GOOOOOAALL!!: NWSL Final
Category: Hamlet of the WeekI have been a women’s sports fan for my entire lifetime, and love seeing women's sports 'live' when I can.
The NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League)— the U.S.-based league for...
Thoughts on Van Life: Chapter 3– Exploring Cultures Far Different Than Yours
Category: Thoughts on Van Life(This is Chapter Three in my “Thoughts on Van Life” series of posts, in which I discuss that every upside of van living carries a defined downside. Check out...
Cities: Oklahoma City, OK
Category: CitiesWhen you hear the words 'Oklahoma City,' what do you think of? I'll wait.
If you were born in the 80s or before, you might think of the heinous...
Cities: Tulsa, OK
Category: CitiesAt some point, I realized that I'd never spent any time in Oklahoma.
When out there on the road, that's honestly sometimes how I decide where to go next....
You Bet Uranus: The Uranus Fudge Factory
Category: Dive of the WeekLook: when I saw a billboard beckoning from the highway that read: "The Best Fudge Comes from Uranus"-- I was absolutely, positively going to take that bait.
WHO...
Anti-Depression: Franklin Roosevelt Home
Category: DestinationsI have long-admired Eleanor Roosevelt.
It’s impossible not to admire a woman who began her workday at 4 AM, and often stayed up late into the night replying to mail...
Cities: Cleveland, OH
Category: Cities“Mistake on the Lake.”
“We’d all like to flee The Cleve”
“Blight City”
Nobody has typically said stellar things about Cleveland, the city that produced cars and steel back in the 60s,...
Hamlet of the Week: Upstate NY Villages
Category: Hamlet of the WeekUpstate New York in the fall is a splendid thing.
When you really start down winding roads between small communities, there are apple orchards and farmstands galore— which usually bear...
Cities: Buffalo, NY
Category: CitiesI decided to spend a day in Buffalo, New York, to spend a little time in an American city that used to be at the very center of goings-on...
Dive of the Week: Culinary Institute of America
Category: Dive of the WeekIf you've followed this blog at all, you know I'm hardly one for fine dining. Which is why this feature is called "Dive of the Week"-- I'm generally only...
Large-S C A L E : Dia Beacon
Category: Hamlet of the WeekThere are some blog posts that will never be adequate to capture certain experiences.
This is one of those posts.
Dia Beacon is a very peculiar and specific art...
Ghosted: Gettysburg National Military Park
Category: DestinationsI will start out by saying that I am not a 'Civil War Guy.'
If you've spent any time at sights that were critical to this bloody and epic...
Go West: Nicodemus National Monument
Category: DestinationsWhen outside of the city centers, Nebraska can be summed up this way: CORN.
As far as the eye can see.
Driving into a rural part of the state at...
Elk Extravaganza: ‘Elk Fest’ 2023
Category: Hamlet of the WeekIn Estes Park, Colorado, the elk rule the town.
Especially in the fall, which is ‘rutting’ season— the time of year in which male bull elks emerge from the mountains...
Roadside Nonsense: Strawberry Hot Springs
Category: Roadside NonsenseOutside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, is a natural hot spring that is serene and beautiful.
Lots of locals recommended that I go, so I set out on a perfect...
Thoughts on Van Life: Chapter 2– Living Life Totally Outdoors
Category: Thoughts on Van Life(This is Chapter Two in my “Thoughts on Van Life” series of posts, in which I discuss that every upside of van living carries a defined downside. Check out...
Thoughts on Van Life: Chapter 1– The Best and Worst of America
Category: Thoughts on Van Life(This is Chapter One in my “Thoughts on Van Life” series of posts, in which I discuss that every upside of van living carries a defined downside. Check out...
Thoughts on Van Life: Introduction
Category: Thoughts on Van Life(This is the first in a series of posts I am writing about the reality of van living. After you finish this post, look for Chapters 1 and 2,...
No Bones About It: Dinosaur National Monument
Category: DestinationsDinosaur National Monument is aptly named.
I’d never seen as many dinosaur bones in my entire life as I saw there (!!!!!)— it was a surreal experience. This national monument, straddling...
