United States - The Big Meander

Go east young woman ~ Central Texas awaits – San Antonio lies due east and a world away from Big Bend National Park. Driving towards the sunrise, the Chihuahuan Desert gradually gives way to farm country and the hill country of central Texas. Small towns turn into larger communities and eventually the urban centers of San Antonio and Austin sprawl outward with the ubiquitous […]
Week #48 ~ Recap – 1,232 driving miles, 1,058 flight miles, two flights, 18 relatives, 2 family friends, 1 metro ride, 1 graduation party, 1 friend moving to the coast, 3 states, $948 OVER budget. We have missed our people and this week was full of reconnecting, telling stories, and hanging out at the tables of relatives and friends. We […]
Week #47 ~ Recap – 1322 driving miles, 2 great cities, 12 oysters, 1 national park, 3 roadrunners, 1 javelina, 1 UNESCO World Heritage site, 2 states, 2 hours waiting in line for amazing barbecue, $73.15 OVER budget. What do you do in your next to last travel week of the Big Meander? That is all. Next week; Kansas, a […]
Big Bend and West Texas Weird – This week our Meander wandered into the Big Bend area of West Texas and one of the most uniquely weird small towns in America ~ Marfa Texas. Marfa is pretty heavy on the art galleries, nice restaurants, and relatively expensive hotel rooms for a place in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by scenic sagebrush, […]
New Mexico ~ as above so below – The natural beauty of New Mexico has been immortalized by more than one painter over the years. The small details of a flower, the flowing lines and contrasting colors of a mesa, the contrast of a woman’s woven blanket against an adobe wall all conjure up the feeling of New Mexico and Santa Fe in […]
Week #46 ~ Recap – 783 miles, 2 states, 1 weekend catch up with dear friends, 2 national parks, 1 museum, 1 National Historic Site, $811 OVER budget. Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Marfa…..in a weird way you could say it was the triad of artistic experiences. Santa Fe is well known for the high desert clarity of light, rich browns and […]
Week #45 ~ Recap – 867 miles driving, 3 states, 3 National Parks, 2 hotel rooms, 2 campsites, 3 nights of freezing temperatures, 1 museum, $19.50 under budget. As our friend Susan says, “Geological time includes now”, and this week we got to experience the slow tick of geologic time by witnessing some of the most beautiful results of those […]
Hoodoo the Voodoo that You do? – I’ve lived in Colorado since 1989. I’ve been to Canyonlands National Park, I’ve floated the Green River through Stillwater and Labyrinth Canyons more than once. I’ve been to Moab a number of times and would have been surprised if Utah canyon country had anything more to show me. My ignorance was corrected this week through […]
The Grand Canyon – The grandeur and scale of the Grand Canyon is unmatched by anything we’ve seen, which made it a fitting end to our “Red Rock Canyon National Parks Tour”. Two nights camping with temps in the upper 30s at night and low 60 during the day made the quest to take in every stunning view we […]
Week #44 ~ Recap – 2,389 miles, 1 day at sea on the boat, 1 flight, 1 surprise birthday dinner, 2 national parks, 2 states, 1 official circumnavigation of the globe, 3 nights hosted by amazing and generous friends, $564 over budget. Whew! That’s a big week ~ even for us. We were glad to get off the boat and […]
Week #30 ~ Recap – 11,241 miles, 3 airplanes, 1 8-hour layover, 1 tourist “mini-bus”, 3 Thai cities, 2 night markets, 5 temples, 1 elephant sanctuary, 1 cooking class, 1 guided bike tour, and 2 Thai massages: $653.19 OVER budget due to cost of flights and lodging in Bangkok. As you might imagine, Southeast Asia is really far from Denver, […]
Week #29 ~ Recap – 282 miles driven, connected with approximately 20 more friends/family exchanged approximately 80 more hugs over coffee, drinks, dinner and brunch, 1 random coffee shop sighting, 1 more lovely stay with generous hostesses and an average of 2 coffees per day for both of us and 3 days of subzero temperatures! The budget will remain a […]
Week #28 ~ Recap – 244 miles driven, approximately 80 hugs exchanged around 10 tables, 1 church service and 1 Safonia rehearsal, 1 vet appointment with 2 cats and 2 amazing hosts who let us crash at their homes while we were gallivanting around the Denver area. We didn’t track daily budgets while visiting friends and family, so nothing to […]
