2021 Roadtrips

February 11, 2022

For as much time as I spent inside my home in 2020, I tried to balance that out by spending some serious time on the road in 2021. Last year, I took two major road trips, traveling through 14 states and racking up over six thousand miles behind the wheel.

Get Your Priorities In Order

In reality, photography wasn’t the highest priority during my travels. Instead of bringing a bunch of gear, I kept it simple and just brought a couple cheap film cameras (Holga & Lomo LC-A) and my 10 year old iPhone.

Some people might say shooting with sub-par gear is kind of a stupid idea, especially when you own a decent camera. In fact, I said this repeatedly to my partner during our travels. “Just think of all the photos I’m going to miss because I don’t have a proper blah blah blah!” But it was actually a fun way for photography not to dominate the trip while still coming away with some memorable pics. It was also really nice to not worry about my gear whatsoever (the film was basically worth more than the camera).

Location Inspiration

I got to see many new beautiful places, including: Mt Adams in Washington, Dead Horse Point St. Park in Utah, Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, and many others.

We hit some amazing sunsets along the way:

Believe it or not, the above photo was taken at a rest stop in Nebraska. They say if you can make Nebraska look good, you are a professional photographer.

One thing I learned from this trip is there’s just not enough daylight in late fall to drive long distances! We were always fighting the clock, trying to find a place to stay before it got dark. Overall though we made it work. Family Reunion

During our longest road trip, we spent much of the time reconnecting with old friends and family. It was so nice to visit with everyone. In some ways, we didn't miss a beat. But in other ways, the last two years have made a lasting impact on everyone, and there's no getting around that. Conclusion

I can't believe how strange it felt to come back to Portland after being gone so long. It's so easy to get used to where you are. Your thoughts, your walking routes, your meals, everything seems to get repetitive when staying in one location for too long. Everything. Maybe the United States should come up with some sort of red-state / blue-state foreign exchange for adults. For one week a year, you have to visit a (fill in your opposite) state and stay with a bunch of #$@%^! I bet it would make for a more empathetic country. I know it’s made me question my assumptions by spending time outside of my liberal, kale-eating Portland bubble.

I kid you not, the morning we left Portland on our longest road trip, we saw a lady with uncombed grey hair holding a bushel of kale up to her ear like it was a telephone. Who wants to switch states for a week?

-Chris