Nashua’s Asher Thomas rests in his hammock chair in front of Little Grand Canyon, Emory County Utah.

NASHUA – Asher Thomas graduated from Nashua High South in June and was accepted to Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. But rather than enroll for this fall, Thomas is taking a gap year to travel across the country.

Speaking from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Thomas was in the middle of a “trial trip” with his dad, testing out a converted van named “Martha” that will be his home for the next eight or nine months.

“We spent a week in Utah, but my sister lives in Colorado so that’s where we are now,” he said. “We’re kind of just testing the waters and making sure that everything in the van works properly before we return back to New Hampshire this weekend.”

Thomas’ plan is to hit all of the continental U.S. states and all national parks. He said as an ardent fan of the outdoors, he wanted to see the country before attending school in 2021.

“I wanted to take a summer trip but realized it wouldn’t be possible to see everything I wanted to see over two month,” he said. “I was talking it through with both of my parents as well as my peers and mentors in my life, and I thought it would be great to take a gap year.”

Nashua native Asher Thomas at Fairyland Loop, Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. A 2020 graduate of Nashua High School South, Thomas is taking a gap year to explore national parks across the country.

Thomas applied to college during the fall and spring of his senior year and has kept busy working multiple jobs and saving money.

“I still did all the normal stuff in terms of applying to college,” he said. “It’s so much easier to apply while you’re still in school because you have the resources of guidance counselors and teachers. And when got accepted, I just did a deferral for a year.”

He plans on majoring in pre-med, possibly along the psychology route. Plus, Lewis and Clark has a great outdoors program.

In addition to his journey, Thomas was recently awarded the prestigious Buddy Cup at the Northeast YMCA Leader’s School, held for the first time ever as a virtual event.

The annual team leadership event is normally held at Springfield College and attracts teams from all of New England and New York. And this is only the fourth time that the cup has been awarded to a recipient from New Hampshire since the trophy’s inception in 1961 and the third time it’s been presented to a member of the YMCA of Greater Nashua.

“I grew up at the ‘Y’ in Nashua,” Thomas said. “I did the swim team when I was a kid. My sister and my mom both worked there and then I also worked there later. But in middle school, I started the Leader’s Program and got really involved with that. The program really helped me grow into the person that I feel that I am meant to be now.”

Thomas said the program stresses leadership and a lot of self-development of values.

As for COVID-19, Thomas planned much of his trip before the pandemic struck.

“Not a lot of my trip has changed,” he stated. “Because I’m going to national parks and being outdoors but I originally planned on going to bigger cities and I’m not going to do that because of social distancing and stuff.”

What was essentially a cargo van, Thomas has decked it out for sleeping and eating and christened it “Martha.”

“I have converted it into a camper,” he explained. “I have solar on it that runs a fridge, stove, sink and lights. I have a bed in it and all that. My dad helped and both my parents have been very helpful financially with the conversion costs of the van.”

Thomas has set up the map of his trip so he is not driving long distances between parks and stops in each state.

“I’m never going to be driving really long hours,” he said.

Using Instagram, Thomas will mark his progress along the way. He’s also developed his own website on google sites, sites.google.com/view/vanmantravels. He even has an Etsy store, selling swag and merchandise that he’s created himself.

“I have a decent amount of stuff on there so I can make a decent profit,” he said. “There have been quite a few people who have bought things so that has helped somewhat.”

His Etsy store can be found on his website and there visitors can see his outdoor and underwater-themed designs on items such as sweatshirts and hats.

“I have an iPad that I just doodle on,” Thomas said of creating the designs. “And when I find something that I like, I post it.”

In terms of excitement on the trip, Thomas is most enthralled with the idea of going to Sedona, Arizona.

“They have some really cool places to go hiking,” he said. “And there is this place called Antelope Canyon. That’s what I am most excited about.”

Thomas will return to New Hampshire soon, driving the 30 hours back to the Granite State.

“We drove straight out here, so my dad slept and I drove and vice versa,” he said. “But I don’t think we’re going to drive straight back in one stretch.”

He expects that he’ll spend Christmas with his sister in Colorado and doesn’t expect to be back in New England until next June.

“I’ve never really travelled much,” he said. “I’ve done some solo weekend trips but never anything this long.”

Thomas said he’s gotten advice on what he should do on this cross-country trek.

“People have said, ‘Don’t be afraid to talk to others,” he said. “Obviously with COVID I’ll be careful. There are so many cool people that I’ve already met.”

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