We left Arizona this afternoon and had to come back to gloomy, rainy New York, which is still keeping spring at bay for us. I am still obsessing over how gorgeous it is in Arizona and how even more excited I am to see the rest of the American Southwest. There are endless scenic trails to hike, red rocks everywhere, and cactus that grow up to 100 feet tall here. We were lucky during this trip and saw a rattlesnake, a hare, a lizard, and a running deer. Whenever people scoff and say that there’s nothing to see in the United States outside of places like L.A, San Francisco, New York, or Chicago, this crazy fury comes over me. I’ve been to all of those places and more, and I still feel like I have so much left to see of this beautiful country. Arizona is the 31st state I’ve visited, but in just 2.5 days, I actually barely saw any of it. It was like a quick flirtation that had to come to an abrupt end. It’s sad to think that most Americans, who are already the least traveled people on earth, wouldn’t even appreciate the varied beauty of their own country that they call home.