I’ve always had a goal of visiting all fifty United States of America. And I set my time period to accomplish this goal before the age of 40. I also set a goal to visit all seven continents before the age of 50 thinking this would be harder to achieve. But it turns out that I did these goals in reverse order. I accomplished my goal of stepping foot on all seven continents last November 2017 when I visited Antarctica.
Prior to this year, I have visited 45 States. The States that I had not visited are Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico and Alaska. I turned 39 year this year which left less than 365 days to see the five States I have never visited. When I made my visit back to the States this past summer, I began creating elaborate mental plans to see the five states that I was missing, many of which are best to visit in the summer months (with New Mexico as the exception).
As I embarked on my recent book writing journey, I thought it could make a lot of sense to go on a writing road trip and visit the States that I was missing. It would be a trip to see places that I have never seen to inspire my writing. How amazing would a road trip through Canada and onto Alaska be? But then how would I also reach New Mexico along the way? After I thought about all the scenarios, it became evident that seeing both Alaska and New Mexico on the same trip would be challenging and costly. Plus, if I would be visiting my family for two months, a road trip for more than a couple weeks would be too much (or too rushed for the distance).
I thought to myself “do I really need to see all 50 States before 40? No one is going to punish me for not reaching this goal. What if I just accomplished it by 41 or 42?” After changing my perspective, I decided to narrow my scope and create a trip through Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota, leaving only New Mexico and Alaska to visit. And what an awesome way to provide inspiration: a road trip with the sole purpose of writing.
I set out for Omaha, Nebraska, and found a couple great cafes to write out of for a couple days. Then I made my way to Rapid City, South Dakota, passing through the Badlands National Park, which I highly recommend. I spent several nights in Rapid City and visited Custer State Park as well as Mount Rushmore, an American classic. And then I passed through Sturgis, South Dakota. To my excitement, Bike Week was occurring while I was passing through so I had to stop and experience the world’s largest bike rally. Lots of leather for sure!
Next, I made a very boring drive up to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. It was a beautiful and quiet place. It wasn’t as beautiful as the area surrounding Rapid City but it was still peaceful. I was able to get some great writing on a bench listening to the prairie dogs whistle at each other in the middle of nowhere – one of the highlights of my trip. I stayed in Dickinson, North Dakota, where I found an old church turned into a café where I spent several hours writing before making my way east to Fargo.
Fargo, North Dakota, was a strange place. I found a café to write from but the people around me all seemed related and non-human, like they were robots or something. I felt like I was in some early stages of a horror film so I didn’t stay very long.
The best part of my trip came when I found an AirBNB property west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, near the town of Dassel. An older couple rented out a small, one bedroom apartment above their garage with a separate entrance. I had the entire place to myself for two nights. I had bought all of my groceries at a nearby supermarket and prepared all of my meals during my stay. The apartment overlooked a lake and was the most peaceful setting to think and write. Here is the link to their property in case anyone ever ventures to that part of the country.
Over the twelve days of my road trip, I wrote over 30,000 words, which is about half of the words in the first draft of my book. The road trip was perfect for me to clear my mind and be out in the world, which is where I am inspired the most. Seeing new things with my eyes and quieting my mind. This was one of the best things I could have done to focus on writing. If I ever write a second book, I will certainly craft a trip around my writing process.
Here are the links to previous articles in the series in case you missed them
STEP 2: WHAT THE HECK DO I WRITE ABOUT?
STEP 3: FINALIZING THE ANGLE, BUT STILL NOT SURE…
STEP 4: STARTING TO WRITE MY BOOK…BUT JUST WRITE, DON’T EDIT
STEP 5: THE HEALING PROCESS: OVERCOMING EMOTIONS THROUGH WRITING
Cory,
You’ve had quite a year! I did a 17-day motorcycle ride from Chicago to Alaska and back with two of my brothers this past summer. We also passed through the Dakotas, and were in Sturgis a week before the bike rally. I agree that the area around Rapid City is beautiful and has much to offer. When you plan your trip to Alaska, I highly recommend driving through Banff and Jasper and enjoy the beauty of British Columbia on your way to Alaska. For both me and my brothers, that was the highlight of the trip, and we plan to return. I look forward to hearing more about your travels!
Hi Russ – great to hear from you! A road trip to Alaska and through the Canadian Rockies is on my bucket list for sure! Thanks for the tips and hope all is well!