Hopping into the car to take long scenic drives (aka escaping) has always been a “go to” coping mechanism for me since I first became a licensed driver at 16 years of age.

During my angsty teenage years and times of stress, I would pop in a classical music tape into my banana yellow car’s tape deck and drive the beautiful winding tree-lined roads of central Arkansas. The beautiful classical music loudly blasting from my little car’s speakers coupled with the gorgeous hues of oranges, golds, and browns in the fall trees would completely consume my senses, allowing me to escape whatever was causing my stress and provide me with a brand new perspective which always seemed to lessen the severity of my woes.

I remembered these wonderful drives when the 2020 pandemic stresses, anxieties, and fears were taking a toll on my mental health and that’s when I decided to take action and put a road trip plan in motion. 

Where would I go? What would I do? Would I be able to see anyone along the way? I knew that I wanted to be immersed in nature. With that in mind, I quickly decided upon making my way to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks situated in Wyoming. My job at the time had become completely remote, indefinitely, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to take off. 

 

Hi! I'm Holly Rice, a naturally curious student of life. My curious nature has always led me to pursue whatever piques my interests, which means I am great at trivia! I've been a gemologist, a yoga teacher, a buyer, a marketing director in the tech industry, and am now following my love of travel, nature, writing and photography. I also have a penchant for cooking and baking and have a line of seasonings (at www.holleepop.com), created for popcorn but taste great on everything!

NeoBantu Brand Ambassador
Tagged: Travel