I have hiked a lot of trails and spent time in a lot of different climates here in the States. From the blazing heat of the white tanks. To the shale hills of Big Ben. I grew up in Michigan as a Michigander hiking was kind of a natural pass time in the hills made by glaciers. It is a unique landscape setting to anyone who has never seen the country side of the mitten. There is a place called the Irish Hills close to where I grew up. It is a beautiful place and plenty of activities for people to do highways to ride that are full of twists and turns and hills. Lakes at every turn and hiking trails that run for miles up and down the small steep hills. This is what I grew up with. So when i thought of going hiking somewhere far away I assumed it would be even more amazing. I was most of the time disappointed. I mean the view at the high point (the observation point) was amazing being at higher altitude but still not that much different from the hills of Michigan. I thought to myself there has to be places that are just as amazing and different than what I have already seen aso that led me to the desert. To say the least I was impressed to look at nature that was the exact same it was when the pioneers passed through in a hunt for something better. I could see in my imagination the cowboys on horseback peering over the ridges at a vast land of struggle and hardship ahead. I am nowhere near done exploring these places in the land I call home. I just need to know where to go next.