Now, I should say I'm not 100% sure that was my first trip West of the Mississippi. It probably was, but anyway it was definitely the first time I remember going across this beautiful country we call the United States of America.
For years, this "love" let's call it lay dormant, until one abject disaster spawned a trip to Portland in 2017. See, I was supposed to go to Cape Town, for what would've been at that point a third time. But after driving up to JFK, even parking my car in Long Term parking, I was told by the check-in counter that I couldn't board the flight because I had only one blank page in my passport. Of course, a South Africa stamp is quite small, as I showed them given the two other pairs of entry and exit stamps for South Africa I had. Anyway, crestfallen (in tears, really), I drove back and then quickly decided where I could go in the Continental US instead, and after some milling about, I chose Portland.
It ended up being a win-win. I loved that trip to Portland in 2017 - the wilderness, the scenery, the coolness of being so far away in a tucked away corner of our country (oddly, I really don;t have this romanticism for California - which I was travelling to at that point every week for work). I replaced what would've been a pretty short, cramped trip to Cape Town with a more elongated one the following year which I added Egypt to, a trip that remains one of my favorites of all time. Actually, it was a win-win-win - the third win being that because of the trip to South Africa being cancelled, I was home for Game 6 and Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, getting to watch the Astros win (at the time, a pure memory indeed). Anyway, the biggest win of those was rediscovering the beauty of this country when you escape the urban maw of the Northeast, and the plaid pleasantness of the Midwest.
That trip to Portland in 2017 begat more explorations in 2018, with trips to Vancouver in June and Salt Lake City in July. It was really that Salt Lake City trip that unlocked it all - such a brilliant city with amazing scenery and wilderness adn trails just less than an hour away. People can laugh and joke about the mormon stuff and how "boring" it must be, but it isn't - it is an incredible place I loved in 2018, and have equally loved on subsequent visits in 2023 and 2025. That said, the reason I ventured out that direction is 2018 was the one year in my time in consulting that I didn't really have to fly for work (I'm excluding the Covid years of say 2020-2022 when work travel ground to a halt). I wanted to keep United Platinum, and back then miles flown actually mattered, so the few weekends I decided to venture out, I wanted to go far.
But that convoluted reason for venturing out west led to even a greater appreciation of its coolness and more and more trips thereafter. In 2019, it was Calgary (which somehow, I haven't made it back to). In 2021, it was the duel trips to Phoenix and Denver - which should already be a good indication of how deep this was, as those were my first times on a plane after Covid. In 2022, ti was Minneapolis, which may be my favorite of all the cities proper (though I was disappointed in how little mountains / hills / treks there are nearby, which is more a disappointment in myself for not realizing this) and another trip to Phoenix, which I did again in 2023 (I really like Phoenix.... in December). In 2024, I did the trio of Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix - made easier by me going to Utah for work twice a month.
And now in 2025, I've maybe outdone myself - basically any weekend trip has been at least Mountain Time Zone, with Phoenix in April (right on the cusp of it becoming too hot), Salt Lake City in June, Minneapolis in July (btw, I realize Minneapolis isn't that far "west" but it is technically West of the Mississippi in the most literal sense) and now Portland in September, completing the circle.
Anyway, enough random rambling, I probably should talk about why I like this part of the country so much. It's for myriad reasons, but mainly because I think it offers in abundance so many of the things that I've come to look for and enjoy in a place. First of all, the incredible natural beauty. It is one of the more accurate truisms of American exceptionalism that we have some of the most incredible natural beauty of any country in the World, and while there aren't National Parks right next to these places (other than Rocky Mountain near Denver), there are so many incredible trials, hikes, and jaw-dropping views.
From the Cottonwood Canyons in Utah, which to me are better in their green and luscious glory in Summer than they are in winter when they become some of the most expensive ski resorts in the country (my favorite hike in that area is basically literally hiking up Brighton), to even the secondary parks around Denver - the Rocky Mountains and its offshoots are incredible. Equally so are the endless evergreens of the Pacific Northwest - peaking with teh Columbia River Gorge, with its evergreen cliffs and hills on either side of the large Columbia River, creating what may be one of the most beautiful highways in teh World. Hell, even Phoenix gets in on the act - as the hikes with giant saguaro catcuses are nearly as regal as the evergreens.
Then there's their love of beer - in every one of those cities, and yes I'm including Salt Lake City in that. From some of my favorite beer bars, including maybe my single favorite in The Theodore in Phoenix, to amazing craft options all over Denver and Portland, to Minneapolis which is maybe the king. The idea of lazing an hour or two at a craft brewery is basically perfected in this part of the world. There's also their love of EDM music, which fine is probably a thing everywhere in the year of our Lord 2025, but I've found few places better than The Black Box in Dwnver, or Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis - and I write this before I'll try The Den in Portland tonight and 45 East tomorrow night.
The food shouldn't be laughed at either. Phoenix is its own animal with its Mexican food that in my view can easily rival that of California or Texas in brilliance - my single favorite burrito place in the United States is there in Taco Boys - so good I'll have that as my 2am snack rather than gyros. But aside of Pheonix, you get these places that are so good at using local ingredients inclduing game meats, juniper, berries and so much more. I know America gets shit on for not having a true cuisine and that is because we have dozens, and Mountain cooking and Northwest cooking are both excellent.
But more than anything, I think it is the vibes and the people. There's a laidbackness that I can get behind, and not in a "let's make that our entire thing" like a California - there's an earnestness in these parts of the country. There's an enjoyment of life, of the place around you, of the people around you. I've been a New Yorker my whole life so I can get by with the cuththroat and sharpness of that way, but my heart lies with people in this part of the country. I truly don't know if I've ever felt more welcomed, more at home, in this country in other places.
I think it is the remoteness that does it, that creates a sense of community and realism. There aren't as many transplants, despite all of these cities being large hubs. You have to go hundreds of miles from any of them to reach the next major city so they've basically created their own little worlds in their own claves. And they're always happy to welcome more people to their space. And by the way, I'm writing all of this as a minority - and while Phoenix and to some degree Denver are quite multi-cultural already, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and (surprisingly) Portland are not, but still I've never felt odd.
In fact, I feel very content with the oddness of their own people. This will be one of the trickier things to write, but in a New York, or any Coastal city really (and even to some degree a Chicago) there is a certain level of "coolness" that I will never feel comfortable mingling with - be it wealth (New York, LA) or frattiness (Chicago). Maybe this isn't true, but I've never felt any of that in the cities I'm talking about. It's like to venture to this part of the country by default means you've left your pretensions at the door. I wrote a few years ago about how I felt Lima was one of the cities with the amount of pretense. Well, all of these cities are on that list as well, at least the US version.
It';s also I think the reason I keep coming back (there is a very strong correlation between cities that I find have less pretension, and where I return to). Well, that and I just like getting my miles/money worth if I'm going to travel. I've been blessed to be born in this country (even if I'm against a lot of what it stands for at the moment in a macro sense) where you can fly four hours and be in the same country but feel like your on a different planet. Well, I want to explore that planet, the same way I guess Lewis & Clark did to some degree. There are a host of amazing places in that upper left quartile of our nation, and even after a solid eight years of coming here many times, I never get tired of it. Here's to eight more - my personal manifest destiny.