He Drove His Jeep To 49 States in 64 Days-and He's 18
The Wall Street Journal|January 21, 2025
AJay Bentley, 18, a high-school senior living in Edwards, Colo., on his 2022 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, as told to A.J. Baime.
A.J. BAIME
He Drove His Jeep To 49 States in 64 Days-and He's 18

I got my driver's license on July 20, 2023, and when I got my Jeep in mid-August, it had 4,000 miles on it. Living in the mountains without many services outside the big cities, you have to drive to get anything you need. Driving here is unique. You need a completely different skill set.

You have to know how to handle snow. You have to have confidence that you can correct yourself when you're sliding on ice. My drive to school can take 20 minutes or, if I'm behind a slow truck and it's snowing, it can take an hour.

Soon after I got my license, I had an idea. I thought: I'll go to every major city in America. At first, my parents did everything they could to avoid talking about it. [David and Tracey Bentley are a retired airline pilot and flight attendant, respectively.] Then, as the year went on, they realized I was serious. I started planning in January 2024, and the day after the last day of my junior year, I left.

This story is from the January 21, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

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This story is from the January 21, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.