Road Trip and National Parks expert Mikah Meyer, who is gay, has been named a “Social Media Warrior” by thousands of media outlets worldwide for his “Travel Beyond Convention” and multiple travel world records.
While he is still on this latest world record-breaking journey, when he completes it in 2019, he will be the youngest person to visit all 417 units (not just the 59 best known sites) of the National Park Service (NPS) and the sole person to do it in one continuous trip. He started at the Washington Monument in Washington, DC in 2016 and intends to complete it next year at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
In 2005, days after his father’s funeral, 19-year-old Mikah embarked on his first independent road trip. His father loved road trips and would drive Mikah’s older sisters to college. He died before Mikah had the chance to make his road trip with his father.
What was initially planned as a post-freshman year getaway quickly turned into a transformative experience that showed Mikah the healing power of road trips. Since then, he has taken one road trip a year to honor this experience, resulting in 2011-2012 with a 260-day, 16,400-mile “Dream Road Trip” around 46 North American states and provinces.
In August 2017, Curtis M. Wong profiled Meyer in the Huffington Post :“I wanted to do something bigger and more epic as a way to honor my father and honor this lesson that I’d learned,” Meyer said, “and share that lesson with other people so that they didn’t have to learn it the same way I did.’
“When Meyer kicked off his trip in April 2016, he opted not to reveal the fact that he was gay and a practicing Christian, fearing that his sexuality and faith would impact sponsorship.
“He soon changed his mind. ‘I looked at the travel industry and at the outdoor industry, and I saw no role models,’ he recalled. ‘At that point, I decided it was more important to embrace those unique aspects of me.’ In addition to honoring his father, he hopes the trip will show LGBTQ travelers that America’s national parks are inclusive and welcoming. He poses with rainbow flags and other Pride-themed paraphernalia for photos at the parks and hasn’t encountered any issues with staff or visitors to date.
“‘I’m so thankful that we’re at a time in history that I can do that, and not worry for my physical safety in a way I might have 10 or 20 years ago,’ he said.”
“Meyer has sung professionally with the National Cathedral’s choir in Washington, DC, and his father was a Lutheran pastor,” writes Thrillist. He finances his trip with singing and speaking engagements at churches across the country.
“‘As this pastor’s kid who swore he’d never become a pastor, I now find myself every Sunday—literally—in a pulpit preaching.’”
MEET MIKAH TOMORROW
With his visit to the Santa Monica Mountains behind him, Meyer will visit one more NPS venue on April 7, 3 p.m., at Gateway to Nature, 130 Paseo de La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. (213) 264-3288.
For more information on this expedition, watch the Thrillist video and follow Meyer’s adventures on his blog at: mikahmeyer.com. To have Mikah perform with your organization, or speak at your university, civic club, or company during his journey, visit the Speaking/Singing page.
Editor’s Note: Due to the short notice, parts of this article were excerpted from mikahmeyer.com, that contains articles from Thrillist.com, and Huffington Post.
