Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday through Travel
“O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!”
Whenever I sing America the Beautiful, I’m reminded why I love this country. Perhaps that’s because the lyrics don’t just celebrate America, but the landscapes that have shaped our nation’s story.
In 1893, writer and professor Katherine Lee Bates joined several colleagues from Colorado College on an excursion to the summit of Pikes Peak. Today, visitors can drive the paved Pikes Peak Highway to the 14,115-foot summit. But Bates’ journey was far more demanding. She traveled by prairie wagon and mule before hiking the final stretch on foot.
When she reached the summit, she was greeted by a breathtaking panorama: the rugged Rocky Mountains stretching in one direction and the seemingly endless Great Plains in the other. Standing above it all, she found the inspiration that would become the poem later set to music as America the Beautiful.
I love that story because it reminds me that travel has the power to change the way we see the world. Sometimes all it takes is standing somewhere you’ve never stood before.
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, I’m reminded that one of our country’s greatest gifts is its incredible diversity. Every direction tells a different story. Point your compass north, south, east, or west, and you’ll discover landscapes, cultures, traditions, and communities that feel like entirely different countries . . . yet all without leaving the United States.
When I think about America, I don’t just think about famous landmarks. I think about watching the sun rise from a lifeguard stand on the beach in Ocean City, waiting for the elusive green flash at sunset in Key West, hearing jazz spill into the streets of New Orleans, or sharing a seventh-inning stretch with thousands of strangers. I think about conversations with locals who proudly share the stories of their hometowns. Those moments remind me that some of the world’s most meaningful journeys don’t require a passport.
I’ve been fortunate to experience many corners of this country, yet my list of places still waiting to be explored keeps growing. That’s one of the things I love most about America. No matter how much you’ve seen, there’s always another scenic drive, another small town, another national or state park, or another story waiting just beyond the next bend in the road.
Over the coming months, I’m excited to share a new series of Compass Notes exploring the United States one direction at a time. We’ll begin by pointing our compass east to the Mid-Atlantic before following each point of the compass across America.
After all, every journey begins with choosing a direction.
So, where is your compass pointing?
Mine begins here, at home. I hope you’ll join me as we explore America together—one direction, one destination, and one story at a time.