My mother always told me, “You should explore your own country before stepping out into the world.” However, it seems like a tough mission to travel all across its expansive surfaces. But luckily for me, Via Rail Canada offered youths between the ages of 18 and 25 the chance to ride the train across Canada for the month of July. The ticket was a bargain $150. My best friends Trevor, Joel and Jeremy and I immediately jumped at the opportunity and secured four tickets on the great Canadian railroad.

For a group of 20-year-olds, this was like the first flight of young birds from the nest. When we approached the train station in the morning, our 22-day adventure from Sudbury to Vancouver was to begin. Eyes baggy from lack of sleep, we jumped on board as if it was the train to Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Although the thought of three full days on those tracks covering close to 3, 000 kilometres crushed our spirits a little, what happened next caught us by surprise.

The three days on board turned into a summer camp on rails. At night, we would climb up the glass-domed train car, which gave us a scenic view of the starry night sky, untouched by the harmful light pollution. Before we knew it, the warm sun rays beating down on our faces woke us up for another day on the rails. To my surprise, a sea of golden grain fields dominated the landscape we were in the Canadian Prairies.

Another day slipped away and we set up for another night in the dome (圆顶状物). And this time we were greeted by night sky painted by a fantastic thunderstorm. Lightning was striking at an incredible rate. The spectacular and memorable light show left everyone in the glass bubble in complete disbelief.

Arriving in the Rocky Mountains was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Before the train adventure, if I could have skipped the travel and arrived at the destination, I would have. That is no longer true. I’ve learned that the journey can be more enjoyable than the destination.

We drove to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park — a very remote, dry, mountainous place in Utah. I went there when I was about 10 years old, but I can only recall certain things: how cold it got that night as we slept in the tent, the small insects that covered the mountain beside us, and having to use the bathroom in an outhouse.

Huge rocks are hanging dangerously on the jagged (嶙峋的) mountainside, and you know they have to fall eventually. We stopped at Newspaper Rock, a National Historic Site where prehistoric people sketched drawings onto sandstone from B.C. time to A.D.1300. With only a short fence surrounding it, it seems unavoidable that modern-day people would feel the urge to carve their names into this precious historic landmark.

The sky is the bluest I think I’ve ever seen; it’s a beautiful backdrop to the orangey-red cliffs lining the horizon. And the silence — I’ve never experienced a quieter place. When I first got out of the truck at our campsite, I stood still and held my breath, and all I could hear was the ringing in my ears.

In my opinion, only at night can you witness the true beauty of the Canyonlands: the stars. Since the Needles district is an extremely dry place about 80 miles away from any major city’s lights, it offers the clearest view I’ve ever seen of the night sky. It is incredible how many stars you can see out there. I climbed on top of a nearby rock formation and lay on my back just soaking (沉浸) it all in. It was like looking through a window straight into the universe.

I wanted to sleep outside beneath the stars, but then the temperature dropped to 40 degree and I discovered massive ants crawling on the ground, so I quitted that. The next morning, I discovered a nearby camper passed out on the rock formation in a sleeping bag. How he managed to brave the temperatures and the ants, I have no idea.

Calming, relaxing, full of greenery, beautiful plants and impressive shows — that’s the Chicago Botanic Garden. It consists of a collection of 27 attractive gardens covering 385 acres and exhibiting millions of flowers trees and plants. Many colors including pink, purple, and yellow will make you fall in love with it at first glance. The Midwest Daffodil Society Show puts hundreds of daffodils on exhibition that will be judged by the authorities. The show includes flower design and photography competitions. The Ikebana International Show presents an exhibition of traditional Japanese flower arranging. The Midwest Fruit Explorers presents this hands-on workshop with step-by-step instructions on how to graft (嫁接) and care for fruit trees. Why not head to this mysterious and wonderful garden?

No pets please with the exception of guide dogs and other service animals.