Sometimes you have to do something crazy.

Train to Chicago

1400 Miles. 6 States: Utah – Colorado – Kansas – Nebraska – Iowa – Illinois.

Why do people go on adventures? Sometimes our journeys have a practical purpose. Other times we go where the wind takes us. In either case, we grow through these wanderings.

Not all those who wander are lost. ―J.R.R. Tolkien

My journey began at 1:00 AM in Logan, Utah. I made my way to Salt Lake City and caught the 3:30 AM train headed to Chicago. I went over the river and through the woods—up the mountain, down the valley, through canyons and cornfields—snaking my way across the Midwest.

Utah – Colorado – Kansas – Nebraska – Iowa – Illinois. 36 hours. 6 states. 1400 Miles.

The sunrise woke me up at 6:00 AM. Colors blossomed over the canyon walls. Blooming roses shed from a fiery pollen core. My seat pal behind me, Launa (traveling from Seattle to Boston), kept giving me treats and snacks. As we continued on, I marveled at the beauty of the springs of Colorado and was humbled by my first view of the vast plains of Nebraska and Kansas. Miles and miles of cornfield as far as the eye could see.

I found myself thinking through the long ride, “Why do people go new places?”

Is it to meet new people? Is it to see things we have never seen before?

Maybe…but I think it is also so we can learn more about ourselves. When we are away from the comfort of home, without our family, friends, or peers to influence us, we sense our true character. When we are away, we become stronger as we face challenges and learn to overcome them.

We learn to trust others, as we knowingly put our lives into their hands.

We learn to trust our instinct as we turn onto paths we’ve never before walked.

We break routine and shatter established patterns of thought.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. ―Mark Twain

My journey is just beginning. This adventure has brought me to Chicago. I’m here to learn. I’m here to grow.

Where will you go on your next adventure? Who will you be when you come back?