Utah - #21

I don't need to say much about Utah, other than Zion. I will return here. I will come back to hike, climb, and camp. It is beautiful.

Eat at Wagon Wheel Diner and have an omelette.

Nevada - #20

Number 20 puts me at the 40% mark! I am almost half way to my goal!

Let me start by saying that I HATE Vegas. The city is grimy, over priced, and for someone who doesn't drink or gamble, it doesn't have much to offer. They call it Sin City for a reason. I was glad that I only spent one day in Vegas.
My favorite part of Vegas was going up in the Stratosphere. To see the city from that view was pretty neat. Also, eat at Blue Ox tavern. It is not on the strip so it is priced well and it is a Minnesota themed restaurant. The food is so good.

Arizona - #19

First off, when in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, EAT AT PITA JUNGLE. This is place is so good I wanted to go back the next day. I had my first Gyro there and it was delightful. Then go and burn off all the food you ate at Dave and Busters. I have a weird obsession with Dave and Busters, I am a kid at heart so games are always a good option. 

On my way out I found a Tastee Freeze. I stopped because Jack and Diane. If you don't know what I mean by that, then we probably aren't friends.

My last undertaking in Arizona was to go to the Grand Canyon. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before and I got to the North Rim right at sunset. I felt so small. I had a hard time comprehending how God does it. The Grand Canyon is just a speck of what He has created. The Grand Canyon is big. The Grand Canyon never hurts people. The Grand Canyon never fails to bring beauty to those who visit. But here I am, loved, so much more than the Grand Canyon. Someday the Grand Canyon will disappear, but I will get to live with Jesus forever. What a wonderful loving God, that I get to call my Father.

New Mexico - #18

New Mexico has an REI with a really awesome retired man that works there for fun! That is all that really needs to be said, but I guess I can say a few more things. If you are in Albuquerque, please eat at Frontier and go to Satellite Coffee. Frontier is a local favorite and rightfully so. They are quick, inexpensive, and so good. If you have a sensitive to spicy mouth like me, beware of even their mild sauce. It had my mouth and lips burning. Satellite Coffee has some great desserts, awesome baristas, and a relaxed atmosphere. I am not a coffee drinker, so those are the things I look for in a coffee shop. As my friends and I were leaving Satellite, a guy was walking with a girl and the conversation they were having as they approached us was obviously about us. He decided to pretend that he knew us and called us by completely random names. People in New Mexico are super random (yes, I am judging them off of this one guy).
New Mexico is also were I said good bye to Dastinee. We said good bye at least three different times before we departed for our gates in the airport. Dastinee is genuine, has a heart for Jesus and for people, is smart, is funny, and is athletic. During my time in Washington we hit it off right away and became friends faster than anyone I know. If only we lived closer, we would hang out everyday! When you have a job that makes you travel so much, building community on the road becomes very important and I am so glad I was able to make such an amazing friend this year. 

Texas - #17

Texas was quite the adventure to say the least. I have never had as many travel issues as I did that day. Houston had tornadoes so my 4 pm flight out of Love Field was completely cancelled. I then got a flight out at 10:30 pm from Dallas/Fort Worth so I could make my next college fair. I got to the airport 3 hours early. Did security again and then found my friends who were already at the airport. We found an awesome lounge and cereal bar to eat at. Definitely eat that Cereality! Our 10:30 flight became an 11:30 pm flight because our flight crew was late from another trip. They loaded the plane and then we sat for a good 45 mins. I guess this plane had come from Houston and there was something wrong with the radio so we had to get off the plane and get a new one. We loaded our next flight and I noticed the flight attendants were uneasy and looking at their watches a lot. All I could think was "Please don't time out on us". By this time it was about 12:45 am and the captain got on the radio and told us our plane had some pressurization problems. Then he said the words I feared the most, "our flight crew has timed out, please reschedule your flights for tomorrow". To make a long story short, they put us up in a hotel so we could sleep for three hours. We came back to the airport the next morning, did security again and finally made a flight out! These tough travel days make the good ones so much better.

Also in Dallas, Alana had her first Inn N Out burger! Yippee for that!

Arkansas - #16

Arkansas is a pretty awesome place. I spent most of my time in the Gentry area, as I usually do, but I also got to explore Crystal Bridges Museum of Art. I love museums, I love art. This museum is completely free. I view art museums like graveyards. It is what people leave behind to be remembered by, it is how they continue to tell their story after they are gone. A name, a year, but more importantly they left a story. What will story will I leave behind? Most importantly, I hope it is one that points people to Jesus and what an adventure life is when He is actively part of your life.

