Divine Guidance on Solo Road Trips//190

What would change if you treated your next solo road trip like a daily conversation with God instead of a race from one stop to the next? I just got back from a 15-day U.S. road trip that surprised me in the best ways, and it started with one intentional prayer: give me a truth, a promise, a word each day while I travel. I didn’t expect how clearly those “daily nuggets” would show up once I made the space to listen. 

A week before I left, my friend canceled, and I had to scramble to rework my plans, my lodging, and my budget. That disruption could have derailed everything, but it became part of the gift. Road trip travel is flexible in a way air travel isn’t, and that flexibility created room for rest, reflection, and real communion with God. I share how I journal each day, how I catch quick notes while driving, and how guidance can come through surprising places like a random autoplay song or a simple daily meditation that confronts worry and calls me back to trust. 

I also talk about the deeper side of travel memories, including what it felt like to return to the Badlands as an adult and how nature helps us savor the moment and carry it forward. Along the way, I recap the route (16 states and 4,600 miles), a personal answer I felt God gave me about where to live, and why intentional solo travel can strengthen faith and clarity. If you’re craving a meaningful road trip, Christian encouragement, and practical ways to travel with purpose, this one is for you. 

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review. What’s one thing you’d ask God to show you on your next trip?

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Transcript

Daily Guidance On The Road

SPEAKER_00 0:01

How would it feel to hear from God on a daily basis during your travels? Well, that's exactly what happened to me on my recent road trip, which I will share in today's episode. Welcome to Solo Travel Adventures. I'm Cheryl Esh, your host and travel coach. Well, I recently returned from a 15-day road trip in the US. And it turned out better than I had really planned or even imagined. But why did that happen? Well, one of the things that I did is I made sure that before I left, I was very intentional about my time on the road and what I wanted to get out of it. And one of those things was that I prayed and I wanted daily to hear some truth, some nugget, a word, a promise, something from God each day that I was traveling.

When Plans Change Overnight

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Now this didn't transpire until a week before I left. I was technically supposed to travel half the time with a friend. And a week before we were to leave, she texted me and said she could not go. Initially, I was pretty hurt and upset and had to scramble and do a little pivoting of my own to fix my travels to accommodate two things: the accommodations based on me and financial. So now that I wasn't splitting the gas money or the hotels, I had to make some pivots. And

Why Road Trips Feel Different

SPEAKER_00 1:45

that's the beautiful thing, first of all, about road trips is that you can do that. It does allow for a lot of that. For me, I did a little siesta in a rest area one afternoon in the sun on my blanket. It was beautiful, just giving me that time to get out of the car and enjoy being outside. Road trips allow that to happen. Whereas if you're doing air travel or you're going to a specific destination, there is likely less flexibility. So that's one thing I do love about road trips. The beauty of it, there's some benefits to it as well, as far as, like I said, flexibility, time. You can gauge your time, you can make shifts and pivots throughout. And often it gives you an appreciation, but it also can be less expensive in some cases than, say, an airline travel trip. And so I love that. It gives me also space to think and pray and just have that communion with me and God during that time. So it did turn out much better. And I think God knew that. God knew that if my friend had come, that I would not have been able to probably hear as clearly from him. And it would have just been a very different vibe. And not that either is wrong or right, it's just different. And even going into this, I trusted I knew God knew what he was doing in setting up that whole situation.

Journaling To Catch The Nudges

SPEAKER_00 3:51

So that week out, of course, I began to pray about my trip and being more intentional about each day and what I wanted to get out of this travel, this road trip. And he showed up for sure. On the first day, I was almost in tears because it was so clear, something that I've been praying about, and maybe even something I've been a little stubborn about. And God really moved me in that area. And each day I would spend, every day I would journal. And a lot of times he spoke to me while I was actually driving. So I would have to make little notes on my phone, just verbal notes, to just remind me of what he was actually saying. And then diving deeper into the journaling process of what in more detail what this might have meant, what God might have been stirring up and saying to me. So sometimes he spoke to me very almost very audibly, and other times maybe through a song that I heard.

Hearing God Through Songs And Calm

SPEAKER_00 5:05

For example, on day eight, iTunes, my Apple music, I'll play a song on my in my library, and it will autoplay maybe similar songs. And so I will sometimes get random songs I've never heard of from different artists. And day eight, it came across so clear. The song was called Slow Me Down. And it just immediately hit my heart because in the song he talks about how he needs to be priority first thing, and then not to move too fast was I think another phrase that was in that song. And so I saved the song, of course, and wrote down some of those lyrics because that's exactly I feel like what God has been saying to me in slowing down. He needs me, he needs me to make him priority first thing in the morning, and to not let things distract me was also a little footnote on that one. And then day nine, another example, it came across, I believe it was in a a meditation. I was doing a like a daily meditation that I was following. And what I got out of that was that fretting or worry is sinful because it shows lack of faith and trust. And personally, I do worry a lot. I do fret, and I've been trying to learn to trust God more. And so that was also a little nugget of truth that he shared with me on day nine.