Week #27 ~ Recap – 1,543 miles driven, 1,314 miles flown, 10 states driven through, 3 hotels, 1 New Years Eve visit with a dear friend in Kansas City on the way to 1 family wedding in Wichita, 3 of Marla’s 5 siblings, 2 flights, 1 major surgery for a family member, 3 days of extra quality time with 1 […]
Weeks # 25 & 26 ~ Recap – 6 rides on the Metro, 3 days spent decorating for Christmas, 2 nights meeting Virginia cousins for dinner/drinks, 1 lunch with Maryland cousins, 1 concert featuring amazing music performed by a dear friend, 1 amazing museum, 1 fabulous dinner with local friends cooked by Erin McDermott, 1 Christmas Eve service, 2 hikes in nature, 18 […]
Week #11 ~ Recap – 4,055 miles, 1 state, 2 countries, 1 TransAtlantic flight, 2 old friends, 11 family members, and $728.26 OVER budget. Notice a trend? Major budget diversions include about ~$500 in lodging reservations and $712 in travel insurance for Western Europe. Two items that are not included in this overspend are new tires for the car […]
Virginia is for loved ones – After we drove 10,997 miles in the United States and Canada over the last 10 weeks, Marla and I were more than ready to park ourselves in a single location for 7 days. My Mom and Dad generously opened their home to us this for meals, laundry, storage, family gatherings, conversations, and problem-solving. I […]
Week 10 ~ Recap – 1,048 miles, 2 states, 2 old friends, 2 locks on the Erie Canal, 2 parents, 1 cousin, 1 final North American destination, $261.20 OVER budget. We started the week in Maine, trekked across New York then bombed south for a long driving day to our final NoAm (trademark pending) destination with Erin’s parents in Reston […]
New York, the Erie Canal and being present. – We come toward the end of our time here in North America and we find ourselves looking forward; forward to Italy, forward to Spain, forward to Oktoberfest. We are definitely being challenged to PAY ATTENTION to the cool experiences and unique history of the region we have travelled through this last week. One of those […]
The rain in Maine…. – …….goes pitter patter on the rain fly of your tent while you try valiantly not to need to get up into said rain to go to the bathroom. (Apologies to Eliza Doolittle) From the wild Pacific Coast of Oregon to the beautiful stoney Atlantic coast in Maine, this was the week our epic road trip […]
Week #9 ~ Recap – 1106 miles, 2 countries, 2 provinces, 1 state, 1 national park, 12.3 miles on the bike, and 3 lobsters consumed. OVER $599.72. Week 9 was the week we blew up our budget. Oops! It wasn’t total irresponsibility—although I would be lying if I didn’t admit some of it was. It was also the time […]
Early morning hours – It’s the early morning hours when I miss home the most. I wake up for what seems like the fourth or fifth time because I’m hot again or my back aches from another strange bed. What I miss is not necessarily my own physical bed—that mattress certainly had it’s own issues—but the familiarity of my […]
Week # 8 ~ Recap – 678 miles, 10 family members, 6 more oysters, 2 great lakes, 2 major cities, 2 states, 2 countries, 1 Province, 1 BIRTHDAY, 1 state park, 1 more city that hosted a Winter Olympics, and we were $321 UNDER budget. How do you fall in love with the week you just had ~ some of which […]
City of Big shoulders, Windy City, 2nd City, Chi-town…. whatever you wanna call it, it’s a fabulous place to visit! – When we talk about this trip folks say things like “You HAVE to go to…”, or “I loved……. and you don’t want to miss it!” and other proclamations about places to travel. We diligently write them down knowing that everyone can’t love the same place, so maybe we’ll like it but maybe we won’t necessarily […]
Oh give me a home….or….the road as therapist…. – When you’re travelling like we are you have a lot of time to think. Time that would otherwise be spent on chores at home or socializing or preparing for rehearsal or working or just avoiding your every day anxieties in general. Who could have predicted that I would be a total crankster when I get […]
