The Myth & The Majesty

This is the most beautiful place on earth. There are many such places. Every man, every woman, carries in heart and mind the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home, known or unknown, actual or visionary... - Opening lines of Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey Every place you visit sticks with you in some way. Sometimes it's a specific thing -- the fo   Sometimes it's negative (I have no need to return to Beijing) and sometimes it lingers (twelve years later, I'm still thinking about Saint Petersburg). od, the people, an experience, a building. And sometimes, you find yourself browsing the job listings, looking for a reason to stay. I first stopped in Moab on my way back from Oregon. As it turned out, two nights in the desert were perfect for a body and soul to recover from a week and a half on the road. Sadly, my second stop was two full years later, a mere pit stop between the Grand Canyon and Denver for lunch and a stretch. They were on...

If there is one thing I would do differently, it would be spending more time in Kentucky. We made it to Kentucky on Mr. Rogers' fourth day of riding, hitting Breaks Interstate Park at the VA/KY border before noon. At this point, our paths re-converged; his knees were done and, well, my schedule was dependent on his. And so it was that I got an hour to hang out in said park ... and then we hit the road. ... Apparently I have a hammock uniform. Anyway! We aimed for Corbin, Kentucky, home of the original KFC. Why? Well ...  Creepy. ... because we could, I guess? This was easily the kitschiest stop we made, but it was also recommended by a bunch of people and was kind of fun. I mean, we ate fried chicken in a museum. So there's that. From there, we aimed to Frankfort (note: if you map this, we are clearly insane) and the Buffalo Trace Distillery , a bourbon distillery that offered crazy awesome tours. And delicious bourbon cream. Among other things. ...

As it turns out, I'm not great at holding still. Mr. Rogers got an early start on his first day of riding (Monday morning) and I headed back to the motel to pack up, reorganize, and make my way northeast. We had covered a lot of miles in three days ... but now I had a mission that required a couple hundred extra. The evening before, I had perused the brochure stand in the lobby and tripped over something of particular interest. The Green Valley Book Fair  is just south of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and is only open five times a year for a few weeks each time. It is essentially an enormous overstock sale, and ... well. As some of you may remember, I have a book store ... thing. It was the original purpose behind my trip to Portland and I try to work at least one interesting store into each trip. I was in luck: the book fair had opened just a couple days earlier and was within shooting distance of Mr. Rogers' take-off spot. This time, I had to set both a spen...

Once upon a time, I stayed in a five-star Crowne Plaza in Beijing. It was a gorgeous place. No rooms below a junior suite level, linens eight steps above what I buy myself, marble everywhere, enormous meals with every kind of food imaginable. I, of course, walked in fresh off the refinery in clothes I'd worn every day that week, smelling funky and caked in the kind of grime you only find in industrial China. Balance. It is of no surprise to anyone that knows me that if left to my own devices, I will do things a bit differently. Really, the big issue for me is that the hotel is rarely the destination. If I plan ahead, I'll most likely be staying with friends or camping along the way. [I am a well-practiced couch surfer.]  If I don't plan ahead, I'll be driving as far as I can manage and finding a hotel or motel to crash when I get the chance. More to the point, if I'm spending less than twelve hours there, I'm not exactly looking for something fancy. W...

I wrote this in my journal Wednesday as I relaxed in Viriginia... * It's raining today -- started about 10:00 last night and has been steady since. More to the point, my head started pounding about the same time and kept on aching until ... well, it's still aching. So there's that. Between the weather and my head, we got a late start. Mr. Rogers hit the trail after 8:00; I got back to the hotel at 8:45 and had a helluva time keeping myself moving. Breakfast, a long shower, a little more loitering, and it was after 10:00 when I hit the road. Damascus, Virginia, sits at the crossroads of a lot of long distance trails. The Appalachian Trail (AT) crosses into Virginia here from Tennessee. The TransAmerica Trail -- #76, the one Mr. Rogers is riding -- passes through here, as does the hilariously named Virginia Creeper Trail, a cross-state bike trail. As such, it's a surprisingly bustling square mile of locals, hikers, bikers, hostels, and one lone weirdo from South...

