From the bluegrass to the evergreens

The open road can be many things to a person. For some people, it can become almost an escape. As I’ve gotten older, I have appreciated a chance for a road trip more and more. But, when I made the decision to move to Washington from Kentucky for a new job, I had to get ready for a journey far beyond anything I’d been on before.

While the move from Owensboro to Moses Lake wasn’t exactly cross-country, 2,115 miles is no afternoon cruise. I fired up the Honda before the crack of dawn, filled to the brim with my belongings. Day one began in the rain, but quickly turned into a clear, warm, April drive.

After passing through chunks of Indiana and Illinois, and onward through St. Louis, I made my way toward Wichita, Kansas, to stay with friends. The second day began with breakfast with friends, much like day one, in the rain. I set off across the flatness of Kansas toward “The West.”

Before this trip, the farthest west I’d ever been was Houston, Texas, so already I was reaching new territory as I crossed the Great Plains. As my car continued to putter on into Colorado, excitement grew inside me. I’d never seen the Rockies. My eyes locked on the horizon, waiting for those peaks to begin rising out of the empty fields surrounding me. I kept waiting, and then waited some more. Finally, as if out of nowhere, there they stood.

As I turned north outside of Denver, driving alongside the mountain range, it began to dawn on me just how far I’d made it. Then a worse thought dawned on me. I wasn’t even halfway there. But worry turned to excitement as it hit me just how much I still had left to see. Day two ended in a hotel room in Casper, Wyoming, falling asleep with the television on and Cheetos on my chest.

Wyoming was a blast, maybe even my favorite state that I drove through. It was emptiness, but in a vastly more interesting way than Kansas. The third day in the car saw the loss of my will to mix up what I listened to. A mix of podcasts, music and the audio version of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” turned into a fun blend of driving in silence and the four CDs I can reach under my seat while driving 80 down the highway.

Through Wyoming, across parts of Montana, and on into Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, I spent my final night in a place that felt like it was right across the street from my new home. A casual few more hours the next morning found me in Washington.

The trip was fun, though I’d recommend bringing a friend, or a fifth CD. I continue to get the chance to enjoy the open road every week with my job now, and after that trip, nowhere feels that far.

Casey McCarthy can be reached via email at cmccarthy@columbiabasinherald.com.