As I look back on the past year of adventures and memories, I am thankful for the opportunity to see and spend time in so many many amazing places. Some were thousands of miles from home while others were just a few miles off the road, down a scenic byway or along a highway you may drive down every day.

These beautiful places are here for us to enjoy and to explore. When I started this adventure, I needed a reason to step away from the hustle and bustle, disconnect, actually take my vacation days and reconnect with our history and our land. A year later I’ve gained an amazing appreciation for our country, for those adventurous and progressive explorers who set out centuries before I would, and for those who help keep our wild places wild. 

While I close the book on this chapter of the journey, I will always continue on with the spirit of this quest, still holding on to that feeling on the top of the mountain, the bottom of the canyon or under the stars miles from the real world. I hope I’ve inspired others to take the long route, be curious, and be open to go when the mountains, or the pines, or the streams are calling.