I bought my brother’s car: a 2013 Chevy Spark that is only slightly larger than a postage stamp. I named her Lorraine. As a kid, long cross-country road trips were what vacation was all about. So, with a ‘new-to-me’ vehicle in my possession (after three years without one), I could not resist scratching the itch to head out onto the open road.

Lorraine is in great shape according to my mechanic so driving solo for 4,500 miles, over 15 days, through 9 states did not seem so nutty to me. But if you want to get some weird reactions from strangers, be a woman driving alone on a very long road trip. Out there in the Wild West, I found an uncharted horizon that women’s lib has yet to conquer. I guess traveling around the mid-west is not considered so unusual for a mid-western gal. But seriously, I did not consider driving to the Pacific Ocean and back to be that big of a deal either.

So, I went. And I wrote every day. And I took some 2,100 photos along the way. I took my time at times, which caused me to have to make up time with some long driving days. Was it relaxing? Not really. Was it breathtaking? Oh yes, oh yes indeed. My road trip occurred July 22 to August 5, 2017 through MN, SD, WY, UT, ID, OR, WA, MT, and ND. I will share my stories and photos of this amazing trip over the coming weeks. I hope you find it as interesting and enjoyable as I did.

-Copyright C.M. Mounts, August 2017

Also See:
Great American Road Trip- Part 2
Great American Road Trip- Part 3
Great American Road Trip- Part 4
Great American Road Trip- Part 5
Great American Road Trip- Part 6
Great American Road Trip- Part 7
Great American Road Trip- Part 8