The masculine nature encapsulates childlike verve never lost a smidgen of its impact from the day I came across it.

Courage

When I was sitting in the kitchen that evening, I sketched a map of the United States and memorized major cities in each state. I thought I had 0 gift on the subject of geography since I was a kid in China. Now I concluded, a friendly-map is a matter of how square it is. haha

I had to stop at Boise to pick up my car which I had had left for my Yoga Teacher Training in Mexico.

Boise is my second home. Six years living in Boise and working at the tech giant, Hewlett-Packard filled me with memories and wisdom.

I spent two days getting ready for the trip in a rented AirBnB place in Boise. Arranged equipment in the car and had the engine and tires checked before the major take off.

Honestly, I had no detailed plan written down anywhere rather than just a flick of a thought. Because I am not optimistic in nature, I like to layout the worst so I‘d know better my bandwidth to stretch. In this adventure, my bandwidth fell somewhere between keep going till I hit an invincible wall, then I will return home with one flight ticket…

The night before I left, I took a remanence walk outside the company of HP and sat by the geese pond. Traces of memories emerged, recalling my first broken heart. The pain was present but desideratum to cease the remorse and discovering self was more appreciable. Embraced the moment that I was already content. The next day, I embarked on a strange road with a simple mood. The first destination – Yellowstone National Park.

Freedom

I ventured towards the South Gate of Yellowstone. And rested in a lodge right off the freeway before unraveling the major exploration. There were no street lights around, and I had to asked (yelled at) random passengers for directions from sitting inside my sealed car. Tiredness soon sent me to dreams after a hot shower.

After getting up the next day, I was stunned when I stepped out of the door. Shallow mist on the gravel road led me into a view of fairyland. The moist air gently brushed my cheek.

Not far away, the mountain jungle is like a swordsman’s victorious cloak covered by bloody splashed on the brassy blazon, dancing with the wind, looming in the clouds.

I brewed a cup of jasmine tea, sat outside the balcony to enjoy my date with the morning sunshine. There was a mother and daughter next door. We greeted each other with a slight smile. Round 9 o’clock, ready to get going. Oh, wait. I almost forgot to store the hot oatmeal in the thermo cup.

Along the highway, surrounded by untouched mountain forests. Near 20 miles ratio from Yellowstone has no modern technology interference. In this autumn season, the flamboyant tree leaves lured me to fully uptake the charm of nature.

Lucky to be born as a millennial where information networks are everywhere. 70 mph highways, convenience stores, gas stations, car repairment shops, and hotels made me unstoppable. Whether a 30-minute drive or 800-mile a day, the moment I buckled myself in the 4 seater silver Toyota, music on, pedals on tracked, time and distance lapse into a straight view.

I passed through Grant Teton National Park before entering the south gate of YS. And briefly stroll around the local Indian artworks in the Teton Village.

As I drove slowly down the foothills of Teton, I felt its solemnity and pitiless crest are out of reach. It got slightly rainy in the afternoon when I got to Jackson Lake.

Originally, I wanted to capture the scenery while strolling by the lake. Then the constant drizzle made me compromise. When I returned to my car, I realized the key inside my pocket was gone. The acceleration of my heartbeat was catching up the pace of the evacated crowd. I settled my mind and started to recall the last time I saw my lost key. The survival instinct kicked in, I saw a vivid image where I stook in front of the lake taking photos. So I immediately turned to the lake and call the people around me for help. In the drizzle, cloudy and windy evening right before the sunset, several strangers began to seek around the lake. A few minutes later, I heard the voice of a young man: is this your key. I turned around. I saw a stranger holding a small black object. I walked in and screamed. Yes. It was my key!

The second night, I stayed in a nearby village on the mountain. The drive to the location felt almost ethereal under the cover of shred moon light in the mid-night sky. My landlord said the water resource is atop of the water-chain because it was extracted directly from the mountain peak, therefore it was safe to consume straight from the water tab. I tried, it was pristine.

Yellowstone National Park has four entrances – north, south, west, east. I spent first two days exploring the basin and Grant Canyon. And the third day, I entered the Yellowstone from the north for exploring hot springs and browsing wild animal habitats.

For details about the route and each attraction, please visit my Trip advisor. For accomodations, please visit my airbnb.

