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So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
March 4, 1933
| | It all started with a view of the Horizon | | |
The map above outlines all the roads I've traveled. The map is 3 x 5 ft. I bought the map about 35 years ago to document my road trips, which I have been working on since I turned 16, (more of that story to come). Most of the highways on the map, I have traveled down more times than I can remember. I estimate that I have driven about 1.2 million miles in my lifetime. So when I ask you, "Are you ready for a Road Trip?", I know what I am talking about.
I have been to 49 states. If I could drive to Hawaii, I would go, but I have yet to get to the 50th state. (Although I did fly to Alaska). Prior to 9/11, I had been saving money to drive to Alaska, the ultimate road trip, and it was to be my next trip. But after 9/11 it occurred to me that maybe in the near future, our ability to travel the world might be limited, so I better travel the world as much as I can now. I figured Canada and Alaska would be there as long as I am alive, so for now, I needed to fly far away, and I began flying everywhere. It is hard to believe that Sept 11, 2001, was 24 years ago. How many miles and hours have I spent in airplanes over the past 24-years? Google says I make it around the planet several times a year....
Then came the pandemic. The one and only positive aspect of the pandemic for me was the return of the road trip.
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Some people say they can remember the earliest moments of their life, like when they were only a few months or a few years old. The above photo is of me, but I am not sure whose tricycle that is. I think the photo is taken at my grandmother's sister house, and it was an antique bike.
My first memories of life don't start until I am about three and half years old (summer of 1967) and I have a few memories of that summer. My older sister had a big red tricycle that had steps on the back, and I could climb up and get on the seat, (when she wasn't looking). My legs were too short to make the peddles go round, but I would sit there and pretend to ride. (I had my own small blue tricycle, but it was always more fun to be on her bike). As I sat on the big red tricycle, unable to ride, I would look out from the driveway, across the road and I would think about the land leading to the horizon. My parents lived in a new house at that time, and we had no neighbors across the street. Now I know that it was vacant Illinois farmland waiting to be developed, but at the time it was a mysterious world to me. "What was out there? Where did it go to?" I was fascinated by the place where the sky met the land and I remember thinking, "When I grow up, I'm going to walk there all by myself." The next summer my family moved to another house and there were new adventures to dream about.
I have a degree in social-psychology, specifically personality and small group dynamics. The biggest and continuous argument in that field is "nature vs nurture". Are we products of our genetics or created by our environment, and of course it is a combo of both. But somewhere in my genes, I received that perpetual urge to see what was beyond the horizon. My earliest memories of being alive are of thinking about travel; go figure that out.
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My first real "big" road trip was to Hibbing, Minnesota in March 1983, when I was 19. At the time I was a huge Bob Dylan fan because two years earlier, I had gone to see Dylan perform at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, IL, on June 10, 1981, when I was 17, and I was instantly hooked on his music and lyrics. My family lived just north of Chicago. Starting when I turned 16, and while I was still in high school, I slowly tested my driving skills with short distances with my car. I would drive an hour in one direction, then turn-round and drive home. That led to 2 hours one-way, then 3 hours, then eventually I would be gone all day, but I never left Illinois, never "crossed the border" on my own.
A huge part of driving was music, and still is. I have no idea why, but when music is playing, I can drive all day. Music sounds better while driving in a car, I suppose, and driving is simply better with music, they just go together. My first car was a Volkswagen Rabbit and it had a cassette player, and I had a shoe box full of cassettes. The first cassette I ever bought was Billy Joel's "Glass Houses." My cassette player had automatic rewind, and so the tape would play over and over again. If the tape got old or too hot, it would jam and tangle in the cassette player. You would have to eject the tape and slowly remove the cassette while part of the tape stayed stuck in the player and unwound from the cassette. After you got the stuck tape out of the player, you would be left with several yards of music tape in your lap and then you would take the head of a pencil and slowly wind the tape back into the cassette, hoping not to stretch it. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it was just time to throw the cassette away.
Eventually I had a big collection of cassette tapes: Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, Carol King, but most were Bob Dylan cassette albums. I had all of his albums on cassette.
