Most of the following pieces first appeared in the Field Reports section of RoadTripAmerica.com, so thanks to editor Mark Sedenquist for his encouragement.
DEER, BEER AND SEX - A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MIDWEST
"... a familiar-looking landscape, reminiscent of northern France but with grain silos and water towers instead of medieval church towers. Front gardens are decorated with plastic deer; every house has vehicular heirloom out front with a “FOR SALE” sign on the windshield; and the skies are a perfect blue with light fluffy clouds." Read it all ...
THE EMPTIED PRAIRIE - A DRIVE ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA
"The world and his wife know everything there is to know about the 1930s Dust Bowl but next to nothing about the hardships endured by those who tried, and frequently failed, to eek a living out of the soils of North Dakota. I wonder how different this would be had the High Plains had their own Woody Guthrie?" Read it all ...
REDWOODS TO SEATTLE - THE NORTHWEST COAST
"Carole is fascinated by the ‘idea’ of bears but terrified about the possibility of actually bumping into one ... an hour or so later, after unloading our provisions into the bear-proof box and diverting her attention from the sign warning that a bear had been seen on site recently, we were sitting by the Smith River." Read it all ...
"Squint as you might (and I was later to realise that I’d been squinting in entirely the wrong direction), spotting a snow-filled crater in snow-white clouds was impossible." Read it all ...
"By the time I finally arrive at the pay desk, hot, sweaty and not a little breathless, I’m convinced that the advertised mile is an entirely fictitious figure, fabricated to persuade gullible tourists that it’s worth the walk. Well, they’ve failed miserably because I’m their only visitor. Ha!" Read it all ...
"We’ve agreed a unilateral disarmament treaty based on the Kevin’s acceptance that his family’s collection of 28 guns probably is excessive; 23 would be a more reasonable number. And next time we’re passing through we’re going to discover the satisfaction of killing something." Read it all ...