Poo Fossils: Fossil Butte National Monument
Category: DestinationsThis was a real ‘wheel-jerk’ moment.
Driving from the remote Craters of the Moon National Monument to my next destination in the mountains of Colorado, when crossing through a small...
Roadside Nonsense: The Idaho Potato Museum
Category: Roadside NonsenseHeading through Blackfoot, Idaho, I saw a sign that read "Idaho Potato Museum" and knew I had to stop.
I just hoped they would serve potatoes-- and they did!...
Mooning: Craters of the Moon National Monument
Category: DestinationsCraters of the Moon National Monument had become a running joke in my van.
Not because I’d been there and didn’t like it— but because I never seemed to be...
Elk Picnic: Dosewalips State Park
Category: DestinationsI decided to visit a campground on the Olympic Peninsula that was known for its resident elk. Being an elk fan, I was hopeful I'd see a few.
But...
Mountain Home: Hikes Around the Pacific NW
Category: DestinationsIf you've ever lived in the Pacific Northwest, the rule of thumb is: you HAVE to get outside in the summer every chance you get-- since the winters are...
Mac’s View: B.A.C.O.N.!!!!!
Category: Mac's ViewHey, it's me, Mac.
Look, I like my dogfood and everything, I really do. And I'm super grateful that mommy works hard so I can have kibbles. BUT.
HAVE...
Twin Peaks: North Cascades National Park
Category: DestinationsSometimes, you need to do a little exploring in your OWN backyard.
This summer, I got to take my van on mini-adventures around the Pacific Northwest, an area I knew...
Hamlet of the Week: Port Townsend, WA
Category: Hamlet of the WeekThe Pacific Northwest is full of little islands and 'hanging chad' peninsulas— and adorable historic towns that are so quaint, they’d make a great setting for a Hallmark Movie.
Port...
Banjo-go-go: The Darrington Bluegrass Festival
Category: DestinationsAs I get older, my desire to attend crowded concerts has diminished to basically nil.
Which is odd, since my youth was spent attending hundreds of concerts, and even attending...
It’s Raining Dirt: Skagit Speedway
Category: DestinationsRacing is not a regional sport, or even a national one— the majority of car races in America are local, and a great way to experience this sport is...
Hamlet of the Week: Odessa, TX
Category: Hamlet of the WeekOne of the things I love about traveling in the van is seeing where our resources come from.
Be it the vast cornfields of Nebraska, the nut trees in New...
Roadside Nonsense: Dinosaur World
Category: Roadside NonsenseAmerica has more ridiculous roadside attractions than almost anywhere— and somehow, in my time on the road, I’ve now been to TWO of the three Dinosaur World locations. (I am...
Dive of the Week: Yellow City Street Food
Category: Dive of the WeekAmarillo, Texas, exists on a long stretch of nothing— which makes it feel like an oasis when approaching. If I need to eat food in the hours before reaching...
Hogtied: The Fort Worth Rodeo
Category: DestinationsDallas might get all the headlines due to being the shiny, modern capital city of Texas-- but if you ask me, Fort Worth is where it's at. It's the...
Roadside Nonsense: The Toilet Seat Museum
Category: Roadside NonsenseThe first thing that hits you about The Toilet Seat Museum is the scale.
The second thing that hits you is that ONE man-- Barney Smith-- made ALL of...
In the Weeds: Weird Texas Museums
Category: Destinations, Roadside NonsenseTexas is in the dead center of the South, and that means if you live on wheels, you are going to have to drive through it. Especially if you...
Roadside Nonsense: the Best Darn Gun Shop
Category: Roadside NonsenseHow can you say you're in Texas without saying you're in Texas?
That's right. If you're at "The Best Darn Gun Shop in the World!" (exclamation point, to boot)....
Roadside Nonsense: Love’s Love
Category: Roadside NonsenseThey say ‘there’s no place like home.’
When you’re living on the road, there’s no place like Love’s. It sounds cheesy, but Love’s has become a basecamp for me in...
Cities: Salt Lake City– Pride & the LDS Church
Category: CitiesI'd only been to the Pride festivals in the past in major, progressive-leaning cities. Which, in retrospect, seemed like an oversight-- and one I could easily remedy being in the...
