The journey from Monterey, California to the Olympic National Park near Seattle, Washington was spectacular. I stayed on the coastal road for the entire trip, winding my way around farms and through redwood forests, along rivers and beside the Pacific. My senses are filled with majestic sights, and my heart and mind touched by meaningful stories. A neighboring camper asked me what I’ve enjoyed the most, and I responded that the days are woven together like a multi-patterned quilt that can’t be separated into discrete [...]

The journey through Texas, New Mexico and the eastern part of Arizona was hot and dry.  Then, three nights ago I was camping in the cool pine trees of the Coconino National Forest. The next day I was in the Mohave Desert and camped that night in Barstow, California where it was hot and dry and dusty . The scenery abruptly changed once again when, after climbing up a long grade outside of Mohave, California, I started driving down into a lush, green valley that [...]

Steinbeck wrote in his first chapter of his book Travels with Charlie in Search of America that it took him three days to form a traveling partnership with his dog and the van. It took me four as I began a similar journey from my home in Asheville, North Carolina with my dog Amos. But a great four days they were. On day one I spent very little time on I-40, heading instead toward the Nantahala Gorge. I wound my way through North Carolina and Tennessee [...]

When I visit San Francisco— when I return “home”— a surging and vibrant energy fills, thrills and buoys my body, mind and spirit. All of my senses come alive as I immerse myself in The City’s eclectic mix of people, places, life styles, vehicles, sounds, smells, weather, and activities. I love the hustle-bustle and polite jumble on the sidewalks: tourists craning to see the sights, business people heading to the office, food carts selling hot dogs and pretzels, street people seeking a place of shelter, [...]

Arizona, the home of my heritage, no longer feels like home. The high skies and endless horizons… the warmth of the desert sun in February… the sights, sounds and smells of a spring training game at the ball park… all make it a grand place to visit. But the meanness of spirit in a state that has become the capitol of America’s rightwing politics makes it a place I no longer want to live (see “A Fond Farewell” under travel archives). Three new examples follow: [...]