Diversity of roads ahead
The diversity of the US landscape is strikingly different, and this trip has reaffirmed that for me. Having lived in the flat-as-a-pancake Midwest my whole life, mountains have always fascinated me. Exploring the diverse landscapes of the United States has been a profound journey. I've seen much of the US and several of its major mountain ranges, including the Rockies and the Appalachians. The Appalachians are beautiful in their own right—deep green, rolling, and foggy. However, since I was a small boy and first visited Colorado, I have always been captivated by the rugged majesty of the Rockies.
Colorado is full of pink and gray granite with massive cliff faces and pine trees growing in the most unanticipated cracks and crevasses. The prospect of going out west had me excited because I knew we would be in the mountains which is my favorite place to be and the images in my head came to mind when I thought about it. When we got to Nebraska I started getting excited because it's completely flat brown and rocky on the western edge. I knew that we would have a bit more of that in Colorado and then out of nowhere the mountains would emerge.
Sure enough the mountains came into view and I was in my happy place. The familiar granite came into view and the motor on the RV was humming as it struggled to make the steep climbs. As we got to the western edge of Colorado approaching Utah the rock started turning more red. I had never driven all the way through because I had typically gone somewhere in the middle of the Colorado mountain range to spend my time.
As we got into Utah the red started getting darker and richer. You could see a lot of the landscape was carved by rivers of old when they were much larger, slicing and etching their way through the rock slowly but surely. Near Moab it almost looks like you are on the surface of Mars. The rock was mixed with reds, greens, whites and browns. Of course, we saw the famous arches that are spellbinding. It was interesting to learn how they formed, salt pockets were buried and dissolved leaving the remaining arches for us to gawk over today.
As we left Utah and entered Nevada the mountains were more like what I was used to in Colorado. The thing that really stood out to me in Nevada was the valleys. The mountain ranges are almost in rows with huge sprawling valleys in between. You can see the next range, but the valleys are flat and go on as far as you can see. I had taken pictures of a storm rolling in over the next range and the road went on and on to a fine point where it just disappeared. The signage on US Highway 50 noted it was the “loneliest road in America.” You definitely got that feeling because if you had a flat or broke down I bet it would be a long time before anyone passed you. You are truly isolated and on your own.
California was where the landscape started changing quickly. We drove through mud flats that I thought were lakes from a far distance. It was only till we got close that I realized it wasn’t water but mud with a salty crust in spots. These too went on as far as the eye could see. At one point a huge white sand dune emerged out of nowhere. There was a monument marker noting it was Sand Mountain and that there was a specific butterfly that lived there and nowhere else in the world. Heading north into Redding we saw huge dams built for hydroelectric and it was incredibly dry and arid. All the trees had char marks from the 2018 Carr fire and driving through it really gave you a perspective of how big a disaster that was.
As we reached the shore, a light fog rolled in, revealing the enchanting green hues of the Pacific. Having visited Southern California, I noticed a delightful contrast in the ocean's character. Down south, it's a beautiful blue, warm, and inviting. Up north, the ocean sparkles with an emerald green, exuding a unique charm. Approaching the Redwoods, we could see a lush forest emerging ahead. The fog danced in patches, and in one of the tight mountain curves of CA 101, I was thrilled to discover what I initially thought was a cliff face was actually the majestic gray bark of a MASSIVE tree.
They say the Redwoods is a magical place. I can certainly agree with that. These trees are stout pillars that reach as high up as you can see. There are ferns everywhere and the forest is so thick that new growth sprouts up with roots spilling over the carcasses of old dead fallen trees. It feels prehistoric and as you are walking through it you expect to see a dinosaur come out of the brush. The size of these trees is mind blowing. We did a “tree tour” where you can drive through the center of one that was hollowed out. It's so massive the car behind us was a suburban and it fit through. The tree had been hit by lightning. The damage was so pervasive that you could see up hundreds of feet through the center of the tree. There were two 6’ thick sides holding the whole tree up and the center was hollow. Despite this the tree was thriving and the owner even said it had grown in the 30 years she had owned the property. That is a testament to just how hardy these trees are.
What I have said here is but a glimpse of what there is to see in this vast and open country. I’m excited to have been blessed with the opportunity to take this trip. All this is just the first half of this journey. I’m excited to see what lies ahead for us in Oregon, Washington, Montana and North Dakota.
~Jeremy
