Day Fifteen: Life is a Highway

Another early day on the road. We left Sheridan, Wyoming and headed out on the road. Today we crossed two states and two time zones. And while our trip yesterday from Montana to Wyoming was filled with varied scenery, Once we left Wyoming, the scenery was much less varied:

Pretty much plains in every direction, occasionally broken by interesting hills or rock formations, but mostly plains like this:

And I know it sounds boring, and I won’t lie, that sometimes it was. But getting the chance to drive across the country mile by mile has been worth it. I really have an appreciation for how big this country of ours really is. That gets lost when you hop on a jet and hours later, you can be halfway across the country, skipping any number of states and time zones. It’s fascinating to see the differences and similarities in our country and I never would have seen that from a plane.

In all of the great adventure stories, the bulk of the story is the travel to get to the ultimate destination and how that travel changes the protagonist. I’m not sure how I’m changed exactly yet, but I have forgotten my work problems and although there is a level of stress in driving, it no way resembles the stress I felt before I left.  Travel has a way of making you feel very small and insignificant by making you feel connected to the greater world.

Tomorrow, we’re back on the road and heading across South Dakota, Minnesota, and into Iowa.

Happy journeys!

Mike