Category: Places
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Coachella Valley Magic: Desert X 2025
I have been dreaming of visiting Desert X for years, and I finally happened to be in the Coachella Valley area this past March. Desert X is a free, contemporary art exhibit created by artists from all over the world that engage with the desert landscapes in the Coachella Valley area. The exhibit runs from…
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Ogallala Cabins: The Perfect I-80 W Pitstop
The 14-or-so-hour drive from Chicago to Colorado features corn, rolling grasslands, and more corn. I’ve taken two different routes to complete this drive: stopping in Kansas City then going through Kansas or booking it through Iowa and Nebraska. Going to Kansas City adds on a few hours, but stopping in the cute country town with…
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Thankful For Washington
I’ve always dreaded growing old until I spent time in the Pacific Northwest. There’s something about the lush remoteness that made me excited to settle down in a little house with a big garden and a few goats. Being surrounded by muggy fog next to the ocean had me dreaming about the future—setting goals and…
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Jenny Lake Trail in Wyoming
Jenny Lake trail was the hike I didn’t know I needed. I woke up this morning feeling overworked and stressed. So what did I do to take my mind off things? I got in my car at six in the morning and drove to the Grand Tetons. I went to one of the most known…
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Be Back Soon, Chicago
My time here is ending before it even started. I moved to Chicago on the first of March—three weeks before the whole world shut down. I received a full-time job offer right after I moved, but it was cancelled due to the lockdown. So I was quarantining in a new apartment with new roommates in…
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Horseshoe Bend: A Four Year Difference
Back in 2015 it was difficult to find Horseshoe Bend Overlook. I drove to Page, Arizona with my family, and we parked our car along the shoulder of U.S. 89. We hiked up the Navajo sandstone for 1.5 miles until reaching the steep drop off with a view of the canyon outlined with a 270-degree…
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The Drive Back to the Midwest
Winter came in the form of chilling wind howling through the desert and homesickness for familiar faces and places. Molly and I packed our cars in preparation for another cross-country road trip in much different weather conditions. Sunday, December 1, 2019: Yucca Valley, CA – Death Valley National Park, CA Snow-covered mountains towered in the…
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Living in the Mojave
A completely different experience comes with living somewhere versus visiting, and I was lucky enough to live in Joshua Tree. Although I have visited the high desert three times before moving here, I was able to understand this place in a completely different way after these two months. The changing of seasons came to my…
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The Strange Past and Frightening Future of Joshua Tree
I have been living near Joshua Tree National Park for about two months now, and I’m beginning to wonder how this place came to be and how climate change is affecting it. While wandering through the visitor center on Park Boulevard, I noticed a plaque stating giant sloths planted the Joshua trees we see today. Giant…
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Let’s Get Lost: Four Hikes in Joshua Tree National Park That Will Bring Peace
Joshua Tree National Park can be found where the Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert meet. The park not only consists of Joshua trees, but also palm trees, massive rocks, cholla cacti, and much more in this otherworldly landscape. There’s a plethora of hiking inside the park, but these four hikes always brought calmness during moments…
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The Big Drive Out West
All of the sudden it was the end of August, and it was time to drive across the country to spend two and a half months in my favorite place in the world—Joshua Tree. But why would I rush getting there? Everyone always says it’s about the journey, and not the destination, so a road…
RILEY J ROAMS 