The Final Check-in: The Stories Still Need to be Told

The trip has ended and I'm slowly settling back into normal life, with one large exception that I'm just not quite ready to address yet. The final 3 days of travel were some of the craziest times of the whole trip. We covered an additional 1866 miles and managed to hit four more monuments/parks during the final days. For the part of the trip I planned to be slightly uneventful, it far exceeded my expectations.

We left my hometown Rugby, ND early Sunday morning and headed South to meet up with Jenn's brother for lunch in Bismarck, ND. It was great getting a chance to meet him, since somehow we became snapchat buddies an app that to this day I still do not understand the appeal of. I was happy that Jenn got a chance to see someone she wanted to see during the trip.

After lunch we were back on the road toward the Black Hills area where we had decided we planned to set up camp for the night. The trip from Bismarck to Rapid City takes a high spot in my worst stretches of travel ever. The only highlight along the way was coming across a powwow in Dupree, SD. This one seemed much more authentic than the one we had been to at ASU a few months back. We got there just in time to witness the fancy shawl dancing contest. I loved that we made it then because she used to be one of these dancers, so I know it brings back memories for her.

After spending a little time at the powwow we continued on our way. After arriving in the Rapid City area, we realized we still had time to get to Mount Rushmore before the visitor's center closed. To be honest, I came into it with really low expectations. I'm not really a fan of the modern man-made monuments. Because of this it was probably fortunate we arrived for the last show of the evening which included the lighting ceremony. The ceremony included a portion honoring U.S. veterans, that brought out such patriotism from the crowd, that nearly everyone around me was singing along to the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. There was even video of me singing along in my terrible voice, loud and proud. Thankfully, it was a snapchat video so it shouldn't make YouTube anytime soon.

The next morning we took man-made monuments to the next level by hitting the Crazy Horse Monument. The monument was massive and will dwarf Rushmore (if ever completed). I was amazed that the building of the monument has been going on since 1948 and was started by one man alone. Now with a crew of 12 it still sounds like it won't be completed within my lifetime. You have to admire the kind of dedication the workers have, knowing they probably won't be there when the final touches are added. It was an awe-inspiring monument that I plan to check in on periodically during my life to see the progress that is made. The only thing I wasn't really happy about was the visitor's center video which talked about the sculptor more than it did Crazy Horse or any of the tribe members who commissioned its construction.

After Crazy Horse was another stretch of drive through South Dakota and Wyoming that nearly brought me to tears. I don't want to see another stretch of highway that goes for miles until fading off in the horizon for a very long time. Thankfully, Colorado saved the day. Too bad it was already almost night time. I didn't get to enjoy much of the splendor of the Rocky Mountains before the sun set. What I did see was enough to make me want to go back. We set up camp in Moab, UT around 2:30 that morning. I'm still a little sad to think of all the beautiful scenery we probably missed during that part of the drive.

In Moab, we crossed off the final National Park of our trip at Arches National Park. Arches seems to be a park that is best hiked not driven. Sadly, we didn't have the time to hike more than one trail. The double arch trail was fast and easy, so at least we got to see something. Add Arches to the list of parks that I cannot wait to go back and visit soon. 

Arches was meant to be the final stop on our trip, but I think we were both feeling the need to extend it out longer so we added the Four Corners as a final stop. There is nothing particularly scenic about Four Corners, but the novelty is still something worth the trip. The only question that constantly crossed my mind was 'could someone legally smoke recreational weed on the Colorado side?'. Personally, I don't smoke weed but that seems like a brilliant business opportunity for someone to set up a pot bar if you can.

The final stretch home to Phoenix seemed to take forever. We laughed and talked about all the things we had done. We recalled some forgotten memories. I'm sure we mixed up some of the spots that specific events happened at but we laughed. I was so happy to have shared this experience with the woman I loved more than any in my life. Things hadn't been perfect the whole time, but there was no one in the world I would have rather spent 13 days no more than 2 feet away from nearly every minute of the day. In those moments, things were perfect. 

This is why the last section of this story is the most difficult to write. I had to muster up everything I had inside me to write any of this story. The stories still need to be told because they were happy moments I will never want to forget. However, there isn't a happy ending here. It doesn't end with us driving into the sunset of the mountains of Flagstaff and living happily ever after. It ends with broken promise that was the tie that held our relationship together. I don't know if the return to the 'normal' life was too much for her to handle, but she made a choice to break that promise. Sadly, this broken promise meant I had to hold myself to a promise I had made and broken in the past. I broke off our relationship. I wish her nothing but the best and I hope she can find what makes her happy some day. I will continue to tell the stories of the trip because there is so much more to tell, but it will be a struggle every single time. But she was there and I was happy and that is something that cannot be overlooked in the story of the greatest trip of my life.