El Paso

Ever contemplated a new method of travel? A way to break up all of the traffic-filled roadtrips or miserable treks to the airport, only to wait 2-3 hours for a flight? Fed up with the same old highway views (or lack of views from the plane)? If so, this guide is for you! From the very first time I boarded an Amtrak Long Distance (LD) train in 2016 in Oakland, CA, I was immediately overcome with excitement, which quickly morphed into a passion. I have yet to go on a trip and not catch myself in a trance staring out the window on multiple occasions, failing to read/watch all of the books/shows I thought I would need or having a deep conversation with a complete stranger in the observation car. These experiences are the reason why I write this guide, to share and hopefully inform prospective travelers. If you are not familiar with Amtrak’s LD services, fear not! I intend to offer as much information about the train options, destinations, schedules and anything else I can think of to lead your potential adventure. If for some reason, I don’t cover something, feel free to reach out! This is just part one of a three-part guide and will cover the intro as well as the first five long-distance trains (numerically). Be sure to check out the other two sections, the individual more in-depth route guides, as well as 20 Questions for an Amtrak LD First Timer (all coming soon!).

Westward Ho Roadtrip

This is our Wild Wild West Road Trip in West Texas and New Mexico. We visited 4 National Parks on this trip and multiple state parks. This region is great for road trips because everything is in fairly good proximity. This is the culmination of 60-plus hours of research and work to save you time. We do this so you can enjoy the most important part which is the trip itself! We just finished a week-long road trip in West Texas and New Mexico and had an absolute blast. We wanted to take our trip and share with you guys all the dos and don'ts in the region. It is an extremely beautiful area full of mountains, deserts, rivers, sand dunes, and so much more. If you follow this guide I promise you this will be a trip of a lifetime and you will see some amazing experiences. If you want to take your own route that's fine use this as a great start to plan your epic adventure. You can't go wrong.  Tag us in the photos you take - we'd love to see your experience! @thejourneyest2016