Three Nationalities & One Jeep Road Tripping West.
People still ask me how I get to do all the things I do. All I can say is that there is a lot of planning behind everything and that if I don't have anything to do, I come up with something. I have never been on a road trip in the United States, so I left my house for about 50 hours along with my American brother, Hunter, and his special friend from the Czech Republic, Katerina.
Three different nationalities in a Jeep Grand Cherokee, two drivers, two states: Colorado and Utah.
We have managed to leave home for less than three days because that was all we could do. Right after lunch, Sunday, May 19th, we left home and were headed south. I drove first for about three or four hours and then we stopped for gas and switched drivers. We decided to stick with the longer route because the shorter was more dangerous at night. We heard stories of cars hitting wildlife and didn't want to risk it. On our way to our hotel, at around 11p.m., we actually saw a dead animal on the side of the road (and then again, a raccoon).
The guy on the left is actually my "little" host brother.
First Stop: Four Corners.
On our way to our first destination, we were singing and listening to music so we forgot to check the maps and almost drove across the New Mexico border. Once we turned around, we arrived at Four Corners. It is a bit overrated and rumors say that it is even in the wrong place, but it was cool to take some pictures there and to be standing in exactly four different countries.
Second Stop: Canyonlands & Arches National Parks.
We made it to Utah! Our first stop in the neighbor state was made at Canyonlands National Park, which was really cool because it felt like if we were at the Grand Canyon but we were obviously not. We hiked and followed the trail for a while until we came across a rock shaped like a... butt. It was kind of funny, so we had to take some pictures. Right after that, we went to Arches National Park, which is not very far from where we were. The land was red and the arches amazing. We drove throughout the Park and then we left to have some dinner. Since we were road tripping west, we decided to have authentic American food (or maybe not). We had Thai food. Sorry not sorry, it was delicious.
YO, sitting on the butt.
Third Stop: Glenwood Springs.
Colorado welcomed us back with open arms and since it was getting warm, we decided to stop in Glenwood Springs, which is famous for its natural hot springs. After the pool, I went for a walk and took some pictures. The town is really nice, but there was a lot of construction going on.
Fourth & Final Stop: Vail.
Hunter and I have been to Vail before but Katerina didn't and since I was driving I thought it was worth to stop and show her around. It is famous for being one of the best ski destinations in Colorado. We only had a small tiny problem: it started to rain heavily so we bought a coffee at a place called Yeti's Grind and afterwards we got stuck in a shop for a while until we decided to just run to the car - wet or dry. I've been in Vail three times; once in April, once in May and once in June. I don't know why but out of the three times, the weather changed drastically two times and went from being warm to being cold. The first time I was there I was wearing a t-shirt and complaining about how hot it was and by the end of my meal I was wearing a jacket and running to the car in the snow. Colorado weather is called bipolar for a reason.
The trip was nice but definitely too short. I am glad I had the opportunity to see the places I saw and to drive the number of miles I did. There's just something beautiful about driving miles and miles with the music blasting and friends singing along with you that I can't really describe. I can't wait to go on a road trip again. To see more pictures of my amazing trip, visit my Instagram at @heicristian.
And you? Have you ever been on a road trip? Were you the driver or the passenger? Which places have you seen? Which places do you recommend? Let me know in the comments below!
- Cris
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