Sights are Spectacular When Traveling Our Beautiful USA

Packing is the worst part of traveling, in my opinion. You look at all the things you rely on for a normal day and wonder how in the world you can narrow that down to fit in the car for a journey across the country; “what is important” versus “critical” versus “might need it!”

After making this trip several times, this year was more of a challenge due to the gas prices that steadily rose the farther west we traveled. We couldn’t have had better weather, at least, no major rainstorms, traffic delays, or car idiosyncrasies. The only challenge was that our rescue dog, Miley, seems to be terrified of being in a vehicle, no matter how far the distance; down the street or cross country she has the same reaction – shaking, hassling and wild eyes. You can’t help but wonder what trauma she endured to have this.

Each year we take different paths to see more of the country, and this year we had the opportunity to visit our grandson, who moved to Colorado, along the way. If you haven’t driven the Western Slope, from Trinidad, Colorado to Craig, Colorado it’s really stunningly beautiful. You pass through some small towns with character so your head is on a swivel and your phone or camera is out all the time.

The only problem is that the rest of the “world” has discovered these special towns and nearby acreage and the homesites are cropping up at a rapid rate and of course, the prices rise with the demand for being somewhat off the grid. Homes and acreage in the West are being purchased site/sight unseen as they are in other parts of the U.S.

We hit a dark sky and rain during the drive up the Western Slope, but no snow, which could happen if the temperature drops and the wind is just right. Yes, you read that correctly. With the right weather conditions, you can have snow on the Fourth of July in the western states. Honestly, I personally experienced snow almost collapsing our tent while camping in the Wind River Mountains over the Fourth of July several years ago.

One thing that you see in the West and not in South Florida are trains and train tracks, whether trains are rolling along on them or not. The trains seem like they are a mile long with cargo and freight containers heading somewhere. The cargo is unloaded in ports nearby, loaded onto the trains and semi-trucks and then dispersed all over the country.

The interesting thing about observing the trains is the amount of “tagging” that goes on, ostensibly when the trains are in their loading stations. Tagging is someone, or a team, putting a name, names or logo on the lower portion of the train car, probably because the taggers can’t reach higher up on the train.

One thing for sure is that trains have a wide range of accessibility if the tracks are available. It cuts down on road traffic and probably shipping charges because there is a central station for unloading and loading and that means less delays. With truck shortages and drivers, would this help facilitate moving goods faster and more efficiently? What would happen if Florida would connect further with the railway grid that traverses the U.S.? Would it enable faster transport of materials? Would it be less expensive? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but there may be some readers who have the answers that I don’t.

The bottom line about traveling is that it expands your horizons, brings new ideas into your consciousness, and allows you to try new things without the (maybe) restrictive parameters where you live. It enables you to realize that the ideas that you assume to be the predominant acceptable ideas regionally might not be the reality elsewhere. The same determination could occur by reading alternative viewpoints and watching a variety of news channels, but that’s not something many are willing to do, sadly. I urge readers to search for the truth in various media sources no matter their political party affiliation. It’s important to know the issues, the deceptions and the rationale behind various endorsements. Just as we glean new perspectives by taking different paths across the county, researching the truth is just as enlightening.