It’s our last evening right outside the Ironwood National Monument Lands (northwest of Tucson), and I’m feeling the Sunday blues just as if I had to go to work tomorrow instead of picking up and moving on to the next interesting place. It’s true the desert here is flat and mostly creosote bushes, but I’ve […]
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Strip Mall Tourists
We’re the lamest tourists ever when it comes to visiting cities. We’ve traveled nearly all over the country by now, so why haven’t we immersed ourselves (or even just dipped our toes) in urban culture? Covid Could Still Mess with Us I’ll be quick about this because I’ve belabored the point many times: If Tracy […]
One Night in Butte Is Enough
Tracy wanted to see the famous Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana (he’d seen it years ago and was impressed), so we parked at an odd little boondocking spot off the interstate, tucked Banjo inside the trailer, and went exploring. Butte seems to be like Helena (but smaller): a shrinking, strange little town. It used to […]
Most Excellent Free Campground
(Marred by Racists Hate-mongers) After we left Lake Koocanusa, we drove down that lovely, long, valley lake, past Libby Dam, and into a Corps of Engineers campground right on the Kootenay River near the town of Libby, Montana. It’s a practically perfect campground. It’s one paved oval road, with level pull-through spots right on the […]
Banjo, Don’t Step on That!
I’ve written here earlier that we’re on a small key that’s been developed almost entirely into our RV park. Our trailer is about where the circle is. There’s a bit of wild land on the other side of the highway that we can walk to under the bridge (see my clever hand-drawn arrow). It’s weird […]
A Beer Garden Worth Bending the Rules For
I know we seem like an odd pair of ducks during this pandemic, traveling while so many of our smart friends are still at home, still following safe protocol despite pandemic fatigue. The beauty of our situation is that we travel with our home behind us, so we don’t need hotels, restaurants, or rest-stop bathrooms. […]
This Old World Keeps Spinning Round
That line’s from the Neil Young song, Comes a Time, that I’m trying to learn on the ukulele. The chorus goes: This old world keeps spinnin’ ’round. It’s a wonder, tall trees ain’t layin’ down. It’s Neil’s version of Turn, Turn, Turn, kind of. I can sing the chorus pretty well, but the first verse […]
Never Hand a Gnome Your Beer
The town we’re in, New Ulm, Minnesota, is the most-German town in the U.S. (I read that but now can’t find the source; it makes a good opener anyway though, right?). Its famous glockenspiel does its thing three times a day: the bells play and a window opens to reveal German figures moving around and […]
Almost Had to Add “Peacock Replacement” to the Budget
We’d put it under the column, “Banjo,” of course. What happened was we were walking in the formal gardens at historic Schell Brewery when we surprised a peacock. Banjo thought it would be quite a mouthful; she wanted at least a try at it. That was after this morning’s close call with a flock of […]
Premium @ Superior
Please excuse the mess on the table in the photo above, but I just love the view from inside the Airstream at this “premium” camping spot—directly on Vandeventer Bay, the west end of Lake Superior. This campground doesn’t have the woods, the privacy, or the direct lake access for the kayaks (I think) that we […]
