The Great American Road Trip

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Those who know me personally know that I recently got engaged. Who knew that the cutie in my previous posts would end up becoming my wife? Well, I guess I did at some point! (During a dream I had in Belgium.)

Needless to say it has been an exciting time of change and transition, but with all the stress of wedding planning, we just had to get away. Oftentimes when I travel I seek out exotic locales, but this time we decided to go on a classic American road trip exploring the Great Southwest and California. No need for passports, currency exchanges, or language books. All that’s required are plenty of snacks, some good tunes, and 5,000 miles of driving.

Our first stop was quite serendipitous when we stumbled upon a Roswell-esque military base while driving through the desert. Called the White Sands Missile Range, it was used to test rocket propelled weaponry and explosive armament, including the Manhattan Project’s atomic bomb. Today it contains a wonderful little museum with a lot of great information, decommissioned missiles, and was free of charge – cha ching!

After the missile base we headed to White Sands National Monument. An area of white gypsum dunes created with the help of rainwater and the minerals found in nearby mountains. That day, it also happened to be free – CHA CHING!

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