My arms flail in every possible direction to the short drum solo at the end of Matthew Sweet’s “Girlfriend” and my eyes stay on the road as little as is necessary. Versatile air musician that I am I slide over to the bass for the subtle but vital bass line, flip over for some steady guitar with eyes closed and shoulder shrug added for effect, and ready the vocal chords as the last line of the song kicks in-

Never gonna set you free, no I’m never gonna set you free

The passenger seat lies somewhere under a pile of maps, National Parks literature, Miles Davis CDs, a banana peel, notepad, three pens (three?), protein bar wrapper, two books I brought but will not read, and a phone charger. Under a different circumstance the seat would be occupied by a co-pilot, bro, BFF, or a cute, intelligent woman who smells out of this world. Instead I’m road tripping through Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP and like a majority of my travels, whether to a nearby national treasure or exploring the island of Shikoku in Japan, I’m traveling solo.

Let’s get the pros and cons out of the way:

Pros- I get to pick the music, route, stopping points, where to eat, how loud I can sing, dominate the conversation, decide that Jackson WY sucks and move on, nap at random times, eat wasabi peas and coffee without grossing anybody out, turn down random dirt roads and not have to explain myself, and I can make pants optional (ok, I rarely drive pants-less but almost always drive shoe-less)

Cons- No splitting the costs, having a second mind to provide suggestions can be a good thing, no hilarious breakfast with bros after a night of semi-debauchery, I’ve heard all of my jokes, when I get lost it’s nobody else’s fault, nobody to kick me in the ass to do something I don’t want to do but should do, and no matter how you try to spin it, sharing a sunset with yourself sucks.

Pros and cons aside during my time in Montana I’ll be wholly traveling solo so more wasabi peas and lonely sunsets for me. It’s not a matter of good or bad, it just is what is and will be for the immediate future. I enjoy bouts of solitude (followed by a craving to be around people, followed by the intense desire to be alone, strange I know) and have said before, like being in my own head. However, as long as I have done this, there are a few things that have changed over the years.

Out is punk or rock, in is Miles Davis. Out is talk radio, in is great essayists on CD. Out is grabbing fast food and staying on the go, in is eating at the funkiest place in sight. Out is finding a cool bar, in is finding a cool dwelling. Out is not taking any pictures (years ago I went to Dublin and took two pictures), in is whipping out the iphone. Out is loudness, in is quiet. Out is town, in is hiking. Out is skipping the main attractions and taking the road less traveled, in is…..oh, I still do that.

This trend isn’t halting anytime soon. If I can pull it off I’ll be spending most of next year traveling solo around the US on my motorcycle. The ultimate self-reliant sojourn of solitude. The one thing I have learned on my solo travels is to be more open to meeting people along the road. Traveling people are usually interesting people. Traveling people are helpful people. So while I’ll still be in charge of food, navigation, and director of air musicianship, I want to be more open to meeting new people. Maybe I’ll find a sunset partner.