Places That Bring Back Memories

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Now, granted, every day also there was just this the travel part of it that was remarkable, and I got to see different parts and even return to areas that I have been before, but seeing them now as an adult versus maybe as a child or my early 20s having been maybe to some of these places. So it was a whole different perspective. And coming at it, just it also returning to some of these places really brought back some memories. For example, I went to the Badlands again. I had been there as a child, probably I was nine or ten, I believe. And actually, the Badlands at the time that my family went, I find out through history. I do dive a little bit into the history part when I travel, is that the Badlands was not technically considered a national park at that time. I think it was really just a national forest or a national monument, is what they called it, I think. And so it wasn't until November of 1978, which would have been after we were there as a family, that it was designated as a national park. So coming back, and as I pulled up to what I my body viscerally remembers as a child, this lookout point, it I just recall when I was there that the lookout point just appeared so high, and just there was no railings at the time. And we were, I was cold. I remember being cold. It was summertime, but that like the wind was so strong, it was cold. We had shorts on, I was in a windbreaker. That part I remember from pictures, but I viscerally remember being cold and shivering. And of course, so when I pulled up to look at that same spot, of course, as an adult, it doesn't look the chasm doesn't look as deep or scary. And it was, of course, in the 80s of the day I was there, so no chance of being cold, but it really brought back those memories. So even returning to a place I had been brought back old memories, but also supplanted new ones as well. And I just loved my time because the other little nugget that the Lord showed me on day four was to be savoring the moments in nature and the beauty of creation, which I do, but thinking of savoring them in the trip, but then remembering that, savoring time for later. And so often, as I talk about memories, they will come up, and I think that is the beauty also of just travel in general, is that it does evoke memories. These are memories that you can carry with you, even as a solo traveler. They can bring up good things, even though you haven't shared them with somebody and created that memory with somebody else. You have created that memory for yourself and your mind, and hopefully you've also connected that memory with maybe how God is speaking to you during this season of that travels.

Coaching Your Next Intentional Trip

SPEAKER_00 10:20

So, how can you make this happen in your next trip? That is why I do one-on-one travel coaching to help you intentionally look at your next travel, look at what your goals are, and help you achieve that, help you be open and ready for that time when God is going to speak with to you, either before, during, or even after your trip, and how that has imprinted something very valuable on your life. Whether that's it increases your faith, it gives you a better appreciation for nature, or you audibly heard something very specific from God, a promise, a scripture stands out to you. It all can happen, and it will if we pray and are intentional about these times away in our solo travel adventures. I will include in the show notes a way for you to apply for this program. And if you need more information about the program, all that details are on my website at Cherylbeckesh.com. And backslash work with me will also get you directly to that page.

16 States 4,600 Miles And A Decision

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Well, I enjoyed my travels. I did just to rehash, I went through 16 states and traveled 4,600 miles, and so I left Dallas and I traveled all the way up through the Dakotas and then came across to the east to get to family and friends through Minneapolis, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and then just to turn and return back to Dallas, where I currently live. And so I just also wanted to share that on day three, I have been personally as a traveler and as someone who's been somewhat of a nomad these last four years or so, have been open to where God might be leading me as far as where I'm living, where I travel to, and he answered me because I had been wrestling and honestly trying to figure things out on my own, thinking and not relying on the Lord's direction. So that just reminds me of Proverbs 3, 5 through 6, about leaning not on our own understanding, but trusting God and He will make our path straight. So that was something that occurred on day three where He told me I am to stay in Dallas. So I am here, I came back, yay, and I am happy to have that answer and knowing that God is leading me daily in my daily life, but also he leads me daily in my travels, and that can happen for you, and I want that for you. And I just had a beautiful experience. One of my favorite places I will just share was South Dakota near the Black Hills, and it was absolutely remarkable. I did a couple posts about that area. If you don't follow me on Instagram, Low Travel Adventures50, and you can see a little some of the pictures and places that I went. Love South Dakota. I even, even though God told me I'm staying in Dallas, Texas, I did feel like if I had to move somewhere, that I would feel good about moving into that South Dakota Black Hills area there, and just loved it. And I got to check off two states that I have never been to, and so that brings me to 49 out of the 50 states here in the U.S. that I have technically visited and seen quite a bit in some of those states, but loving the travel within the U.S. And just even now, there's a lot of people coming into the U.S. for the World Cup currently, so it's exciting to hear their perspective and they're getting a sense of different areas in the U.S. So I am thrilled for the tourists that are coming and seeing this a wonderful country. I did choose to stay in the U.S. for my travels this summer because of just some things that were happening. When I come back from a trip, they're constantly asking, where's your next place? And so, yes, I typically am already planning the next trip, but this one I know I need to put on pause. And the idea is definitely to try to find a place to go during Thanksgiving would be my probably my next travel adventure here this year in 2026. But I would love to work with you if you are wanting to experience that same fulfilling, moving experience as a solo traveler in your next trip. So uh have that amazing adventure, women, and until next time.