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SALT LAKE CITY — Jack Kerouac’s nomadic tale “On the Road” highlights the romance and intrigue of travel throughout the United States.
For many of us though, pulling up stakes and living a life on the road isn’t possible, but the occasional cross-country trek just might be.
For those with the intermittent need for road warrior travel adventures, a well-planned cross-continental trip is a beautiful thing indeed. Back in 2011, photographer Brian DeFrees took the ultimate road-trip and traveled the contiguous Unites States, documenting his trip. His goal was to hit up all the major landmarks in the country and end up back where he started, in Syracuse N.Y.
“In August of 2011 I quit my job of three years, ended the lease on my apartment and set off on the road by myself,” DeFrees said.
The circular route took him two months and 12,225 miles. By the time he returned home, he had been in 33 states and had burned through 394 gallons of gas. DeFrees documented his trip via the photo sharing app Instagram and later put together a time lapse video of his time on the road.
His plan was to stay with friends and family as much as possible and camp out when there was no couch to crash on. His first night of camping came in Louisiana in mid August.
“My first night of camping consisted of 89 percent humidity, so I was sweating bullets in my tent on top of my sleeping bag,” DeFrees said. “Meanwhile, a bothersome raccoon stopped by repeatedly to loudly ransack the closed-lid trash nearby (he was successful).”
DeFrees had a relatively uneventful trip, but as can be expected, there were a few bumps along the way. After picking up some friends near Las Vegas, DeFrees said his car incurred a flat tire driving through the Mojave Desert.
“Unfortunately there were no replacements in my size in the small town of Baker so we had to empty my trunk, full of two months' worth of supplies to get out the spare and drive down to Barstow,” DeFrees said, “Even though it was 6PM on a Saturday we called ahead and one shop had my size tire and stayed open late for us.”
DeFrees said, all-in-all, his trip was an amazing success. In 2012, He followed up his cross-country round about with a trek down historic Route 66.
Now working as a freelance photographer and graphic design artist, DeFrees said his trips helped him enlarge his perspective and professional inspiration.
“I look at each day as a journey where there is something to be learned and goals to be achieved.”
Since his trip in 2011, DeFrees has visited all 48 states in the contiguous U.S. Next he plans on traveling to Hawaii and Alaska to film videos in those states.
