is still good until may 2011, and i intend to make good use of it. tuscaloosa is 1 hour from birmingham, 4 from atlanta and nashville, and 6 from new orleans: all places in intend to visit, along with memphis, mobile, and mississippi, alabama, louisiana, georgia, and florida at large. so, while you probably aren't in that part of the country, and maybe don't care that much about it, check in periodically to see what i've been up to. not that i'll be doing things every weekend (i only have classes tuesdays and thursdays), since i will be in grad school, but i do want to really see the south, with a strong emphasis on food. yum.

at the very least, i hope that i have been the gandalf to your bilbo and given you a little nudge out of the door. i've shown you a lot of the country--some of it you may have seen, most of it you probably haven't. just know that where you live is probably just as steeped in history, culture, and natural beauty as all of these places. go out and see what is around you: you might be surprised at what you find. myself, i'm headed down to hike/swim in falls lake tomorrow. what are you going to do?