The Great American Road Trip

 by Amy Holloway

The Artemis II moon mission has me thinking about exploration – that desire “to boldly go,” whether it’s by rocket, covered wagon, or hiking worn trails through a mountainside. For my husband and me, nothing satisfies our wanderlust more than packing up the pickup truck and heading west from Georgia, with bird dogs in tow. Our destination may be the midwestern plains for wild bird hunting in the fall or further west to Colorado to reunite with family. But we always make time to wander off the beaten path to explore new sights.

What is more quintessentially American than the family road trip? As a child, I travelled in style in the back of a station wagon, wedged between suitcases and a cooler. (No seatbelt required.) My family road tripped up and down the east coast, visiting historic sites along the way. The summer of our nation’s bicentennial, we stood by Independence Hall in Philadelphia to pay our respects to the Liberty Bell before proceeding north to Boston, the cradle of the American Revolution. That tradition continued when my husband and I had children of our own. Together, we recreated Pickett’s charge at the Battle of Gettysburg and later read the Gettysburg Address inscribed on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. And our children have yet to forget – or forgive- a visit to Andersonville prison in the heat of the Georgia summer. It was on a family vacation with grandparents that we first ventured west of the Mississippi to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. And we’ve been westward bound ever since.

Now that we are retired and the kids have grown, we travel with our two bird dogs, Ashe and Lexi, exploring the midwestern prairies and beyond. Come September, you may spot us and other migrating wild bird hunters by the telltale sign of dog kennels in the bed of pickup trucks. For seniors like us, these road trips may be a bit more premeditated – spontaneity often takes a backseat to planning and packing. Our cosmetic bag is stuffed with healthy doses of aspirin, Advil, antacids, and allergy meds, just in case. And there are Kleenexes and disinfectant wipes handy in remembrance of viruses past. (Nothing ruins a road trip like lying sick in an unfamiliar bed – or bathroom!) We map out our daily driving routes in shorter increments, strategically pinpointing dog parks, medical facilities, and veterinary clinics along the way. Our pace may have slowed a bit, but we still get that childlike surge of excitement when we’re loaded up and ready to hit the road.

We depart from Georgia, heading northwest across the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers, then to the mighty Mississippi and past the Gateway Arch in St Louis, tracing the path of the trappers along the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers and into the sandhills of Nebraska. Or, you may find us travelling on I-70 west through the Fint Hills and Smoky Hills of Kansas. The heartland of America still beats with the rhythm of windswept prairie grasses nearly untouched by time. We return each season for that magical moment at dawn when we release the dogs and step into the open fields. (I’ve even written a blog of our hunting adventures, “Travels with Ashe.” Follow us on Facebook!)

Although some may view Kansas as an endless stretch of farmland, we have discovered hidden treasures along the way, including a yellow brick road and Oz museum in Wamego or the Eisenhower Presidential library and old west town in Abilene, a wild bison preserve, and several wild west museums. We’ve travelled along the Sante Fe Trail and, earlier this year, detoured to a small strip of Route 66 in southeastern Kansas to mark the 100th anniversary of America’s “Mother Road.” We have just returned from a 10 day trek through 10 states and are already planning our next road trip.

Traveling these roads reminds me that “all who wander are not lost” – a quote from a classic literary road trip. Our voyages may not measure up to the epic odysseys of literature, but out there on the open road or the open prairies, you might just discover a slice of Americana and find yourself in the process.