The American Travel
Discover the Wild West – A road trip adventure
During the summer 2019 I should get the first impressions of the great country I would live in soon… On Independence day, July the 4th, we arrived at Houston International Airport to start a 4 week trip trough that what my parents called „The West“. I couldn‘t really emagine what to expect. Our first stop was at the great beaches of Galveston Island and the Golf of Mexico! I never was that far south before. Sun was hot at the white sand and I enjoyed every minute, but we also wanted to visit the Houston Space Center. I had never dealt with space travels before, except of some Alien movies… But to climb in the Space Shuttle and visiting the Mission Control Center was so interesting. I learned a lot oft the history of American Space Programs. Our way went up to San Antonio with ist beautifull River Walk, and our next destination was Austin TX. That was the city my parents want to live in. My first impressions weren’t that great, but now that I‘m living in this amazing „Heart of Texas“ it is one oft the best places in the world! We headed up north, to explore some historyon the famouse Route 66. The old charme oft he historic buildings and neon signs is so beautiful. People there restored a lot oft he old fashioned buildings. A verry cool place, where art and fun come together ist he Cadilac Ranch near Amarillow. Some old cars are partly buried in the ground and everybody can paint the sculptures with color spray! I loved this place! Via Galup we reached New Mexico with another culture, different landscapes and with first influences oft he Native Americans. Arriving Arizona we drove off the Interstate, through the Navajo Reservation. This was e little stange to me. The people live so far away from each other, no cities, just small farm like places where the people live in family clans. The landscape changed to. The Woods seem endless there and than I shold explore my first Canyon! Canyon the Chelley is a National Park. We stayed there in a Lodge oft he Navajo People. They are very close to nature and believe in spirits. We saw the ancient cliff dwellings in the canyon, that are more than 2000 years old. Some of the old people still live in so called Hogans, small round buildings from clays oil and wood, without windows, just a small entrance and a chimney fort he fireplace. I could not believe this… living without electricity, water from the fountain, no TV and all our modern amenities. But the most impression made all the wild horses everywhere! I never expected that but the next day I wuold really ride such a great horse! My mothers favourite place was the next destination. Located between Arizona and Utha, the Monument Valley was an extremely impressive place. Originated from an primeval sea and over thousand years formed by erosion, uge red rock formations protrude into the blue sky. And in this amazing countyside we took a ride on the trails through the valley. I really felt like a cowgirl! This was an adventure I’ll never forget! But we had to start the way back to the south. Stopping at „Four Corners“, the only place in the U.S. where 4 countries (Utha, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico) border in one point we drove down via Santa Fe to the desert of New Mexico. Miles and Miles nothing… just a long staight empty road, for hours and hours… nothing. I never expected that there could be so long „nothing“ but gras land and sometimes a few cows in there. Finally we reached Roswell. I never heared about this before but it’s famous for an alleged Ufo crasch in 1947! There everything is designed as alien, steet lamps, pictures on the walls, even the dolls in the shop windows. There is also an Alien Museum and every year a festival where people from all over the world come to Roswell to celebrate the Ufo crash… Stang thing… Back in the South we also visited the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This is one oft he largest cave systems in North America. It is nearly 835 ft deep, that’s the height of the Empire State Building in New York. Thousands of Mexican Freetailed Bats live in these caverns, raising every evening for their hunts. As our last stop we went again to San Antonio. Here I would have another great adventuere I never had expected. We visited Sea World! Here you can see shows of many marine animals, wales, dolphins, sea turtles, sea lions. I never had seen a Orca before! They are so huge but so nice! And then I got a bis surprise: I could swim with the dolphines! Wow, what a great experience. So many new impressions! So many different places I’ve seen! Places where my friends in Germany never will be. That were 4 amazing weeks and I thank my family so much for giving me this adventure! |
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