As winter begins to wind down and adventure season dawns before us, my mind is wandering to some favorite past trips. This is what I do when I’m itching to travel but not able to go just yet.

The Wandering Canadians’ account of their visit to Utah and Arches National Park made me nostalgic for the glorious week I spent wandering through that area with my western adventure friend. That was back in 2018 and still stands up in my memory as one of my best trips ever.

This place is drastically different from my Ohio home. The red rocks, wide open skies and desert climate are like the surface of the moon compared to the lush, green hills of home. Here in Ohio, forests grow thick and tall. In Arches, the trees are small and gnarled curiosities that have fought to survive each passing year. Arches features spires, giant stone arches, balanced rocks and monoliths.

Maybe it’s the drastic difference in landscape that makes it so appealing. When you find something growing here like a cactus flower, a tree or an insect, it seems so miraculous that anything can survive in the sand and heat of this place.

This is why we travel – to understand the world beyond our daily reach and to better appreciate the places where we do live. It encourages us to ask questions and drives us to seek answers about the world and ourselves.

Traveling feeds a curious mind and a wandering soul. My feet itch just thinking about it!