Week #7 ~ Recap – 1728 miles (no, that is not a typo). 5 states, 2 air b&bs, 1 friend and her sister, 1 National Park, 1 state park, 40+ shooting stars, 1 bar with karaoke, currently $380 over budget for the month. Driving, driving, driving, driving…..and more driving. Getting across the plains from Montana to Chicago is far but […]
In Search of Big Skies – Montana is the first place I had ever heard the term “Big Sky”. Growing up on the East Coast, the horizon was usually blocked by so many trees, it never occurred to me to consider it as anything more than a strip above the tree tops. When I moved to Denver, Colorado over 20 years […]
Week #6 ~ Recap – 650 miles, 3 states, 2 days with old friends in Spokane, 2 days with Erin’s cousin in Missoula and 1 state park, $389.66 UNDER budget. I don’t know if you can tell, but our mileage total was a little lower this week. After spending so many nights in Banff we realised a slower pace for […]
Summer Fruit and Miss Oolala – Days 36 – 41 This past week we got to visit dear friends Cathy and Lizzy Beachland and their adorable boys Fynn (a.k.a. Fynnlandia) and Camryn (a.k.a. Camzilla, Camburger, and O Camada) at their home in Spokane. The Beachlands took us out to dinner and to Green Bluff where we picked peaches and nectarines and […]
Packing pains – I’m pretty sure Marla and I are not divergent in our views on packing. She is 100% accurate that not a day passes where both of us realize at some point that the one thing that we need is definitely packed at the bottom of a box on the bottom of boxes. That alone is […]
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…… – Find the one thing you brought along that would be perfect in this situation and is now somewhere in your car. To accomplish said mission you may or may not have to unpack the entire car. In the car there are 8 small 12X18X8 (L/W/H) boxes with lids, 2 36X6X18 boxes with lids, 2 30X8X30 […]
Credit where credit is due – On a WordPress blog, if you don’t have a site logo, there is an awkward blank spot in the upper left-hand corner when you go to share a page. I did not realize this until I launched the site. Our friend Monica noticed this and offered to create one for us. I think she did […]
Week #4 Recap ~ – 864 total miles. 2 countries, 1 state, 1 Province, 1 car ferry, 1 National Park, 2 old friends, 1 major city, ½ dozen oysters all eaten by Erin, currently over budget for the week by….$109. 864 miles ~ Olympic National Park to Vancouver on our way to Banff National Park. What a place Olympic National […]
Pop the bubbles – I love the sentiment of this hop scotch course. It was very involved and had several different steps along the way that were very different from a “normal” hop scotch: “pop the bubbles”, “shoot the moon”, and a couple of others I can’t remember now. Unfortunately, I thought of taking a picture of it too […]
Week #3 Recap ~ – 915 total miles. 2 states, 1 National Park, 1 National Forest, 1 State Park, 1 Lighthouse, 1 old friend, 1 major city, 1 ocean, ½ dozen oysters all eaten by Erin, currently $71 under budget. This week was full of more amazing scenery than you could shake a stick at! The Pacific Northwest (PNW) is […]
When the toothless gas station attendant talks, listen. – A surprising discovery about Oregon is that they have full service gas stations. For those young whipper-snappers that haven’t experienced this, a full service gas station is a gas station with an attendant who pumps your gas and cleans your windshield and even checks your oil. It took Marla and I two different gas stations […]
Tree hugging and old friends – Redwoods are enormous–there’s no denying that. The Giant Sequoia is the biggest by volume, but the Redwood is the world’s tallest tree by height. The Redwood National Parks are managed by both the National Park Service and California State Parks. Marla and I ventured into a grove off of Howland Hill Road in Jedidiah Smith […]
Random Q & A that I’ve had with myself recently; – Am I doing this right? I sometimes wonder if the way we are doing this trip the way we should be doing it?! What are we missing if we don’t go all out every day? Did we miss the one MUST SEE thing that is back in the grove of redwoods we passed by because […]
Week #2 – Recap – Week 2 was full of….California. 796 Total miles, 1 National Park, 1 National Forest, 1 HipCamp campsite one massive state. We are approximately $650 under budget this week. California…..we drove for what seemed a very long time and still only drove through about ½ of the state. We spent three nights in Yosemite, which is it’s […]