Iron and Fire: Monument Valley
Category: DestinationsMonument Valley is first and foremost a sacred place for the Navajo people-- its Navajo name is: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning "Valley of the Rocks." It is also a...
Rooms with a View: Mesa Verde National Park
Category: DestinationsMesa Verde had been on my bucket list for a long time.
The most complete archeological preserve in the United States, with over 4,500 active digging sites, Mesa Verde...
King of Caves: Carlsbad Caverns
Category: DestinationsCarlsbad, New Mexico is at the crossroads of Texas and New Mexico-- and feels like it-- so isolated, oil trucks were the most frequent vehicle one passed on the...
Hamlet of the Week: Marfa, TX
Category: Hamlet of the WeekMarfa is one of the only places in America in which there is still an unsolved mystery-- a natural phenomenon that has been occurring for 100 years that nobody...
The Texas Gulf Coast: Corpus Christi
Category: DestinationsLooking back at my photo roll, all of my pictures in Corpus Christi are of the beach.
All of them.
So, I apologize-- as I cannot give you a...
Hamlet of the Week: Matagorda, TX
Category: Hamlet of the WeekI'm guessing you have never heard of Matagorda, Texas?
Neither had I. At population of a mere 313 by the last Census, I know this hidden gem would have...
Rural Slavery: The Whitney Plantation
Category: DestinationsIf you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I have a firm 'No Visiting Plantations' rule.
In my year out on the road, I...
Scene Around: Pourout
Category: Scene AroundOn an ancient cemetery wall, why not place an empty bottle of booze for the enjoyment of the...
Cities: NOLA, New Orleans
Category: CitiesThere are so many places in America that feel exactly like other places in America.
Sometimes, when in the outer suburban reaches of various cities, I feel my sense of...
Cities: Mobile, AL
Category: CitiesWhen a friend tells you they need to go to Mobile, Alabama to pick up a large volume of kitchen things from their family that can’t be shipped (without...
So Grande: Big Bend National Park
Category: DestinationsWhen approaching Big Bend National Park, I felt like I was approaching the end of the earth itself. The signs of civilization long in my rearview, the open expanse...
Roadside Nonsense: Roswell
Category: Roadside NonsenseRoswell is one of "those" places that is a perfect stopover on a roadtrip.
It's a place that makes little sense to visit as a standalone destination-- just a...
Roadside Nonsense: National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Category: Roadside NonsenseI had no idea what to expect when heading for the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History outside Albuquerque.
And when leaving it, I still wasn't...
Cities: Albuquerque, NM
Category: CitiesIn nearly a year of travel, I find I keep coming back and back to Albuquerque.
It seems like I've been there in every season at this point....
Roadside Nonsense: Burlesque Hall of Fame
Category: Roadside NonsenseA longtime fan of burlesque shows (my friends and I had been going for decades), I couldn't resist the temptation (HEY-OH!) to go to the Burlesque Hall of Fame...
Cities: Viva Las Vegas
Category: CitiesLas Vegas: city of spectacle and misery. Usually more the latter than the former.
I'll start out by saying: I am not a fan of Vegas generally. I was...
Trifecta: Meow Wolf Santa Fe, Denver, and Vegas
Category: DestinationsIn my opinion, Disney doesn't have anything on Meow Wolf.
Because to me, Meow Wolf is Disney for adults (and sure, there are kids at these things). But the...
Scene Around: First Javelina Sighting
Category: Scene AroundThe first time I saw a Javelina, it was after dark. I was driving, and braked hard when something ran across the road.
Emphasis on the SOMETHING-- I couldn't...
Cities: Santa Fe, NM
Category: CitiesOne of the real blessings of the van is being able to 'drop in' on friends. Adult friendships-- particularly the difficulty of seeing one another as frequently as we'd...
Dive of the Week: Tesuque Market
Category: Dive of the WeekJust outside Santa Fe is Tesuque Village, a small community that contains under 1,000 people and is the native home of the Tewa and Tesuque Pueblo people. The area...