Four Trips that Changed My Life
I have wanted nothing more than to see the world throughout my lifetime. While some people were dreaming about having kids and being married by 25, I was dreaming about how I would travel and see the world by then.
I’m currently 25, and it pains me to say that I haven't traveled the world. I’m not even close. For the past few years, I’ve been focusing my time, energy, and money on a lot of weekend trips across the United States. Due to tight schedules and budgets while being a full-time student and later a full-time journalist, getting to be the all-encompassing jet-setter I’ve dreamt of has been a little difficult.
But, just because travel isn’t my full time job doesn’t mean it’s still not a priority. Yeah, I haven’t backpacked Europe yet, but I have a lot of tips, tricks, and thoughts because of the trips I’ve taken over the past few years.
Which brings us to this post! There have been some amazing and surreal experiences I’ve had while visiting some of the US’s best travel destinations. This list will highlight why traveling doesn’t have to been some extensive months-long trip to be life changing, but instead, why it’s important to take the time to see the beautiful wonders that are local to us in the U.S.
I know there are more beautiful, breathtaking spots across the U.S. that I don’t highlight here. These are just some of my own personal, and favorite travel destinations throughout our country.
1.Cannon Beach, Oregon
You start by walking down the sand embankments towards a foggy, west coast beach. Beachwood and bits of tourist trash line the human paved trail in the sand. You look up and finally see the otherworldly sight in front of you. What seems to be a set for a sci-fi movie set, these giant rocks are placed just off the Oregon coast, taking you away from the world you knew before and into this new planet.
Cannon Beach was never on my “must-see” list, but there are some trips you never plan on taking that become so impactful. Now I crave to go back.
As I stood on the sand, I kept FaceTiming my family to show them the wonder that was directly in front of me. How was any of this real, and how was I so lucky enough to see it in my lifetime?
Getting to Cannon Beach from Portland isn’t difficult, but you’re going to need a car. As you drive through the dense rain-covered forests of northern Oregon, you finally come out of the trees to the coastline. A small, sea-side town greets you as you come out of the Twilight-esque woods.
My biggest regret of Cannon Beach was that I didn’t get to spend more time in the town. I was visiting with other people who were eager to get back to Portland, but I wish I could have stuck around and had a drink at the brewery in town, or walked around to some of the shops. I will say, there wasn’t a lot open when I went at the beginning of March, but I could see how the town probably flourishes in the summer months.
I take this all as a sign I just need to go back.
2. Hiking in Arizona
Off the top, I need a caveat on this one. I’m not talking about one specific hike and I completely realize there are way cooler hikes in Arizona I could do, and I will do eventually. This is my list, after all, and this honestly was a life-changing experience for me.
I wasn’t in one of the national parks which draw so many people out west, but instead, just hiking around some of the recreational parks outside of Scottsdale. There were cacti and plants and animals and landscapes I had never seen before. A midwest girl wasn’t used to seeing such magnificent landscapes dotting the Earth in front of me.
Before this trip, I liked hiking. I had a good time doing it in my home state of Wisconsin, but hiking back home was nothing like it was out west. This was a different game. Back home, I find Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo to be a beautiful challenge, but after you hike it 10 times, the steep inclines and packed trails aren’t as worth it.
Arizona woke something up inside of me. The love I once had for nature was sitting idle for months, maybe years. But here I was, out in the middle of it all, enjoying it again. I was excited for every steep climb and every new creature I saw on the trail. As we looped back to the car, every switchback made me happier and happier. I wasn’t ready to be done by the time we were dumping the excess sand out of our shoes.
This wasn’t some wild adventure, but instead, a beautiful, easy hike with family. This was just a hike that reminded me of the girl I once was; of who I could be again.
By the end of the night, I had a REI membership and was already pricing my first pair of hiking boots.
3. Salem, Massachusetts
Much like my hikes in Arizona, Salem took me away not because of the insane beauty of it all, or anything grand. Instead, every piece fell into place to get me there when I went and the small town captured my heart.
As my friends and I got off the train from Boston into the infamous witchy town, the late October air hit us. It was a chilly, rainy day in Salem, but there was something infecting all of us as we walked from the station to the main part of downtown. Halloween lovers from across the region and country had made their way to get a taste of the holiday magic Salem offered.
It was always a dream of mine to visit Salem, but I never expected to go so close to my favorite holiday. Some of the streets were shutdown for festivals and booths. People were dressed up and sporting their best holiday garb. Every other shop offered New Age products and witch memorabilia. The museums teaching the dark and sad history of Salem were busy, but every line we waited in was worth it.
We got caught in rain storms and ran around the town with a broken umbrella. We were shivering down to our bones, and not because of how spooky it was. A lukewarm cup of coffee barely warmed me up, but the conversations over lunch, the jokes we made while running through puddles, the history we learned; somehow it was better than I could have ever expected.
Experiences like this are why I travel. Where everything is out of your control, but somehow you still are finding the silver linings in a shit storm. You’re living out a dream of yours all while laughing over how wild this life is. Every place doesn’t have to be wildly beautiful and rich and perfect. They just have to be worth all of the things that could go wrong.
4. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
My best friend and I had been driving south on HWY 285, way over the four hour mark we wanted to hit on our way from Denver to the park. We were told the Dunes just come out of nowhere. That all of a sudden you’re on a nearly empty road and there in front of you, are massive sand dunes at the bottom of the mountains.
We kept trying to guess where they were as we got closer and chased the sunset. The goal was to make it to the dunes and watch the April sun set behind them. We knew we had to be close. We were off the major roads and the GPS was starting to lose signal. There still wasn’t a massive pile of sand waiting for us though.
Turning back north, we finally found it. We took a picture with the National Park sign and drove as quickly as we could into the park. The mountain of sand stood in front of us and there was nothing stopping us from running out onto the dunes, and enjoying the last few moments of sunlight on them.
We danced on the dunes as others started their hikes to the very top, probably to spend the night under the dark sky, observing the cosmos above.
This place was magic. From its formation to the memories we created here. You don’t have to hike to the very top to experience everything the park has to offer. The dunes were a wonderful reminder of how beautiful and wicked this world was; how wild Mother Nature could be.
I’ve never appreciated the world more as I did in those moments on the dunes.