I grew up a little, left high school, and started driving to Wisconsin for college (UW-Madison), and then one day when I was home for spring break, I told my mom I was going to stay at a friend's house for a couple nights, (I knew my parents would never check-up on me). I woke early the next day and first headed north to Wisconsin, and then west to Minnesota. I had never driven in Minnesota before, so as soon as I cross the border I had to stop at a gas station and buy a road map. You know the kind, the big folded paper maps that instantly tore the first time you opened them, and then never seem to re-fold. I took a pen and drew my route on the map and circled important exits and highway changes. Then I folded the map into big squares that I could hold on top of the steering wheel while I drove to keep track of where I was.
On that day, I drove 550 miles to Grand Rapids, MN, (the speed limit was 55 mph back then, so it took all day). As I got to town, there in the distance, like a golden beacon, I saw a Holiday Inn "Holidome." A Holidome was every kid's dream hotel, so I immediately pulled over and checked in. The next day I drove to Hibbing (about 1-hour) and toured the whole area and all the historic sites, including all the Dylan sites. It was a life changing experience. After 2-nights at the Holidome, I woke up early the next day and drove home. As soon as I had the photos developed, I showed them to my older brother, who was both shocked and impressed, but never said a word.
I will admit that during my teen years, I was fairly "Clueless" about many aspects of my own life, but I was always confident in my ability to seek, find, and accomplish all sorts of adventures. It was all I ever wanted.
| | Pictured above is my car in front of Hibbing High School in March 1983. This is where Bob Dylan graduated in 1959. Hibbing is home to the world's largest open-pit iron ore mine. In the early 1900's the discovery of a rich iron ore vein created a boom town and great wealth. In 1915 it was discovered that the ore vein ran under the town, and starting in 1919, the entire town was moved and rebuilt with the help of the mining money. This beautiful school was built 1922 and was the pride of the town. At the time Hibbing was a small town boom/bust town in a rural area with a fluctuating population of 10,000 - 20,000 people. They called the school: "The Castle in the Woods." If you would like to visit, they still offer tours. | | | | |
I hope you're interested in traveling with me in the future. It is always so much more fun with fellow travelers.
Please check out my website and all my trips around the world. Let me know what you think.
It is a big world out there, and we live in one of the biggest most beautiful countries. I call it my big backyard, (including Canada).
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Upcoming Road Trip Dates
Olympic National Park: September 24 - 30, 2025 (7-days): Olympic Peninsula car-camping tour at Olympic National Park and the Dungeness Recreation Area. This is my most popular tour in Washington. We love car-camping because we can have a campfire, make S'mores, and grill out every night. Your tent will have a very comfortable thick pad and warm sleeping bag. $2,275 per person.
Olympic National Park: November 1 - 7, 2025 (7-days): Olympic Peninsula tour with hotel lodging at Olympic National Park and Sequim. $2,975 per person (for double occupancy), and extra $650 for single occupancy.
New Mexico: Birding, Culture and Beauty
The 7-day tour focus on the birding, nature and cultural sites of Santa Fe and areas that are a 1-hour drive from Santa Fe. We stay at the same hotel the entire time, or if you are interested in camping, there will be two different campsite: Hyde Memorial and Cochiti Lake. The 9-day tour travel south to White Sands National Park and Alamogordo.
1) September 24 - 30, 2025, 7-days car-camping state parks: spots left = 4
2) November 1 - 7, 2025, 7-days with lodging at hotels: spots left = 4
3) April 1-9, 2026, 9-day birding and camping trip that visit southern New Mexico
Utah: "The Big Five" national parks loop (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands). We will also visit five gorgeous Utah State Parks (Snow Canyon, Kodachrome Basin, Goblin Valley, Goosenecks, and Dead Horse Point). Plus amazing Monument Valley! March 21 - 29, 2026 (9-days). This road trip will have hotel lodging.
Texas Hill Country: Peak Wildflower Season and the Best Birding. Lodging is at hotels. April 4 - 11, 2026, (8-days), Please contact me for details
The Colorado Big Amazing Loop: The Centennial State has four national parks, nine national monuments, and 266,713,600 acres of beauty, with elevations ranging from 3,317 feet all the way up to 14,440 feet. This is a 14-day camping tour at national parks and federal lands.
Don't forget about Montana, coming soon to the 2026 schedule.
Have you been to North Dakota yet? North Dakota has one national park, that is one more than twenty other states have.
Where do you want to go, and when?
| | "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing" Walt Disney | | | | |
