EPTAlmost exactly a year ago, I quit my job and went on a cross-country roadtrip by myself, determined to live a different life (you can read about it in my previous blogs). I spent 40 days driving over 10,000 miles in a rented Chevy Impala -- started in NYC and went as far as San Francisco before turning back again. Majority of the locations I visited were National Parks, as I wanted to spend as much of my time seeing the great outdoors as possible.
Places I visited:
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/p5aAl.jpg)
The park is quite large, takes a couple of hours to drive through it all. It's very beautiful, lots of deciduous trees -- and the view from the top of the mountain is pretty breathtaking. I only spent a day here as I was in a rush to get to Texas for a friend's wedding, but I could see myself spending a week here, easy.
Hot Springs, Arkansas (no picture)
I was pretty disappointed to find that the hot springs were actually just bathhouses filled with hot springs water. I guess I was expecting outdoor baths like in those japanese animes? But alas, it was more like a korean bathhouse (mogyoktang). And it's not like the water even felt all that special, just a bit mineraly and a hint of sulphur??
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/SmUYh.jpg)
The park is really quite small, you could see a lot of the park in a day. The rock formations and the petrified wood was pretty cool -- you can see an outcropping of it in the picture. I have to say though, the sunsets and sunrises around the whole area of western Texas and Arizona are amazingly beautiful.
Grand Canyon, Arizona
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/wtdrg.jpg)
It's impossible to capture on camera just how immense the Grand Canyon is. At the top of the canyon where you start the evelation is 10,000 ft, and you can hike down to the Colorado River at the bottom, ~2,000 ft elvation. That's over 5 empire state buildings! The view is the most breathtaking thing I have ever seen in my life, hands down. I stayed there for 3 days, and every time I looked over, I was amazed all over again. It is definitely something everyone should see at least once in their life time.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/iIi8S.jpg)
The most popular (and easiest) trail to hike the Grand Canyon is the Bright Angel Trail, and it's 7.5 miles down to the river. This picture is the 4.5 mile marker, and let me tell you there is nothing more refreshing than to dip your head in cold spring water in the blazing Arizona summer heat.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QzHW1.jpg)
I finally made it! I was feeling a bit tired, but still confident I could hike the 7.5 miles back up in the same day (something all the rangers explicitly tell you NOT to do, especially in the summer heat). Let me give you a heartfelt recommendation -- do not do what I did. Several times on my ascent back up I almost called 911 because I thought I was going to collapse from heat exhaustion. All in all, it took me 13 hours to hike the 15 miles -- and the last 4.5 miles up WERE SO PAINFUL. Definitely a life experience that I look back on frequently when I'm going through tough times.. "this is nothing compared to the Grand Canyon!" I tell myself.
Yosemite National Park, California
Again, it's impossible to capture on camera just how beautiful Yosemite is. I asked a random fellow camper what he thought of Yosemite, and he replied, "In Yosemite, everywhere is beautiful," and I have to agree with that. Imagine Skyrim, but in real life x10. Here's a few pictures:
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/YzJ9M.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zgUO9.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/lBLc7.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/B6XfT.jpg)
How do I describe Yosemite? Every river and lake is 100% clear where you can see the bottom. Beautiful mountains and rock formations intersecting with bubbling creeks to create mini waterfalls everywhere. Perfect dry sunny 75-80 degree weather. If you want to experience the great American outdoors, Yosemite is #1, the very top of my list by far. I want to re-visit Yosemite at least once a year now.
Zion; Bryce; and Arches National Parks, Utah
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/R6W7C.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/yH0f9.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/b2VQk.jpg)
I group these three parks together because they all looked so similar to me. I was a bit disappointed, since these three parks seem to top most people's rankings of national parks. I guess after being blown away by the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, I was expecting the same from these parks. And I think I appreciate the beauty of trees and water more than mountains, haha. They were all still pretty amazing to see though.
Welp, that pretty much covers most of it. I spent a weekend each staying with friends at Dallas (Texas), San Francsco (California), Las Vegas (Nevada), and spent a day in Omaha (Nebraska), a small town in Ohio and in Vermont; but touring cities doesn't really interest me. I think I've got more than my fill of city-life having lived in NYC for over 10 years!
