It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I can be a bit of a contrarian. Several people have raved to me about the natural beauty of Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park , but I went into the state with low expectations. It’s just mountains, desert, and a dumb geyser, what’s the big deal? If so few people lived in the state (it has the fewest people per square mile in the contiguous 48), I was sure it couldn’t be as special as all that. I was very, very wrong.

Montana was always going to be an emotionally complicated state for me to visit because I first dreamt up the idea of this 50 states trip while vacationing there with my former partner. But first I had to solve the challenge of how to get my car back from Alaska. I had three possible options: 1) drive back through The Yukon and British Columbia, 2) take the ferry down with it, or 3) have it shipped. Remarkably all three options cost around the same. I’d had the luxury of driv

It feels weird to call Alaska a state. It is simultaneously distinctly American and something else entirely. It feels removed from the...

The driving route from Ithaca to Fairbanks, Alaska took me over 4,200 miles through 6 Canadian provinces and territories in sub-zero...

South Carolina marked the halfway point of this trip. It should have been a thrilling milestone. I should have been beaming with pride....

I’ve come to the conclusion that the little voice in my head is an asshole. <I am you, so right back at you> After taking 5 months off...