Forgiveness

It took me three months to travel from Idaho to Chicago through the 90, 94 highways. During this time, I reached half of my goal to teach yoga and meditation in every city I visited.

When I just became a yoga teacher, I thought the best teaching approach is through perfecting my asana (postural performance). However, A yoga class I attended in Duluth, Minnesota has changed my mind on teaching forever.

I felt genuinely tired attending the yoga class that evening. There were only a few students but all seemed having low energy which made the vibe even more vapid. Therefore, no one was following the teacher’s instructions.

Kate was the teacher that day. She waited me to leave the studio the last before closing the studio. We spoke while I was changing.

“I knew everybody was feeling down. But I just didn’t know what to do.” She said to me while choked with tears.

Although I wasn’t impressed by her teaching, I was sympathetic for the revelation of her true feelings. So I decided to bright up her mood. I said: “I liked your class”.

She looked at me and stopped tearing. “ really?” She asked concernly.

“Of course!” I responded firmly.

She believed it and smiled.

That smile really melted my heart and my ego. She made me realized that there’s nothing to be shame about admitting a failure. An intentional influence is manifest through the spiritual voice.

An intentional influence is manifest through the spiritual voice.

Gratitude

In Duluth, I also met Dick. He is my landlord, Gemini and a retired middle-aged policeman. I was very attracted to his blue eyes. They were the most unrelenting eyes I have ever looked into. Such level of firmness in his casual gaze I observed was the outcome from the toughness of his past job.

Dick is a good man. Like many American working class, his life is simple. He became passionate about sailing after he retired. During my days staying at his house, he often offered me help. Introducing his friends to me and taught me how to defend myself in danger.

I don’t know why I felt so sad after seeing him. Probably because every day after I returned to his residence after class, I saw him just watching TV in a messy room. I seem to feel that behind the bright and energetic American culture is supported by many unknown people like Dick. He worked hard when he was young, and was deserted after middle age.

Motivation

Because I underestimated my timeframe excluding trips to Canada (Toronto, Monrovia) for a month. When I finally got to the East Coast, it was already winter in Boston. Freezing temperature concomitant heavy snow. There were so much things to explore in New York, so I lived in East Village in New York for a month and learned aerial yoga.

Every evening after class, I would carry my yoga mat taking a walk in the city park. As night fell, the people in the park began to dissipate. I leaned on a long wooden bench on the stone pathway. Looking up the night of December through the withered tree branches. The pale moon overhead wanted me to leave an unforgettable name at this moment, but I couldn’t think of any special vocabulary.

It got colder, so I stood up and warmed up my body with some exercise. I didn’t want to leave yet. Put the headphones on, the soundtrack of the piano and the street noise all blended in together.

Heartbeat became gradually. I took a deep breath in, right about I was to leave, I saw a familiar figure on the seat not far away. She sat quietly and seems smiling at me – it was mother. I tucked my chin in the collar and remained silent for a moment.

Yes. In reality, mother and I have separated. When I was little, she moved to the South, and I was in the North of China. Then she came the US, I was in China. Now she is in the West and I am at the east. Nevertheless, I knew she will be waking up to beautiful sunshine, surrounding herself in many laughs with family and friends. I raised my head, and a sense of security raised— this is the best Christmas present.

Mentor

Finally, it reaches the southernmost point of Florida.

He flew back to Northern California and stayed with his parents for half a year to recover physical strength. The second part returns to Florida to pick up the car and complete the final return to California.

This single-handed outing seems to have experienced all the hardships in my life. It took me a year before I started to remember the deeds again. Fortunately, I designed the design. The database is neat and orderly and easy to pour out. Give yourself more time to think about the theme. What you can read in this article is not only the travel introduction, but also my personal feelings, some stories are unbelievable, even horrifying, and there are intertwining melodies.

The gigantic tree trunk needs several arms to embrace it. They stood resolutely in the undisturbed, messy haze jungle. If I stay here for a while, I will be swallowed up by this inexplicable world.

This is my second time traveling alone, drifting into the year. In the first half, from Idahua to Chicago, along the 90,94 road, it stayed for more than a month. Then I went to Vancouver, Canada and Monrovia, a French colony for more than a month.