I got a phone call in the summer of 2012 from my friend Mike. At that time, our friend Aaron was serving another tour of duty as a Medic in the Army in Afghanistan. The war had been dragging on for nearly a decade, and the news coming out of there often wasn’t good. This wasn’t Aaron’s first time fighting in the Middle East as he had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as well as training missions in other countries. But I could tell that the tone amongst all of those close to Aaron was different this time. People were worried, including Mike and I. The heaviness of the news about the war was getting to us.
After talking for a few minutes about what Aaron was up to, Mike said to me, “When Aaron comes home, he said he wants to do a cross country motorcycle trip.” I wasn’t one to give any resistance. I was still riding a nearly 30-year-old lemon that Mike sold me a few years previous, but I was well aware that when a friend who has selflessly put his life on the line in the name of your country requests your presence on a life changing motorcycle trip, saying no would be something few would forgive themselves for.
The following photos are the ones that were taken during or six day motorcycle trip Aaron wanted, through Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.