I've always wanted to do a big road trip by myself, but the idea of it actually terrified me. When I moved to Washington, there was a road trip involved, but it was essentially straight there and I had someone else traveling with me. As I made the decision to move back to the Midwest, I also decided I was going to face whatever fears I had and make the trip alone. This wasn't going to be the same route I had taken previously though, oh no no no. I wanted to take advantage of the time I had and go places I might not ever get around to going otherwise.
I started out the first morning of my trip by meeting up with my friend Kate for coffee and I will be forever grateful to her for that. I was in desperate need of that last little farewell and someone to calm my nerves. Thank you Kate! Love you! Also, since it was the first day and I knew just driving out of Seattle was going to be extremely difficult (I can kind of be a very anxious person sometimes), I had planned to only drive to Portland and stay with a friend (Thanks Pasha!) before really heading out on my own.
The next day, I actually, like really began. First up, the Oregon coast along Hwy 101. I've driven this before, but only gone as far south as Arch Cape, so the fact that it was super rainy during this part of the drive didn't upset me horribly. However, my plan of camping was ruined pretty much right away as I really didn't feel like getting poured on. I ended up in a hotel room with a jacuzzi tub and a view of the ocean, so I was pretty content.
The following night, I got to my campsite with plenty of daylight left and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. It was, however, after this very first night of camping and having devoloped this grand plan of camping the majority of the trip, I came to the conclusion I was going to fail miserably at making it happen. I very quickly realized how necessary it was for me to have a nice hot shower each morning in order to have the energy and alertness to drive, and the shock of the cold in order to get to a shower (if there was one) was something I knew I was not good at dealing with. So after all of this planning and making sure I had all of the camping gear I needed, that was it. I certainly ended up spending way more on lodging than I had intended to, but honestly, after spending so much time in the car, it was really nice to have a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in every night. I think Arlie really appreciated it as well. I also learned just how picky I am when it comes to a good pillow.
I continued driving south down through California, branching off onto Hwy 1. According to the map, if I wanted to stay closest to the ocean, that was the way to go. Little did I know I would be white knuckling it the entire time. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely beautiful, but did I feel like I could drive off a cliff at any minute and die a tragic death? YES. I kept south all the way down to San Francisco--only slightly out of the way. My only real stop here was the Golden Gate Bridge and boy did it feel good. Walking up to the viewpoint and knowing that this was the turning point where I would actually start heading in the direction of home was super comforting.
Next stop, WINE COUNTRY! I splurged and stayed at a great little spot in Sonoma and of course spent the majority of my time there drinking wine. I mean, duh.
The next several days consisted of checking out numerous National Parks, including Yellowstone, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Arches, all of which I wish I could have spent more time at. Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed on trails in National Parks so I felt like I missed out on a lot of what each of the parks had to offer. There was still plenty to see, but it was definitely rushed. I was super excited to visit Utah and it certainly did not disappoint. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is. It is truly Mother Nature's artwork. Every curve you go around, there is something different and unique to see. It's not without it's strangeness though. Beaver, UT was especially unusual. It started with going through the McDonald's parking lot and noticing a little kitten come walking out from behind the menu board. I mentioned it to the woman at the window and she knew all about it stating there was a mama cat they had named "Hamburgular" that "lives" there and recently had a litter of kittens. As I left the parking lot, a stray dog went running across the road and driving through the streets, it was eerily quiet at 8:30pm. It was all just a weird vibe, but what really got me was my stay at the Best Western. I took Arlie with me in the morning to the room where the continental breakfast was provided. I asked the woman working if it was OK if I had my dog in there with me (no one else was around) and she said no one had ever tried to bring their dog in, but I think she was too taken aback to tell me no. She then proceeded to stand about five feet away from me as I ate my breakfast and stared at me the ENTIRE time. I don't know if she just had never seen a chihuahua before or maybe they are only used to stray dogs in Beaver?, but it was incredibly uncomfortable situation.
I eventually made my way to Glenwood Springs in Colorado and found an awesome natural hot spring. I can't quite decide where my favorite place was during the drive, but this comes extremely close. It was clear not a lot of people knew about it and I had it to myself for a good half hour. A couple women showed up and joined me and it was great to have some good conversation after having spent so much time alone.
After stopping in Denver for a night and staying with a friend, the rest of the roadtrip is honestly a total blur. There's not a lot to see between Denver and central Wisconsin and at that point I was just desparate to be home. I think Arlie had come to believe that's what her life was going to be like from then on--spending day after day in the car and she didn't seem overly excited about it. I was on the road for 12 days and now that some time has passed, boy oh boy am I eager to do it again. I'm dying for some warmer weather and more adventuring!
