I have been off the grid for a while. Well, not totally, but far enough away from good internet access to keep me away from my keyboard. My wife and I took a driving trip across much of the western U.S. from Phoenix to Northern Wisconsin. While I promised myself, I would never drive that far again, we knew we would be away from home for an extended period of time, so flying didn't work. In 2021 the cost of renting a car for five weeks, if you can even get a rental, would exceed the cost of buying a car.
Over the years we had seen enough of the Interstate Highway system to know that despite its efficiency, it is long and boring. For this trip we decided to avoid the Interstate as much as possible and see the real America. Traveling along state highways and through small towns can sometimes be a treat. We traveled along the Rio Grande Gorge in New Mexico and through some wonderful mountain roads in Colorado. We visited several small towns that it seemed time has forgotten.
When you take the road less traveled it is easy to see why we say America the Beautiful. Unfortunately, many small towns suffer the opposite fate of having an interstate highway pass by their door. When travelers no longer pass through these towns businesses suffer and people leave for greener pastures.
Once we left the mountain states the scenery became less dramatic. Much of it was rolling hills or pastureland dotted with iconic farmhouses and barns that call to mind those American Gothic paintings.
Of course, we saw corn. Lots of corn. Some of it is sweet corn for your Labor Day barbecue. Some of it feed corn to be used for fattening cattle and pigs and other farm animals. Some of it will end up in our gas tanks as ethanol. From the highway it is hard to tell which you are seeing; it all looks the same.
As we drove further east the trees got bigger and the rivers and lakes more abundant until the landscape became green as an emerald.
But no matter where we drove, it was America. Full of Americans from all corners of the globe. Small towns, big cities. Industrial cities and college towns. Black, White, Hispanic, Native American all in this together. Same desires, same goals. All equal.
And corn, don’t forget the corn.
Joe Domino is a Realtor® serving the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Need more information? Or to Search for your next home, visit www.Scottsdale-AZHomes.com
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