Wow. 15 blog posts and two full semesters on this journey and it finally comes to an end. It’s a bit sad, but I have to say I really enjoyed writing every one of these posts, mostly because they let me step back away from the stress and rush here and look upon some of my favorite memories.
In the end, I hope to motivate you to find your park… find your place that you love like I love the Canadian Rockies, and just enjoy it. This planet has so much to offer. There is no way to possibly see it all, but you have to start somewhere if you’re going to try.
Personally, I find the best way to motivate yourself to get out there is to set goals, make a bucket list, and never stop dreaming about places you want to see and things you want to do. I’ve found myself constantly looking at travel sites, reading travel blogs, or just following way too many Instagram’s that post really cool pictures from all over the world.
Banff had been on my bucket list for a few years, basically ever since I first saw pictures of Moraine Lake, but it was not until about March of my senior year that I actually put any thought into going there. While everyone was making plans for “senior week”, or basically going to the Jersey Shore for a week and being sober for approximately none of it, my friends and I wanted to do something different, so we booked flights to Calgary, planned every day and never looked back. Those two weeks in the Canadian Rockies were amazing, giving me the true feeling of just being away from it all and meeting the coolest people I’ve ever met… some from Australia, Japan, Brazil, and everywhere in between. On the last night I met Max, who had just put down a lease on a room in the town of Banff and a few weeks later he invited us back, saying we could stay on his floor if we could make it out there. My friend Tom and I jumped at that opportunity so quick even if it meant we slept 6 people in a room made for one. That time, we had planned just about nothing, and hitchhiked just about everywhere, much to the disapproval of my parents, but oh well… sometimes you just need to live a little. Sometimes you just need to take risks and get away from it. As John Muir said best, “The mountains are calling, and I must go”.
This summer, I am taking on what is by far the most audacious trip I’ve done yet. I figured if there’s ever a summer to do something crazy for the whole summer, it’s this one, so, along with some friends I met here at SHOTIME, I am driving out from Philly to LA, stopping all along the way at basically every National Park I could’ve dreamed of seeing… Rocky Mountain, Grand Canyon, Zion… the list goes on. This whole time, I am going to be trying to spend essentially nothing except for on food and gas: camping off of side roads everywhere and eating some oatmeal and instant mashed potatoes way more often than I probably should. When I get to LA, the 3 friends who did the first leg will be flying home and starting their summers… since it will still only be June 1st. At that point, one of my other friends from high school will be flying in and I will meet up with my friend Tom, who was the reason the Banff trips ever happened, who goes to school in San Luis Obispo. At that point we will be driving up the Pacific Coast, seeing a bunch of parks, and working our way back home through all the Northern parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton and some others.
83 days. 83 days this summer I will be camping out of my car, spending the time of my life in our beautiful National Parks System. My quality of life may not be the best, but my life will be forever enriched. I leave 2 days after my last final and do not get back until July 28th… meaning I really am only going to be home 2 weeks this summer, but I have dreamt about a trip like this for years and there is no way I will pass up on my best chance to do it. I suppose I could have gotten an internship this summer… but that would’ve been way too typical. I look forward to traveling on a budget like no other, and basically giving up all luxury (and potentially doing a bit of mooching: did you know most old hotels in National parks were built without showers so they add them for guest around the back? Sounds like a great setup for a couple guys living out of their cars if you ask me😉).
In the end, whatever it is that makes you tick, whatever passion that makes life amazing, is worth pursuing, because some day we will leave this life on earth and will want to look back at all the experiences and memories rather than regret all the things we didn’t do.
Also, I’ve decided to add some of my favorite pictures from the summer. Oh and I think I’m going to make a blog of some sort for this summer’s road trip just so I can document everything for myself and for the odd chance that it attracts an audience of people looking to travel on a budget. 
Dave, I have loved reading your blogs this semester. I am a little bit concerned about that winky face you included (when talking about living out of a car with your friends.) But in all honesty I really hope you have a great road trip this summer and see all the sites. I expect to see lots of pictures next fall.
I love your use of the quote, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” I was born in the mountains of Pennsylvania, so any time that I find myself in a mountain range, I find myself looking to the peaks with this odd sense of being home and just overall of peace. There’s a hymn that I especially like, and the words go, “When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze, then sings my soul, my savior God to thee, how great thou art.” It just so perfectly captures the stunning beauty of the mountains and how you can just see for miles and miles; this overwhelming sense that you’re just a tiny speck, and that there’s something greater than yourself out there, even if you don’t believe that it’s a higher power. It just makes you more aware that there’s a whole planet filled with millions of other people, and on top of that, an entire universe out there. I get the same feeling when I stand on the beach and look out across the sea. It always makes me wonder if, somewhere, thousands of miles away, someone else is standing on the beach and staring at me across the sea, thinking the very same thing.
I hope that you have a wonderful trip this summer! It’s so good that you have friends to go with you and that you’ll be able to have this opportunity. Honestly, people are always stressing about internships and research, but sometimes, it’s the experiences that one has that make the difference between getting a job or not. Sometimes you’ll mention something in passing in an interview, and they’ll have done the same thing, and instantly you have a memorable connection with the interviewer, so you’re more likely to be hired. What’s more, we have our whole lives ahead of us to work, but we only have our health and our youth for so long. As Skylar pointed out in class today, “What if you save for your retirement and you die before you get to use it?” Obviously, I’m not trying to say that people shouldn’t save for retirement, but we all definitely need to strike a delicate balance between preparing for the future and living in the moment. We really only have the here and now; tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. I applaud you for seizing the opportunities available to you and living in the moment. Again, have a great trip! I definitely think that you should keep a blog to chronicle your experiences, even if it’s just for yourself!