When I drove to Portland a couple years back, I did something dumb. I didn't give myself any recovery time. And I mean any. I drove back into camp, parked my car, started a load of laundry -- and then walked up to the kitchen to join in on supper. When I say I started work right away, I mean within fifteen minutes. Tonight, after another long-haul day, I find myself in Denver. I'm going to make my drive tomorrow a bit more leisurely ... and then I'll have a couple of days to clean house, do laundry, and for crying out loud, get caught up. Relax. Hike. Write. Read. Find a place for the hammock, weather permitting. And get a some work done a little bit at a time, as the opportunity and inclination strike. It's been an excellent last couple weeks, but I'm not done just yet.

Do you have one of those places you regularly visit where you never wake up rested? I have that issue at Shorty's current residence. It's not the house or the occupants -- it's the neighbors. The cars that go by. The people up talking and arguing in their yards. The freaking rooster a few houses down. Friday morning, I woke up in that very house. I'd driven down the afternoon before, had dinner with Other Brother (because he rocks and made burgers), and crashed. And when that rooster started crowing, I was up and moving. The goal for the day? Cover as much ground as possible on the way to Virginia. Mr. Rogers was aiming for a Sunday morning start to his bike trip ... but there were also 1,600 detour-less miles between us and that starting line. Egads. Friday wasn't exactly exciting. By 8AM, I'd made it to his house and we'd gotten everything loaded. Then came ... over 13 solid hours of travel. Across Kansas. In the sun. M...

Say what you might about Starbucks coffee, but I have a great experience almost every time I visit one. I'm not sure I can say that about any other chain.  Backing up! Today is a rest day, of sorts. After four solid days of GOING, my body needs a break and so does Sophie -- and as I'm on vacation, dangnabbit, I'm getting that break. And some internet. And an oil change for Sophie. And ... groceries. Okay, so I'm not great at resting. But it's a start. Anyway! After delivering Mr. Rogers to this morning's start point, I aimed up the highway toward the next city with sufficient resources. In this case, that would be Bristol, Virginia. (Coincidentally attached to Bristol, Tennessee.) I was not in a great mood, the weather seemed to match my crankiness, and I was overthinking everything I possibly could early in the morning. But hey, I had a birthday reward waiting for me at Starbucks and I knew I could find some wifi there. By the time I pulled into Bristol (...

I would love to write for real. I would. But oh my goodness, the exhaustion is extreme. 54 hours in and over 1800 miles so far. (Day 2 was ... long.) One tour. One somewhat random run-in. Two early mornings. Two late nights. And roughly 16 different music genres in rapid succession. Just the beginning.

And we're off! Well, we will be. As soon as I finish my coffee. I'd forgotten about Shorty's neighbors with the rooster. The caffeine will be ... necessary. Added bonus: I got my new laptop yesterday (actually, I paced and waited for it to arrive) and so far it's pretty awesome. Went the HP route this time and got the extra-huge screen (17") so right at this very moment I feel like I'm typing for someone incredibly far-sighted. I could bump up the screen zoom and you could read this thing from space. I love the feel of a new keyboard. So smooth. So many possibilities. So little cookie crumb interference. Now, to enjoy the mountains for a couple minutes before a long drive across ... Kansas. Hm.

Departure days always end up sending me down road trip rabbit holes as I try to pack.  The places I've gone. The things I've seen. Storms as they pass. The Tetons - August 2005 And old cities. Bath, England - February 2009 Moscow - July 2005  And a bucket list item or two . The Great Wall - March 2010 Powell's City of Books - September 2013 Wide open spaces. Somewhere in Colorado - May 2010 I-90 in the middle of South Dakota. Could have been taken on a lot of different days. Lakes. Lake Michigan - July 2009 Sunrise near Humboldt, SD - July 2012 (I think)  Oceans. Oregon coastline - September 2013  Deserts. Near Moab, Utah - September 2013 Canyons. Grand Canyon - November 2015 Big freaking waterfalls. Niagara Falls - September 2014 Mountains , of various shapes and sizes.  Harney Peak - September 2014 Mount Saint Helens - September 2013 And some weirder stu...