Day 1 - Intro / Black Hills National Forest

Introduction

I've been planning this trip for about 4 months. It started when my position as a 3rd party marketing trainer and rep ended abruptly (though not unexpectedly). I had to make a decision at a point in my life where I wasn't interested in being decisive; continue following a career path, my "American Dream" where income and stability was my focus, or use some of the resources I'd gathered and live a little. After interviewing and declining some mid level management jobs, I jumped into the later. I asked myself, "If I didn't have to worry about a dollar, what would I do right now?"

The Answer was traveling.

Now since Dollars do matter and budgets are a thing, I decided to make a road trip apart of my near future, one that I could meet friends along the way, and end up visiting some really cool places in nature where I could relax, draw inspiration for my music and creativity, and preferably end up somewhere warm! The route took the form of driving to California, to a hot springs and permaculture farm I had visited a couple years back, while camping at as many national parks and forests as I can fit. 

The RoadTrippers app made planning routes super easy and GasBuddy lets me know i'm getting the best deal on fuel.
The goal of this odessy is mostly to explore the country, see new things, connect with nature, and glean any relevance to my journey in life as many travelers do. The other big reason is to force myself to relax, which I am terrible at. If I'm not keeping busy and feeling productive, I find every possible way to achieve that. So I figured at least this way I would likely accomplish creative goals and personal growth rather than career and hobby based distractions.

Kernville Trip on Roadtrippers

Thanks to multiple people suggesting I journal this roadtrip in someway, ​I am making this blog (which is a first for me) and already enjoying it! I almost considered not doing this (since my grammar isn't quite spot on and knowing when I'll have internet connection varies). But one of my musical soulmates, Michael Loukes, told me I NEEDED to at least journal the things I noticed both outside and inside of me as I could look back years down the road and likely cherish it. So now i'm taking the time to do so along with the potential assistance in personal growth as "writing your thoughts" can typically accomplish. So Im calling this the Introspection Perception blog and making a goal to record my inner and outer observations.

So here it goes...

​

Day 1 - South Dakota / Black Hills National Forest

Today is one of the longer distances on my itinerary, Rapid City and Beyond. I got in the car around 1pm and will remain driving till until 12:30 pm or so. I took my Chiropractors advice of drinking lots of water to not only stay hydrated but also to force myself to stop every couple hours to stretch the body (I hung my camelback off the headrest of my drivers seat for easy access, it totally worked!). I had a 3 hour late start because I realized it would be the last time I slept in my own bed for a month and I hand't seen one of my best friends (My roommate Andrea) in a couple weeks due to our busy schedules. We spent a little time catching up over our breakie of cham chams. It is a great boost to any day when coffee and funny conversation fill your morning.

Perception:
South Dakota as we all know is very flat, but there is a beauty to this. Seeing long distances into the horizon produced an effect I found calming, and made for some great sunset photos as I chased the sunset (Which I got to watch for about 2 1/2 hours). I also realized how easy it is to convert old semi trailers into simple billboards as many people along I-90 have done.

As I've noticed plenty of times in the past, driving into headwinds destroys fuel economy, so I'm a little bummed that the weather wasn't as pleasant as I was hoping (About half way through it mostly cleared up though the wind was still there). I'm getting about 21-23 mpg going 67-70 mph (10mph below speed limit because 80 honest makes me uncomfortable after totaling my pickup earlier this year) when my car usually gets 29-31 highway so that's already adding up in gas costs.
I took a bunch of photos as the sun started to set (Caught a couple rainbows on my snapstory). At first I stopped to take photos, then I managed to photograph and drive which probably isn't safe or legal but hey, Im an artist, it's my process ;) (Though it made my detail focus in the photos crap). As cool as i think they are, nature and sunset photos have been done to death, but i'll post my favorites here. They're unedited so be gentle with the critique!

Introspection:
I know I will get lonely on this trip. Part of that is intentional, but also so I can prevent distractions while I consider a lot of things in my life in terms of how I want to approach the next 5-10 years. I've already felt the pull of social pressure to succeed and make money, as well as increasingly noted how money doesn't bring personal satisfaction or happiness past affording basic living. Being a perfectionist who loves music, business, and being a jack of all trades, this leaves me with a huge list of wants and desires out of life. Most of these are not possible to pursue to their full extent if I commit to a traditional career that exchanges time and stress for a salary. I love working when I'm challenged, but I don't want to be defined by work more than I am defined by my personal interests (all about that give and take). So I am sorting out how to balance these in terms of time and effort so that I can succeed in creating financial security without sacrificing so much that my music and other passions are not followed to their potential.

As I write this, I am parked in a Qdoba parking lot after hours using their free wifi, I have a feeling I will become a free wifi finding master as this month progresses. its 11:05 and I have about 45 minutes to drive to my campsite where I plan on unleashing my twin air mattress and blankets for warmth and comfort! I don't know If i'll get a chance to put entries in every day (And this is likely the largest) but every couple days you should hear from me as it will also help me edit my photos. If I suddenly stop posting, I may have died, but It will probably have been a really cool way to die!

Im curious as too peoples thoughts on my format and approach so far. So a comment would be cool, especially if you've blogged (or read a lot of blogs) and have any suggestions. I'd say for my first this ain't half bad for sitting for an hour cramped in a car typing on my computer while I carefully watch slow moving cars hoping no body robs me in Rapid City's Qdoba parking lot...