To attend TBEX (Travel Blogger Exchange, travel bloggers annual conference) in Denver, CO, Stephen and I decided to do another road trip; to west. We went to a road trip together to New England last summer, and myย affectionย to the area grew a lot. I didn’t know what to expect, but I loved it. I like the simplicity of the road trip and camping. And all the things I’ve heard about the ‘west’ were only good things.
From Virginia to Colorado; we drove throughย Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The scenery is different, of course, and everything gradually changed. It’s sunny, dry, empty, wild, and big. There are different products at the supermarket, hushpuppy mix for one, people are talking differently, everything was flat. The little cities wereย particularlyย interesting. Some wereย abandoned, all the shops were spread apart, cute little city hall, and decorated as the town’s character. I enjoyed them. These were different than little towns in eastcoast. Eastcoast was more ‘cute-little-town’ charm, and west cities gave me more of ‘strong character’ kind of impression.ย I don’t know how to describe it well, but I got the feeling, if you know what I mean.
Since my words are not good enough to express my thought, here are my photos that I captured during our road trip to Denver.
Great photos! This is part of America that many Americans do not get to see very often.
Good! Glad I captured it. ๐ It would be great to see more of the mid-west when I drive back to VA.
The first photo looks very much “wild west”! Beautiful shots. ๐
Thanks Tiffany! I just had to stop to take the photo. ๐
Juno, I LOVE these photos – I can’t wait to get to the US next year and experience all the diversity that the country has to offer. You’ve really captured the kind of small-town charm and just every day life really well. Also, is that REALLY the City Hall in Perry?! It looks more like a betting shop or an insurance firm to me!
Yep, that is really the city hall! No kidding! There was ‘no guns’ sign and everything. Hope you get here and see it for yourself! ๐ Excited for your US visit! When are you coming? It would be wonderful we could travel together somewhere too!
I love exploring the heartland.
Once, my tire blew out on the highway near Perry, Oklahoma. My Dad, sister, and I wandered the streets, ate the pie, and got to know the whole town while the shop slowly changed out the tire.