Lessons Learned, Part Three

53. Everyone is your friend when you are at the top of McAfee Knob and everyone needs someone to take that iconic picture.

54. Walmart is the same in Billings, Montana as in Kansas City, Kansas as in Denver, Colorado as in Flagstaff, Arizona as in Frederick, Maryland as in West Chester, Pennsylvania. You can’t even tell the difference from inside. As much as I hate the store for its effect on the environmental and small business, it is super handy when you need to restock your car with everything.

55. I learned more about the incident in Roswell at the museum than I ever wanted to and I still don’t know what to believe.

56. The road promotes personal growth and expansion that you wouldn’t expect, in ways you can’t imagine.

57. Damn. People in Nashville are freaking talented. #HallofFame #Elvis #TaylorSwift #GrandOleOpry #MarkWills #EricPasley

58. Live music always sounds better, especially when it is performed at the Grand Ole Opry House.

59. Boots that have ankle support are a must when you are climbing along the side of a mountain on the Appalachian trail with your energetic dog tied around your waist.

60. Ask for what you want or need. The worst they can say is no. “Can you please help me?” goes a long way.

61. In general, cities tended to drain me and national parks energize me.

62. You can consume an entire box of Triscuits out of driving boredom. The same goes for packs of Bubbalicious.

63. Local, homemade anything is a must, no matter what diet you follow. If you are at the top of Jackson Hole and there are iconic waffles, you eat them. When you are passing through an Indian reservation and there is an authentic Sioux food cart, you get fry bread with powdered sugar. If you pass a pistachio farm with the world’s largest pistachio, you get pistachio ice cream. When you are passing through Pietown, NM, you eat three pieces of pie. You diet when you return home.

64. Sometimes an attraction isn’t worth fighting the crowd.

65. As an exceptional photographer taught me, some moments are too beautiful to interrupt by taking a picture.

66. Friends that are carefully chosen in adulthood, when you are formed and aware, tend to be wonderfully compatible.

67. Follow all, every single one, in their entirety, of the park ranger recommendations.

68. The universe will conspire to protect you when you ask. For approximately 8000 miles, I had no flat tires, no car breakdowns, no animals in my path, no falling asleep while driving, no speeding tickets, no accidents, no dog sickness, no people sickness, and no running out of gas. I suspect a mother’s prayers may help, too.

69. Doing a road trip doesn’t diminish your wanderlust as expected, but instead, fuels it.