California Dreaming
It was summer 2016. A family of four and a dog climbed inside a camper the size of a sardine can for a quick little adventure to California. My mom burned multiple CDs to play on the long ride. My dad made the decision at 5 am that we should listen to the CD that had every song from the 70s that mentioned California. He carefully grabbed the newly burned disk with the title “California Dreaming” sharpied on it and placed it inside of the CD player. After all the songs had played, my mom went to remove the disk. Stuck. The CD was stuck. Day one of this two week long adventure, and we had to listen to “Kokomo” every hour. My brother and I started listening to our own playlists on our iPhone 5s, but that didn’t stop the madness.
857 miles later, and we took our first stop for the night – Amarillo, Texas. Now, Amarillo is this small little nothing town along Route 66, but something wild had just started to make it well known. Cadillac Ranch is a quick and easy photo opportunity along the road where you paint old cars that are sticking out of the ground. We brought four cans of spray paint and had a field day spraying these cars that are methodically placed in the dirt at a perfect sixty-five degree angle. After that, we all got back in the RV and trudged forward on the trip. “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray.”
The neverending ride through Texas continued for what seemed like an eternity. Cow fields were always pleasant things to pass during Texas traffic. I grabbed a bag of Doritos, and there it goes, the beginning notes of “Kokomo.” This unending cycle is starting to drive me insane. Finally we made it to Arizona. New territory for me, and I was excited. My mom was telling me all the plans she made for our day at the Grand Canyon. We took a train to the Grand Canyon which was super fun, but we were mainly excited to finally experience freedom from the monotonous CD. This train ride was relaxing and honestly the best part of the whole Grand Canyon experience. Skit features were scattered throughout the whole ride. Once we got to the Grand Canyon, my whole family was astonished with the sight of this gauging hole in the earth's crust. Me on the other hand, I was absolutely horrified. I was absolutely horrified. My mind just kept saying, "I could just slip, fall, and die." Just like the stuck CD, this exact thought was constantly flowing through my mind. I had to stay six feet away from the rim at all times. My whole day was spent in fear. My brother didn’t help matters with his constant teasing. The train ride back was the most calming experience of my life just because I was free from the horrors of falling into the ominous pit of death that was deemed a must-see landmark in the United States.
The next stop was Sequoia National Park. I was standing in the same place Theodore Roosevelt had once stood. The gorgeous red wood patterns and the contrasting green leaves complemented each other, creating a perfect towering forest that I never wanted to leave. Something about the color, the smell, the light slowly pouring in through the tops of the trees – it all felt peaceful and surreal. I felt like a squirrel lost in a forest of huge pine trees. This experience will forever be one of my favorites. I don't know if it was the house made inside the tree or if it was just the experience of seeing such a large, looming redwoods from such a small point of view, but it will forever live in my heart.
The last stop was Yosemite National Park. The official destination of all hikers' dreams. The biggest flex I have in life is that this was the first place I ever hiked. The first hike I ever went on was an absolutely gorgeous climb with a stunning view of a rainbow over this rushing waterfall at the top of this mountain. As I was looking over this ledge, horrified as always, I thought about one thing. Even though I was sick of the one CD stuck in the camper, I truly was beyond blessed for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I don't think I could have ever asked for a better family to do it with.