This is a terrific section of the journey because it has almost everything: exercise, history, spectacular scenery, mechanical problems, an increasingly unhappy foot, an emergency change of plans, camping adventures, Annie heading home, and finally the preparation for Yellowstone. It…
Our journey then continued south toward South Dakota’s Badlands, extending the geological and historical story that had begun in North Dakota. Thank goodness Annie was ready to rally. She drove the 6 hours to the South Dakota Badlands. On our…
The transition from Fargo to Bismarck and then west into the Badlands marked another important change in the character of my road trip. Until this point, the journey had largely been my solo expedition. Now my friend Annie Farrell was…
My August 19th departure from the White Earth Reservation turned into one of the more memorable social chapters of my road trip, thus far. I had been traveling through northern Minnesota and western Minnesota, and now I was pushing into…
The morning I left Duluth had a wonderfully different character from some of the more hectic days earlier in my trip. I woke up at Zenith Basecamp, had a genuinely good cup of coffee, took a long, hot shower and—most…
I arrived in Duluth around 3:30 p.m. with a practical objective: check in, collect my Amazon packages, and get settled. Instead, within a few hours, the day had turned into an unexpected evening of local hospitality, live music, and a…
My Porcupine Mountains leg deserves a chapter of its own because I didn’t merely visit the Porkies – I camped my way through them. Three different campgrounds, Lake Superior, waterfalls, forests, ridgelines, rivers and enough Michigan wilderness to make “Hemi”,…
My birthday, July 19, 2026, turned into one of those wonderfully layered days that could only happen on a long road trip: family, sports, old neighborhoods, old friends, new discoveries and a little nostalgia—all in one day. After saying goodbye…
July 17 — Arriving at Austin and Emily’s At approximately 5:30 p.m., after securing my 2020 Ram 1500 in a locked garage, I arrived by local bus from Center City Philadelphia and made my way to Austin and Emily’s home…
The morning of July 17 marked another transition in my journey. After several busy and memorable days with Annie in Washington, D.C., I left the city and headed toward Philadelphia—but not before making a very special family stop along the…