Road Trip USA: Monument Valley and Beyond

It was an incredible week in hanging out in Colorado, but it was finally time to hit the road in our campervan. We were already a day behind schedule, but honestly, that just set the tone for the whole trip. Plans changed, routes changed, and somehow we ended up zig-zagging between Utah and Arizona before heading down to New Mexico. It was a wild ride!

I did everything from helping out on a ranch in Arizona, to going to church in Utah, to standing next to those giant Saguaro cacti in Phoenix. Every day was something new—new views, new people, new stories. I met so many interesting locals in each town, and over the next few months, I’ll be making some art inspired by the trip and sharing the stories of the people I met along the way.

First Stop: Monument Valley

Let me tell you, Monument Valley is unreal. The landscape looks like it’s straight out of a movie (which, literally, it probably is). This was the spot I’d been dreaming of for ages. I wanted to snap the perfect photo to use as a reference for my artwork. I’d pictured it in my head a million times...

But here’s the thing: so had everyone else. There were crowds everywhere, all trying to get the same shot. It was kind of a letdown, to be honest. I wanted my art to feel unique, but it turns out, it’s hard to be original when you’re standing in the same place as hundreds of other people, all doing the same thing.

I won’t lie, I was bummed. My big plans for creating something totally new and epic felt a bit crushed, even though the view was everything I’d hoped for.

Sometimes the best adventures are the ones that aren't planned ... And that was exactly how the trip unfolded from here on...