Day 200: What Does it Mean to Love our Country?

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Dan+Yi

What does it mean to love our country? – a recurring question over the course of our many road trips and now 200 days of living full-time on the road.

To us, love is rooted in understanding. When we set out with a goal to explore all 50 states together, we hoped to grow our love of this country with a deeper and more complete understanding of all that it holds – its natural landscapes and manmade monuments, its bustling cities and quaint small towns, its native history and immigrant cultures, its roadside attractions and local flavors.

Everywhere we’ve been has shown us something far-flung and something familiar, and always a connecting road in between. Each time we cross a state border, most recently the Nevada/California one on this quiet stretch of US Route 95, we get a renewed sense of this connection.

We often hash out current issues and political debates during our long drives – of which there are many – and at the core is our mutual desire to understand our country and to recognize not only its complicated history but also the prevailing march of progress.

For us, to love America is to never tire of exploring its land, immersing in its communities, and questioning how it can be greater tomorrow than it is today.

Red Rock Canyon: Exploring the Las Vegas Desert Oasis

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Dan+Yi

Established in 1967, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area now encompasses 197,349 acres of land in Southern Nevada. In 1990, its status was changed from Red Rock Recreation Lands to a National Conservation Area. It was just the seventh to be designated in the country.

A short 17 miles from the glitz and glam of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, Red Rock Canyon is actually visible from there. But it is best experienced up close, as over 2 million visitors find out every year. In addition to its natural beauty, the park also features a particularly robust exhibit at the Visitor Center. Check it out before setting off on the 13 mile scenic loop.

Red Rock Canyon’s dramatic landscape developed through a fascinating geologic history. Over 600 million years, the land transformed from a seabed, to great sand dunes, to the Keystone Thrust we see today. It features colorful and jagged sandstone walls rising up to 3000 feet tall.

The natural environment is also an oasis in the desert, playing home to hundreds of species of plants and animals due to its perennial water supply and cooler temperatures. And while we weren’t lucky enough to see any desert tortoises, we did manage a couple of close encounters with two of the area’s more than 100 bird species.

Situated just a half hour from the bright lights and buzz of the Las Vegas Strip, Red Rock Canyon stands out as a natural refuge for residents and tourists alike.