Oklahoma - #15

Oklaaaaahooooomaaaaaa, where the wind come sweepin down the plains...!
Oklahoma was a stop for a wedding of an old friend of mine. Savannah looked so beautiful on her wedding day, but I only got a shot of the reception venue. It was a perfect country wedding, and I got to wear my cowboy boots. Double points!

Maryland - #14

I spent a lot of time in Maryland, but when you are in Maryland you also spend a lot of time in DC. I made sure to catch a Capitols game, because... hockey. Yes.
And it was great to get to spend time catching up with friends and doing a quick tour of the National Mall.

Virginia - #13

Virginia is another beautiful state in the fall. I did not have time to hike like I had originally planned, but I did get to enjoy the fall weather. After my college fair we found this beautiful tree that matched all the trees in the Northeast. Then I decided to roll down the hill next to it. The grass stains and cuts, and the itching were worth it. "Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips, and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life." - Samuel Ullman

Pennsylvania - #12

Pennsylvania brought great food and even better friends. Some friends and I flew into Philly and planned to throw pennies on Ben Franklin's grave. We were disappointed to find out that it had closed by the time we got there (the next time I am in that neck of the woods, I WILL throw a penny). We stopped at a small local restaurant for some Philly Cheese Steak and pizza and were pleasantly surprised! A Greek family runs this restaurant and are a riot. The pizza was the size of my head and the Philly Cheese Steak got awesome reviews from my travel buddy. I also indulged in a cannoli and I am so glad I did. If you are in Philly, eat at Old City Pizza. Then it was on to my next college fair, where I got to visit Mikey! It was so wonderful to get to spend time with such an awesome friend. Sadly, we had to go to our next fair, so I did not get to spend as much time in Pennsylvania as I would have liked.

Ohio - #11

Ohio is wonderful in the fall. I spent some time exploring parks while waiting to pick up my travel buddies from the airport. I found a nice Frisbee golf course to kill some time at and got lost trying to find a Starbucks. That evening one of my other travel buddies and I went bowling and witnessed what we thought was a guy falling asleep standing up. Turns out he probably had alcohol poisoning and we had to help his friend get him to a chair before he fell over. Then his friend took him to the car but since he didn't want to go to the hospital, his friend didn't take him (worst friend ever).
If you are in the Dayton area, get sushi at Thai 9. The tofu in the vegetable roll is perfection.

Idaho - #10

Idaho is number 10, which means I am 1/5 of my way through the United States. Small victories! To be honest, I did not take any pictures while I was in Idaho. I realized this at the airport and parked next to this tree. The sunshine and the color of the leaves made it seem like a good enough picture for me.
Central/Southern Idaho is not my favorite part of Idaho. I would have much rather been in Coeur D'alene. I slept through my alarm this morning, almost missed breakfast, and barely had any time to shower and get ready. I guess two weeks of travel had really caught up to me. Dutch Bros was a great stop to end our time in Boise. Our group sat on the benches with a random girl who was just trying to enjoy her morning coffee. She welcomed us and to join her and we had some good conversations. I made a lot of new friends this trip. The next trip is happening on November 1, so no new posts for a while!

Oregon - #9

I am convinced that Oregon is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. It has mountains, lakes, thick forests, and rolling farm lands. The cities are quirky and the people love the outdoors.
Words cannot describe how enchanted I am by Crater Lake. My favorite place on earth is where the mountains touch the water. The mystery of what is above the mountains and down in the depths of the water captivates me. Crater Lake is my new favorite place. It is more magical than Disney World.

 Voodoo Doughnuts is definitely worth stopping by. They have every doughnut imaginable.

Wyoming - #8

Wyoming is home is Yellowstone National Park, so where else would I go while in Wyoming? This was my first trip to Yellowstone, and it was definitely worth it. My friends and I drove down from Bozeman on Sabbath morning (to the north side of the park), not knowing much about what we were doing other than going to see Mammoth Hot Springs and searching for the Boiling River. Little did we know that we would also get to experience swimming with elk and snakes and seeing Ole Faithful go off. Definitely research times for Ole Faithful. I am not going to lie, it was not as big as I thought it would be, but it's just one of those things you should experience if you get the chance. If you get the chance to be on the north side of the park, DO NOT miss out on swimming in the boiling river. Your toes can freeze and your waist get burnt all at the same time. WORTH IT.
People come from all over the world to check out Yellowstone. Don't pass up an opportunity to hear the stories of the people around you. I am glad we met Maria. Her and some friends are hitch hiking across the USA. They started in Florida and we met up with them in Wyoming. Check them out on Instagram by looking up #thumbingtheUSA.