The sun woke me up for a minute as it rose over the trees on the far bank of the river around 8 A.M., but I happily ignored it and went back to sleep until 9 A.M. Then I decided it was time to bless the world with my unkempt hair and grumpy … Continue reading →

     Have you ever tried being friends with a stone? How about a shelf made of rock? Maybe a fallen tree branch?      Well today, I did all three. I intended to spend the day in perfect happiness like I spent yesterday. But today I planned to read more and move less. That … Continue reading →

     Today, I am proud to announce, I succeeded in pulling myself out of bed before the sun crested the trees on the far bank of the river. Admittedly, that doesn’t happen until 8 A.M. or later. But still, I was up and ready to go by that time. Last night, I made a … Continue reading →

     I drove a lot yesterday. I guess I made it across Washington in one day – from the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula all the way to the tip of Idaho. Then I drive some more trying to figure out if I was at the right campsite.      By the time … Continue reading →

     I woke up ready to keep driving. Sleeping at a rest stop does that, I suppose. It’s not a destination or even a stopping place really. It’s just a pause. I slept in my front seat, woke up and walked around for two minutes, then got back in my seat and started driving … Continue reading →

     My drive today was a short one – only two hours. I made it to the West Yellowstone KOA before noon, checked in, and spent the rest of the day dawdling around my camping area. I picked one of the four simple tent camping plots available.      Today I finished reading a … Continue reading →

     It’s time for an adventure! Let’s make sure Matthew doesn’t forget anything that he needs to do. Shower, figure out driving directions, check out of the KOA. Oh, and don’t forget gas! Food too – don’t let Matthew starve in Yellowstone. Hey, Matthew! I said don’t forget to buy gas and food!   … Continue reading →

     This was a simple day. I woke up intending to go on a “writing hike.” I was going to explore some trails at Jenny Lake (the largest of several small lakes in the area) and take several breaks along the way to write. I ended up with a relaxed morning, a late start, … Continue reading →

THE GRAND HIKING PLAN – Bring a lot of food and water – Take some pictures – Listen to an audiobook – Walk a long, long way      This was my strategy as I woke up and drove back to the Teton National Forest this morning. I suppose it would be more accurate to … Continue reading →

      This morning I let myself sleep in after the long day of hiking. When I finally got out of my car, I was treated to a rainbow. It spanned the whole sky in front of me, enclosing the Teton mountain range. Sadly, I did not see any leprechauns prowling around, so I … Continue reading →

     I woke up to a colorful Wyoming sunrise – and lazily resented the bright light streaming through the windshield into my face.      No, I am not a morning person. When I go to bed, I’m excited about the next day. When I wake up, I just want to stay in the … Continue reading →

     This morning I had the strange and welcome surprise of waking up in a real bed again. When I got over that, I had another pleasant realization. Breakfast would be waiting for me out in the lobby! That got me out of bed with an added bit of excitement for the day. I … Continue reading →

     Lou and I woke up around 7:30 A.M. to eat a breakfast of eggs and pork belly before getting back to work. I tried pork belly first about a year and a half ago when I started working at Mendocino Farms (a sandwich shop in Brea). I liked it a lot there, but … Continue reading →

     This morning I met Lou’s sister, Marie. We drove over to her house in the Black Forest at 7:30 A.M. to help her with the arrival of a new refrigerator. The fridge situation was rather complicated and didn’t turn out too well. However, after this slight ordeal, we got to enjoy Chile Rellenos … Continue reading →

     Back to work! This morning, after waking up a little later than I had intended, I joined Lou in the backyard to see what our tasks would be. I was not thrilled to find out that we would spend the day redoing yesterday’s work. We would be positioning the stakes about eighteen inches … Continue reading →

     Louis and I planned to drive up Pike’s Peak this morning, so we were excused from helping with the yard work. I suppose we abused our freedom though because we spent the morning sleeping in rather than driving. Finally, a little before noon, we got into the car and started on our way. … Continue reading →

     Today was full of many good things; church in the morning, lunch at a Chinese restaurant, rest in the afternoon, a phone call with my family, and a chance to play my guitar and sing with Lou and Valli in the evening. There were two extra good points in the day though.     … Continue reading →

     I’ve been at The Mansion for six days now! Life almost feels normal, even though I’m a thousand miles from home and I still have three months of travel ahead of me. It is a bubble of routine in a bathtub of adventures.      Since my days have become so normal, I … Continue reading →

     Marie used to drive tour buses around Colorado Springs, and one of her favorite spots to highlight was the old mining operation in Cripple Creek, which is about forty miles west of Colorado Springs. She still loves sharing her knowledge of this area, so I got a free tour! Lou drove as Marie … Continue reading →

     All week, I’ve had the idea of hiking Pike’s Peak in the back of my mind. I have already hiked one mountain on this trip (Buck Mountain), so why not make it two? That’s a great idea!       I knew this would be a serious hike though. It is a thirteen mile … Continue reading →

     My nine-day stop at The Mansion is over and I am back on the road. It was a fitting day to start driving again; today marks the beginning of my second month on the road!      So I’m back on my own. Today, I spent most of my time behind the wheel. … Continue reading →

     I woke up to find that, in daylight, there was a beautiful view outside my windows. I also found that the sun, which highlights the landscape so well, heats up the air also. Especially the air in a confined space, like my car. So I got out of heat box and took a short … Continue reading →

     Today I met a very distant relative – a first cousin twice removed. Before leaving on this trip, I knew that my mom had a lot of relatives, but I only knew a few by name. So I called the ones that I did know and arranged to stop by and see them … Continue reading →

     Being a twenty-one-year-old in an adult Sunday School class and a stranger from California draws a lot of attention. That was the situation when I went to the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection with Ruth this morning. We arrived early to give her time to prepare for teaching the class (today was the … Continue reading →

     Today I had the chance to live a normal day, just like I would at home. But I’m not at home. I’m in Leawood Kansas. Opportunities like this are the best part of my trip. They aren’t the highlights and there really isn’t a lot to say about them individually, but they are … Continue reading →

     I left Leawood at 9 A.M., after having breakfast with Ruth and saying farewell. I was headed toward Evansville, Indiana, where Dorothy (another of my first cousins once removed) lives. I called her yesterday and she told me that she had invited her four children and their families over for dinner, so I … Continue reading →

     This morning was filled with all of the little things that keep begging for my attention. I checked up on my application status at Grand Canyon University, organized the confusion of papers that inevitably accumulates in my notebooks, and spent some time petting Lola, the family dog.       Lunch was spent celebrating … Continue reading →

     My car has clean oil! Wonderful, fresh, new oil!      I intended to get an oil change done in Colorado Springs, but that didn’t work out (thanks to a sticky drain plug), so I decided to change it myself somewhere along the way. When I mentioned my problem to Scott yesterday, he … Continue reading →

     In daylight, I found that I was parked at a place called Hawthorne Park. A thicket of trees surrounded the lot I had stopped in, and just past those trees, I discovered a beautiful wetland reserve. Since I was already parked there, I decided to start my morning off with a brisk walk … Continue reading →

     On a trip full of incredible experiences, Chicago scores one of the top spots. I can’t measure it against my favorite days of hiking and camping because the activities are so different, but it’s certainly up there with them. I found a lot of reasons to like Chicago. There was the gorgeous skyline, … Continue reading →