After a few days exploring West Virginia, Kim and I drove north to Cleveland, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. Kim and I passed an entire week in and around Cleveland. There was lots we wanted to do — but mostly we stayed home. Why? A couple of reasons: First, lately we’ve both been… Continue reading
Wandering through West Virginia
Between southern Ohio and northern Ohio, Kim and I found the time to spend a couple of nights in wonderful West Virginia. Seriously, this state is gorgeous. It’s easy to see why John Denver called it “almost heaven”. At the start of this trip, we were blown away by the beauty of Arizona. Since then,… Continue reading
Finding Time for Friends (Old and New)
For me, one of the joys of visiting the Midwest was finding time to connect with friends, both old and new. I’ve mentioned some of these folks already. After our engine replacement in South Dakota, for instance, we drove to St. Cloud, Minnesota where I had dinner with two of my favorite people, Aimee and… Continue reading
One Week in Indiana’s Amish Country
After two weeks touring the Great Lakes and the Great North Woods, Kim and I drove south to Shipshewana, Indiana to visit Amish country. Before we looked around, however, we took a couple of days to decompress. As I’ve mentioned before, there are three types of days on this trip: travel days, touring days, and… Continue reading
Making Our Way Around Lake Michigan
After a week on the shores of Lake Superior, Kim and I made our way to another great lake, Lake Michigan. There, over the course of a couple of weeks, we made our way almost completely around this vast body of water. We started our tour of Lake Michigan in the small town of Oostburg,… Continue reading
On the Shores of Lake Superior
After nine days of unplanned rest in Plankinton, South Dakota, Kim and I resumed our year-long RV trip around the United States. We drove slowly at first, unwilling to put too much stress on the motorhome’s new engine. With each passing hour, however, our confidence grew. By the end of the day, Bigfoot was humming… Continue reading
Little Motorhome on the Prairie: How We Got Stuck in South Dakota
Last Wednesday, we woke early. We’d stayed up late (for us) laughing with Kim’s high school friends, and now faced a long day of travel. We said our good-byes, then left northwest Nebraska for the three hour drive back to Buffalo Gap National Grassland, where we’d left the RV parked alone on the edge of… Continue reading
One Night in Nebraska
One of the best parts of this year-long road trip is reconnecting with friends we haven’t seen for years. Or decades. Kim, for instance, has been looking forward to reuniting with her friend Shelley. Shelley and Kim met during junior high. During high school, Shelley and her family were like a second home to Kim…. Continue reading
The Black Hills and the Badlands
Who knew? South Dakota is filled with things to do. Kim and I have been surprised by how much fun we’ve had in the southwest corner of this state. Everyone knows about Mount Rushmore, of course. And sure, the mountain monument is impressive: Mount Rushmore would have been neater at the start of our trip…. Continue reading
Into the Great Wide Open
After a week in Montana’s Flathead Valley, we’ve moved on. For the first three months of this trip, we’ve stuck mainly to places we know: West Coast mountains and forests. We love this region, but now it’s time to explore the unfamiliar. That means crossing the Rocky Mountains and entering the vast Great Plains of… Continue reading