Skip the Leaves this Fall
The pumpkin spice lattes are out, and you know what that means—six more weeks until fall.
Not too long from now, the mornings will be crisp, the wind will carry a touch of winter on sunny afternoons, the leaves will start to turn, and we’ll all start to settle in for colder days. But, what if this year, we didn’t?
There are few things more American than a long stretch of open highway. It beckons and calls and, no matter how many times you’ve been down it, asks the same question: “Are you willing to see what’s over the next horizon?” There’s a little manifest destiny in each of us, all looking for the hope of something more. But, it’s not gold or riches. It’s the wide open spaces that lend perspective to our biggest questions and to quietest fears, that challenge us to see things as they’ve always been, and reminds us of our childlike desire to wander, to explore. Because the West was never tamed; we only tamed ourselves.
So this fall, as the days grow shorter and as the autumn air calls, trade your rocking chair for a steering wheel and a mixtape. Bring a friend or three and a flannel if you like. Drive until the forests fade and the mountains rise. Find a desert road and get lost in the landscape. As the waning sun hangs low, stay still for a moment, and you might hear whispers in the mountain air from long ago.
When we’re westbound, we can be explorers once again. Besides, you can get your PSL to-go.
Visiting the West In The Fall
Desert temperatures are comfortable
The crowds are dramatically less
Prices are lower
You’re more likely to experience the places for what they are
The first snow can come anytime, so keep an eye on the weather
Where to Visit
Arches National Park, Utah
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Sequoia National Park, California
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Anywhere in between
