Why not travel where you are?
I was in La Spezia, Italy preparing to hike in Cinque Terre when our hotel owner said something that made me look at travel in a whole different light. She asked me where I was from. I responded. Then she said, “ You have a beautiful country, I only wish I could go there…”. At that point, it occurred to me that while we (North Americans) long to travel to Europe, Asia, Australia, those that live in those lands long to come to where we live. And she’s right, I do live in a beautiful country. We have such a variety of nature here, from deserts to beaches, to green lush forests and flowing glowing volcanic lava. I suspect that this problem is not exclusive to me. I suspect that many people don’t consider the beauty in their own backyards when planning their travels. So why not travel where we live?
At this point in our lives, when our kids are in school, work schedules permitting only short getaways and staying within budget a necessity, traveling close to home just seems to make sense from a practical point of view. Traveling nearby certainly makes it easier to stay within budget given shorter trip costs due to shorter distances. Airline tickets will cost less or we may be able to drive instead. Driving enables possibly carrying camping gear if we are so inclined, possibly saving on accommodations. A one week vacation is perfect to explore natural and historic monuments in our home state, province, country, or continent especially where distances are large, and we’ll need to travel 4 to 5 hours. Travel time alone will take 2 days of a week long vacation, leaving 5 days to explore our destination. Traveling locally will hopefully minimize jet lag as well, which will leave us with more energy to explore our destination. Being closer to home, local destinations may not need a whole week, perhaps a long weekend, providing more opportunities to travel and explore. But more than that, traveling in our home region will allow us to appreciate the history of the land we live in, both natural and human, ancient and modern.
In the country I currently call home, United States, there are several states to visit that have amazing natural treasures.
In Oregon, John Day Fossil Beds provide a view into the early mammalian period. It made me rethink my view of the animal world. Here we were introduced to the idea of dog-sized horses and other unthinkable animal anomalies. Not too far away is Newberry National Volcanic Park. Here we saw Lava River Cave, petrified tree holes 20 feet deep and cinder cones to hike around. The Obsidian Trail was my favorite hike, it is a walk through an area of the volcanic glass, obsidian jutting out of the ground in every angle imaginable.
In New Mexico, there is a super volcano to see and beautiful volcanic tuft features. Features include tent-like rock towers, footpaths cut into the tuft made by Native Americans some 800 years ago, Native American cave cliff dwelling remains, black lava bed hikes and Spanish history in nearby Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
In Utah, there are amazing red rock structures and scenery. From Zion National Park where there are towering red mountains surrounding you, to Bryce Canyon with its amazing red and white hoodoos to hike through, to Arches and Canyonlands where there are towering arches and canyons to marvel at. Of course there is the Grand Canyon as well.
In Hawaii, there are sea turtles to see, old Hawaiian villages to explore, red hot flowing lava, snorkeling, hiking to waterfalls, walking by wild pineapple and banana trees, exploring the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and of course many volcanic features to discover. Sandy beaches come in more than just white here — you’ll find green and black beaches here too. You can also see where your morning coffee comes from here at a coffee plantation.
In California, there is a volcanic park called Lassen National Park that will get you up-close to the hot springs that is a reminder that it is an active volcano, Yosemite National Park with its granite peaks and blue lakes. Just east of Yosemite is a place called Mono Lake which boasts towers of calcium carbonate rocks that continue to emerge from the bottom of the lake. Of course there are ancient giant trees in Sequoia and Kings Canyons National Parks. In Los Angeles, there are a few museums worth seeing. The La Brea Tar Pits (features fossils of mammoths and saber tooth cats), Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (dinosaur fossils including T.Rex and triceratops among others) and California Science Center (see a real spacecraft — Space Shuttle Endeavour) are all worth a visit or two.
By no means is this an exhaustive list. I hope to explore further in my homeland. Now is a perfect time for us with kids in school. What better way to teach the kids Geography, Geology, History, Biology, Math and Science? Don’t get me wrong, if the opportunity to explore exotic cultures presents itself and the amount of time I have is sufficient for such travel, I will certainly jump at the opportunity. But until then, home is a pretty amazing place to explore too.
