Photo credit: Maia Kim

Our family’s RV sits along the side of an empty stretch of New Mexican highway. In 2022, we drove through Saguaro National Park on our way to Los Angeles, stopping to see the biggest steak in the United States in Amarillo, Texas, and to taste chile-flavored ice cream in Hatch, New Mexico — the Chile Capital of the World.

Taking a road trip is one of the best ways to learn about the culture of the United States of America.  I’ve driven through 42 out of 50 states and experienced the US at its realest and rawest. Through these RV trips, I’ve seen so many beautiful landscapes, eaten at surprisingly good hole-in-the-wall restaurants and met some of the nicest people. In a time when our country seems more divided than ever and many news outlets and online personalities only portray intense polarization, it is easy to overlook how much goodness there still is in the country. From behind the wheel of an RV, I’ve gotten to see some of my favorite parts of America, especially the ones that don’t seem to make the news.

One of my favorite trips was to Saguaro National Park in Arizona, where there was nothing but cacti for miles. There were large porcupine-like ones, short and bulbous ones, reaching paddle-shaped ones and, of course, the saguaros: giant, spiky cacti that can grow to double or triple the height of a person. My family decided to “boondock” there — camping off-grid — without hookups for electricity, water or sewage. It was just us, our rig and the great outdoors — with no other humans around for miles. At first, it was unsettling without cell service, neighbors and lights of any kind, but as the sun went down, I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in my life. The colors were so vibrant with intense hues and hundreds of tall cacti in front of them. Even after the sun set, the huge expanse of open sky was speckled with thousands of stars — brighter than anything I’ve seen in the city.

Being off-grid taught me the beauty of solitude. You don’t realize how much nature you’re missing out on until you experience it firsthand. It was like Arrow Week, but better because instead of peeing in a hole, we could use the real bathroom in our handy motor home. 

Not every stop was as beautiful as the last, though. One Thanksgiving, my family couldn’t find a place to park the RV in the suburbs, and we ended up in a parking lot for the night. We were in a small town on the way to San Francisco, and we had already been kicked out of the Walmart and the Cracker Barrel parking lots. After driving around for a while, we ended up settling outside of an IKEA, parked between shopping carts and fearing the wrath of the night guard. 

At first, I was sad that our Thanksgiving wouldn’t feature a huge turkey and a table packed with dishes, but the more I thought about it, I came to realize that all of that didn’t matter. The whole point of the holiday is to reflect on and be grateful for the things you have. Although there was no giant spread of food, I’d still spent the day cooking with my mom on the floor so the pots wouldn’t slide off the table as we drove. It wasn’t glamorous by any means, but I still had food to eat, a cozy RV to sleep in and a day spent with my family.

I’ll never forget the snowstorm in Texas. Of course, the one time we drove through the Southern states, the universe decided to send a week of record-breaking snowfall. We pulled into a highway-adjacent RV park just as the sun went down and the flakes started to fall heavily. By morning, we woke up to everything covered in white and soon realized we were snowed in and badly stuck. The morning sunshine had melted some of the snow and turned the solid dirt we’d originally parked on, into a muddy sinkhole. Every turn of the tires just dug us in deeper. Looking at the situation, we had no idea what to do, but before we could even come up with a plan, our neighbors parked around us came outside to help. People who we’d never met before came out with spare road salt, shovels, chains and helped us dig our rig out from where it was trapped.

Although we were unfamiliar with the area and many people were flying flags that didn’t align with my beliefs, they didn’t see us as outsiders. Rather, they saw a family who needed help, and they came to the rescue. Thanks to them, we were free in less than an hour. When you’re on the road, kindness is easy to come by, and it’s not always from the people you’d expect.

By driving through 42 states, I’ve learned that attention-grabbing headlines don’t always tell the full story. Many news outlets and online voices profit off of making America seem angry and divided, but out on the open road, you realize that most people just need a community in their corner. Every road trip reminds me that America is still strong at its heart, with its beauty and small acts of kindness. Road tripping forces you to slow down and see that heart for yourself, to connect with communities and appreciate nature as it wills.

No matter what bumper sticker you have by your taillight or flag you fly, we would all do better to remember we’re traveling the same roads.