When I tell people that my favorite place I’ve ever traveled to is Casper, Wyoming, I tend to get some weird looks. There’s always the joke, “Wyoming isn’t even a real place, no one’s from there,” but happily, I get to explain that my dad and his side of the family are all from there. Growing up, I had a small love for the mountains when we went once a year, and I saw how brutal the winter is there. It wasn’t until I took a trip in my sophomore year of college that I understood how beautiful the city and the mountains are.
Growing up in a large city in South Florida, I didn’t understand how someone wouldn’t be bored in a place without the big-city attractions. But that year, I was finally old enough to go hiking on Casper Mountain. Hiking became revolutionary to me. To push yourself to literal new heights, enjoy the journey up the mountain, and then finally make the last big push to the top is an indescribable feeling. I finally had a new sense of peace that I didn’t think was possible.
About a month ago, I started feeling stuck. I had just started therapy again and was realizing how much my mental health was being affected by everything going on in my life. Most of high school, I suffered from periods of bad mental health. Now that I’m in college, I’ve worked on it a lot and am getting the help I need. Technically, a lot is going great in my life, but as life does, stuff happened in my personal sphere that made me feel extremely out of control.
My answer to this was a 5-day trip to Casper, Wyoming, to visit my grandparents. This time around, there was going to be no hiking, only time in the house, and a daily walk to the river. No other place I’ve been smells like cinnamon when it rains, has a constant wind that cleanses the earth, and is almost always perfect for reading a book. I was able to take my time, day by day, stop looking at everything wrong, and slowly appreciate the little things. One day, I walked down a long street Downtown and stopped at a bookstore with an impactful banned book section. For lunch, I went to Johnny J’s Diner, a 50s-style place that my dad has been going to since he was in high school. Â
Don’t get me wrong, there is beauty in the big cities, but I believe it is just as important, if not even more so, to visit these lesser-known areas. By doing this, not only are you able to support the local, smaller mom-and-pop businesses, but you are also able to get away from touristy spots and bask in nature.
One piece of advice: before going on this trip, hit the incline walk at the gym if you are not used to much of an incline change while walking, and drink lots of water for altitude sickness.
Here are some lesser-known places to visit if you’re looking to vacation the way I do:
- Georgetown, Colorado
- Sisters, Oregon
- Whitefish, MontanaÂ
- Joseph, Oregon
I’m not trying to make any of these places new tourist destinations, and to be honest, that would take away from the magic. But at the same time, I truly think that everyone should experience the breathtaking views of a hike in the mountains and the quiet, cozy feel of a mom-and-pop restaurant. So, as long as you promise not to turn these special places into the next Disney World, I’d encourage you to vacation there sometime.