Adventures in a VW Bus
Our buddy, Doug McGlothen, is one of our most avid blog readers. He especially likes the phone booth pictures. When we took the first one—back in Ontario—we thought it would be a one-off. But, as it turns out, phone booths of all types still populate the country—most of them disconnected and either decaying or turned into art installations. At any rate, it is now a thing we do. And each time, I say, “Doug will love this.” So, Doug, here you go.
California is jaw-dropping. Absolutely gorgeous. Of the 10 most beautiful drives we’ve taken on this trip, half of them have been here in the state with most badass flag. Once we left Death Valley, we made haste for the trees. Big trees. The biggest of the big trees. The sequoia.
Continue reading “Into California”
Remember Ben from last season? He road tripped across the US with his best friends Tom, Ed, Tim, Joe (and not-best-friend, Pete)? We were able to catch up with Tom, the ringleader and planner of the trip (now an acclaimed author), and he told us more about how the trip came to be, how he remembers the trip, and what it means to have a group of life-long best friends.
Miracle was still feeling pretty rough from her concussion. Luckily, the symptoms became less cognitive and turned into more physiological—shoulder and neck cramps and the like. I tried my best to massage her shoulders, but I have not the strength of a masseuse, so we began to look around and happened upon a fairly incredible spot at the edge of Death Valley—Tecopa Springs and its neighbor, Shoshone.
Continue reading “Across Death Valley”Nevada! Here we are in the Silver State, home to the loneliest highway in America. Although we are only cutting across the southern tip, we have designs to return to the great open north in cooler times. So here’s a few tunes to keep you company as you sweat it out to the next gas station.
Continue reading “Playlist: Nevada”
I hate to ruin the magic of blogs for everyone, but my entries usually lag behind real life by about a week. Usually. As of late, it has been closer to two weeks. With this entry I am attempting to narrow this gap a bit more. We zoomed through northern Arizona. Yes, we had to give up the majesty of Saguaro and the southern sights; however, it was hot. Incredibly hot.
Continue reading “Arizona and Nevada”
What do you do when your bus breaks down at a gas station in Sopchoppy, Florida and it’s dark and getting colder by the minute and you know no one in the area? You go home with a stranger named Brian Blackwell (nicknamed Blacky). Well… that’s what we did anyway. We met Blacky when he picked us up on the side of the road, but learned a lot more about him when he offered to let us stay in his house for an entire week. Turns out, Blacky is an avid VW collector, runs a wakeboard ministry, and a successful hunting business. Listen to hear all about Blacky’s super-sweet VW collection, but also what would drive him to offer refuge to two total strangers.
Buckle up, folks, because we have some miles to cover and some great songs to settle into that plush 1973 bus seat (yeah, I scrapped mine out of a junkyard in New Jersey so they don’t fit quite right). We have a healthy dose of tunes to get us across The Grand Canyon State.
Continue reading “Playlist: Arizona”
I’ve lamented the development of Moab (as have many of the locals) and I wasn’t sure if I could find anything that struck that chord inside of me like that land of stacked and arched rocks did when I was in my early twenties. Then we traveled through south central Utah and saw the small towns dotting the map. And, let me tell you, this is where you need to come if you want authentic southwest flavor.
Continue reading “Etta and Escalante”
With any luck we will see the salt flats and that great big salty lake in the north part of Utah in the coming weeks. But for now, here are some pretty pictures of one of the Beehive State’s hidden gems: Goblin Valley.
On the Road with Adie