My Summer Across the United States


When I think about summer one thing comes to mind. Road trips. Every year my family takes about two weeks during the summer to travel and explore the Unites States. I have been everywhere from the rainy city of Seattle, to the steamy state of Arizona, and to the northeast state of Maine. These adventures have taught me extraordinary facts about each state, and it has made me enjoy the amazing breathtaking things that the United States has to offer.

It’s 6:00am in the morning and we begin our first annual summer road trip. We all pile into the motorhome to start our adventure. From Atlanta, Georgia to Denver, Colorado it’s about 23 hours. How will I be able to survive being on the road for that long? As we start going across states, you can’t help but notice the changes in the landscapes. We start going through mountains, which is a drastic difference from the flatness of middle Georgia. You can’t help but stare in awe. We take a quick stop in St. Louis and go up into the St. Louis Arch. Its unique design brings an artistic view to the city and intrigues the traveler to stop and visit. As we pack into the little elevator, everyone is nervous and excited. After about a minute, you arrive at the top. It’s an unbelievable feeling as you can feel the wind slowly rock the arch back and forth. We then head west across the plains of the United States.

The plains of the United States are as the name implies. Plain. There’s nothing but land for miles and miles. It will put anyone traveling through there to sleep. The wind turbines are spinning in the wind powering nearby cities. The motorhome rocks back and forth as the wind gust across the street. We make it about halfway across Kansas and we stop at a toll. “Tornado Warning in effect for the area.” We see the storm move across the horizon. Luckily, we were a few minutes behind it. Finally after hours upon hours of Kansas we make it into Colorado. Many of my family members live there, so it is a special occasion when we get to see them. My cousin was just a few months old at the time and it was great to be able to see him for the first time. Denver is a beautiful city and the people are wonderful. The only problem I had with Colorado was that there was no sweet tea like at home.

After a few days with family in Denver, we headed to southwestern Colorado and stopped at the Royal Gorge Bridge. It was beautiful and the heights visitors had to deal with were extreme. If you were scared of heights then this bridge was impossible to go across because it wasn’t pavement. It was constructed of wooden boards; therefore you could see through the cracks straight down to the river above. The beautiful scenery was definitely worth the frightening heights. Later that evening we arrived at the Great Sand Dune National Park. It’s basically a mile high mountain of sand. It was difficult to walk in and the sand got all in our shoes and socks. Also included in these little stops, the Four Corners National Monument. A person may stand in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah at the same time. We also made stops in Durango, Colorado where we rode a coal-powered train into the mountains, visited the ancient cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, and also viewed the Great Crater in Winslow, Arizona.



Next on our schedule was the Grand Canyon National Park. It was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. The redness of the rocks as the suns beams reflect is breathtaking. The Colorado River is a gorgeous blue even though it is a mile down. We spend most of the day there and then head to Hoover Dam as the last stop. The dam is unique and how it was made interests most of the tourist. The last day we were all exhausted and also shocked at how far we had made it from home.


Looking back, this trip taught me many things I had never known and to learn and travel at the same time was accomplishing. These two weeks brought me closer to my family and also taught me about the country I grew up in. Traveling in a motorhome across the United States is something not many get to do and it was a trip of a lifetime. I hope to one day carry on the summer traveling tradition to my own kids. I cannot wait until next year’s new adventure.