Big waterfalls, big trees, big rocks – Day 10 – 13: Yosemite National Park The scale of nature in Yosemite National Park is simply off the charts. Everything seems huge: giant rocks formed by glaciers, massive waterfalls that pour over them, and 300 foot giant sequoias that climb high into the sky. We spent 3 days in Yosemite National Park. One full […]
Wherever is Your Heart, I Call Home – “Wherever is your heart, I call home… Though your feet may take you far from me, I know… Wherever is your heart, I call home.” — Brandi Carlisle, “Wherever is your heart, I call home” Funny how when you move all your stuff out of your home, it becomes just a house. You don’t lose […]
4th of July and Great Basin National Park – Day 3 – 5: Salt Lake City, UT, and Great Basin National Park Fourth of July is a very big family celebration in Marla’s family. In the 22 years we’ve been together, I would say at least 10 of them have been spent Marla’s sister Kay’s hanging with family and blowing things up. Kay has […]
Week #1 – Recap – Week #1 ~ 3 States, 1 National Park, 1 Recreation Area, 1 major holiday, 1,180 miles currently $350 under our budget of $250/day. This has been a shakedown week, a meltdown week and a decompression week all rolled into one. Shakedown ~ some of our gear worked just as intended, some of it didn’t….and Marla’s […]
Get Out the Map – Day 1 – 3: Flaming Gorge, Utah The Indigo Girls’ “Get Out the Map” was the first song to play on the 7.5 hour custom curated playlist from one of our best friends. Finessa is very specific about her playlists: the songs are thoughtfully aggregated and ordered to convey specific emotions or a story line. […]
Leap and the net will appear – At our last Safonia concert, everyone was encouraged to write cards to Marla and I to wish us well and send us on our way. One of the cards had this zen saying on the front (thank you, TL) which I think captures exactly what this crazy year of travel will be. It’s a lot […]
I-Bought-Ah – I had the privilege of working at Ibotta for the last 4 years. When I was looking for a new company I found Ibotta on the Built In Colorado website, a site that features mostly Denver and Boulder-area start-ups. One of the nice features of that website is that they list the perks and benefits […]
Shot day – For those Hamilton fans out there, you’re welcome for the ear worm. This morning Marla and I got the majority of our vaccines for the trip and that song has been running through my head all day. About a month ago we went to Passport Health for a consult on what vaccines we would need […]
The house is empty and I hate it already – The plan changed with our cats. Our friend Deb and her partner Ken said they would take both Johann and Sebastian so that they wouldn’t have to be separated. We accepted their offer. We are incredibly grateful to Jeanne who was making space in her life to take on Johann, but we felt that with […]
Safonia – 28 days until departure. Choral singing is, by its very nature, an ephemeral act. There must be trillions of songs sung every day by the birds, by parents rocking their children to sleep, by professionals and amatures alike. Singing is a miracle. Think about it ~ you breath in, unconsciously and magically make subtle changes […]
Johann & Sebastian………. the cats – Many of you have asked us what we are going to “do” with the cats? Johann and Sebastian came to our house as tiny kittens 19 years ago in March. At the time we had a cat named Bug ~ so it was Johann Sebastian Bug……..we are music nerds that way. They have grown up […]
Prepare, plan, package – 6/15 ~ the countdown stands at 15 days…..ack! We’ve been preparing for this trip for what seems forever but started on “the plan” to package everything up January 1st of this year. We worked on the guest bedroom for what seemed like a month….yes, it took a long time because like many people our guest […]
You wanna go where? For how long?! Okay…… – We started thinking about long-term travel one cold winter afternoon, or maybe one hot July evening sitting with a bottle of wine on the front porch or…….maybe that one time when we went to breakfast at Javier & C’s (now just Javier’s)? Truthfully, we think we started by talking about taking the summer off…which then […]