Another 175 miles in an almost due south direction got me to Duluth, Minnesota.  This was a planned stop on my 2022 trip that I dropped due to a combination of high mileage and travel fatigue at the end of the eight week adventure.  Back on the itinerary for this year.  I wanted to see…

Yesterday, August 17, I left Lake Itaska a day early and drove to International Falls.  So I have made it to the Canadian border and the furthest point north in my journey.  International Falls has claimed the nickname of Ameriica’s Ice Box, as it frequently records the coldest temperature in the country during winter months.…

The trip from Grand Forks to Lake Itaska State Park in Minnesota is only 119 miles, a little over two hours.  The scenery along the way does not change much until very close to the lake.  At that point the northern forest look takes over, with lots of tall pine trees and deciduous forests of…

8/11/23 After a five hour drive across the remaining portion of North Dakota we got to our campground in Grand Forks.  Actually, in East Grand Forks, which by virtue of the fact that it is on the east bank of the Red River, lies in the great state of Minnesota.  Another state, another state park,…

The first real dose of physical grandeur in this trip took place at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where I spent last Sunday and Monday exploring.  The Medora Musical was cute, if kind of kitschy, and the Pitchfork Fondue dinner was a great meal and outstanding memory.  Not only was the food delicious and generously served,…

I think the beauty in life lies largely in imperfections: The wrinkles in an old woman’s face; The scarred bark of a tree; The chipped paint on the side of an old barn. The jagged landscape of an eroded canyon; The argument between two lovers. It’s easy to love something that’s perfect. There’s no challenge…

At the time of our arrival in Miles City, the temperature read 100 degrees. But the stately cottonwood trees under which the campground sits provide welcome shade. With the dry breeze rustling through the leaves, the temperature could have passed for twenty degrees cooler. The day’s drive had been about 260 miles and four plus…

7/31/23 Tonight is the last day of my stay in Spearfish, SD.  I arrived last Thursday and checked in to the Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort around 2:00 after a longish (350 mile) drive from Salem.  This resort has everything.  Big Swimming Pool, hot breakfast in the morning, outdoor activity venue, poolside bar, etc., etc.  The…

The last three nights I stayed at a private campground just outside Salem, South Dakota. If the name of that town doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry. I chose the site because it was halfway in between Sioux Falls and Mitchell, SD, both of which I wanted to explore. Sioux Falls, because I had never…

For the first week of this trip our trail has hewn close to the Misssouri River. The area is familiar for both its scenery and the high humidity that blesses areas in a river valley. Our trip today only took us 220 miles, but it’s beginning to feel like we’re not in Missouri any more.…

I write this on Saturday, July 22.  We arrived in Omaha yesterday.  It has been hot, too hot for me to be comfortable leaving Ollie in a trailer with non-functioning air conditioning for any sustained period during the warm part of the day.  Still, it’s not been as hot as it could be – only…

Today is Thursday, July 20, and I am now three days into my Great Plains adventure.  I had hoped to write my first “on the road” post yesterday but I am having problems with WordPress and can’t seem to get a new post started.  So for now I will just save to a Word document…

After thirteen months off the road, Ollie and I are headed out again. I prefer to travel either in the early Spring or late Summer so as to avoid both the crowds and the excessive heat. But circumstances prevented this from happening in 2023. Andrew and Lynzee’s wedding was the last week in April, which…

My first big trip has ended. I returned home on June 9, earlier than planned but at the right time. As I’ve finished the trip and had a chance to think about it on the whole, I wanted to capture some things that I think I may find important that will be lost if I…

Overnight rain was expected during the early hours of June 1, so I did some of the preparation for travel the night before so as not to have to do it in the rain. It did in fact rain, but by morning it had passed and the day was sunny and pleasant. This is always…

The longest leg of my trip promised to be the one from Niagara Falls to Mackinac Island. My original plan was to cut across the part of Ontario that dips down to Lake Erie – through London and Sarnia. This would allow me to make a straight western shot and re-enter the U.S. north of…

Knowing that Maine will be a tough act to follow, Ollie and I were on the road again on Friday morning (May 20). Our destination was Bennington, VT, a solid eight hour drive of about 400 miles from Bar Harbor. It was hard saying goodbye to such a beautiful place and such an enjoyable 4+…

The weather began to clear on Monday (5/16), and by afternoon the skies were mostly sunny and the air was crisp and clean. After picking up Cathy at the airport, we took a trip into Bar Harbor to check it out more closely. Bar Harbor has a ridiculously cute downtown area consisting largely of restaurants,…

Our side trip to Gloucester on Wednesday was a trade-off from going to Boston. I didn’t feel like going through the time and hassle of going all the way to Boston for an undetermined agenda, especially when it meant leaving Ollie along for a long day in the trailer. Gloucester was a relatively easy trip…

After a great time at the Leyden Winery, we headed up to North Brookfield MA and the Common Ground Cider Works for our second consecutive Harvest Hosts night. This place was not quite in the middle of nowhere, but you could see it from there. Pulling into the parking lot just a few minutes after…

The tour of the Mark Twain home was the high point of the trip so far.  First of all, the museum and additional building are very well-done, and the staff are helpful and enthusiastic about their mission. The house itself was amazing.  Deep mahoganies, lots of natural light for a home of that era, and…

One thing to add about Gettysburg before moving on… In my experience people in Pennsylvania have a distinct accent depending on where they live. The Pittsburgh accent is different than the Philadelphia accent, which is different from the “Pennsylvania Dutch” accent of the central hills, and so forth. But no one I encountered in and…

Three days of sun and sand at the Outer Banks was an excellent experience. But Wednesday morning (4/27) Ollie and I said farewell to the coast (at least for a while) and the warm weather (maybe for good, but hopefully not) and made our way up through Virginia and to the Washington D.C. area. The…

Three and a half days in Asheville was just enough. After the Biltmore day on Thursday, we were less ambitious on Friday and Saturday. Short trail walks each day, and mostly staying closer to Swannanoa and Black Mountain, which is about five miles in the other direction from our campground. Black Mountain is a cute…

First things first today. My travel arrangements had a four-day hole in them immediately after our Asheville stay. This morning I took time to fill that hole by making reservations at a KOA in the West Outer Banks. It looks like a good place and the price was reasonable. That leaves just one day up…

   For me, coming back home is the second-hardest part of taking a trip.  The hardest is leaving home.  There’s always lots of anxiety about what I may have forgotten, and whether I’ll be able to recover from it if I did.  For this first big odyssey with Ollie that’s especially true since it’s for…

Everything has been prepared and I am now waiting to hit the road. I have one errand left this afternoon, which I will do as soon as I’m done with this entry. Then it will be a matter of hitching up the trailer and buttoning it up so that it’s ready for travel. In the…

I’m trying to get this blog set up before I start traveling. The technology is not yet my friend. I hope the learning curve for this and for trailer life levels out a bit in the next few weeks.

I am starting a blog to capture what I hope will be a fulfilling adventure as I travel the country looking for whatever I’ve been seeking for the 65 years I’ve been on the earth and never got around to finding. I’ll be leaving on Aptil 18 for the first Big Trip, covering mainly the…