Hello Everyone!
It is so nice to be back writing in this space again after entirely too long. It has actually now been a couple of years since I was keeping up with this blog on a regular basis, but that is all about to change. I am back in California, back in my van Shadow Catcher, and back on the road. To all of you who have been sticking with me for a while, thank you from the bottom of my heart. To all of you who have subscribed to this page in the last couple of years (and probably forgot that you did), welcome! I’m glad you’re here and I hope you will stick around for a while. I usually put out this newsletter on Thursdays and offer an update on the week of travel behind me and plenty of photos of the places I have been. This week will be a little different as I want to update everyone on what’s been happening in my life these last couple of years, and it’s not really a cheery topic. I promise it will be lighter from next week on. But for this week, here we go…
Let me start with a very quick recap of what’s been happening in my world. In February of 2024, I had just returned home to the United States from a nice trip to Morocco, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. I planned on stopping over in Washington D.C. for a few weeks to catch up with my family and then heading back to California and my van and travels. While I was away, my Uncle Blaine had been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer which had metastasized into his bones and spine. The same day that he got this diagnosis, he went home and fell and broke his leg. After his time in the hospital and physical therapy, my mom brought him home to her house, so I spent the next couple of months trying to get him back on his feet, both literally and figuratively. I canceled my flight to California and rescheduled it for just a couple of days before my summer tour season began.
I did work guiding tours last summer (2024) from May until October, spending some time in the Rockies, the Desert Southwest, California and Alaska. It was a tough summer from many different angles, but mostly because I knew my mom was struggling back at home even though my uncle was doing better. When my season ended in October, I headed home to help out and knew I could be there for a long time.
Beautiful San Francisco
From then on, my mom and I worked as a team to try and keep us all going. She dealt with his appointments, meds etc. and I dealt with shopping and cooking for us all and watching his diet and nutrition. We both worked with him every day from early morning until late at night. He fought and he tried but it was all just so far along when he was diagnosed. It was always an uphill battle.
In February, my mom and I went out to take care of a few things at his house in Catlett, Virginia - about an hour and fifteen minutes away (with no traffic). We had been there two weeks before, but when we arrived we found several of his radiator pipes had burst in the recent cold weather and half of his house (and the whole basement) was soaked. I would spend the next six months dealing with his house, driving back and forth sometimes every day, and still trying to take care of all of my responsibilities with him back at home. I was beyond exhausted and really suffered with tremendous bouts of depression, as I’m sure you can imagine. It was like working two full-time jobs but with no days off and no paycheck.
My uncle passed away in April when he just couldn’t fight any more. It was not surprising, but still heartbreaking and I’m sorry he didn’t have an easier end to his life. I didn’t know him particularly well and usually only spoke with him once or twice a year. I was glad I got to spend some time with him in the end and really glad to have heard a lot of wonderful stories about him since he passed. By all accounts he was a kind and decent person who always went out of his way to help others.
Sadly, even though we were grieving, there were still months of work left to be done on his house and at that point my mother joined me in that endeavor. It was not easy as he had a tremendous amount of stuff in his house to go through and sort. But we did get a little bit of breathing room and were able to go out to dinner now and then or stop afterwards for a beer. We could slowly begin to heal.
Tragically over the next two months I would lose my Aunt Nancy on my dad’s side, my cousin Meghan and a family friend who I had known my whole life. My dad started having health issues which needed my help so I made a couple of trips to West Virginia and back. My stepfather’s sister was also in the hospital so he and my mom went to spend time with her in New Jersey. It was quite a time.
Thankfully, through it all, my closest friends were there to help out and support me, for which I will be forever grateful. They let me sit in with their band every week and I played my fiddle (badly) to a lot of rock and roll hits. Some weeks this was the only thing I had to look forward to, and it was always healing to be connecting with my best friends through music. I got to see a whole season of CYO basketball as my little buddy, Mason, who I helped care for during the pandemic, took to the court (he’s seven now!). Nick, the young man who I tutored during the pandemic, was a senior in high school this year and I got to watch him play varsity lacrosse and also went to his graduation in May. I got to watch my other friends’ daughter, Isabelle, also graduate from high school this year. My littlest friend, Zsofi, is five this year and sassy. I could go to the occasional party with my friends and even dated a lady for few months. I was also thrilled to have my photos featured in several local galleries, as well as going into a couple of National Geographic books and other publications. There were definitely some brighter days intermixed with the dark ones, and in June I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
At some point it was time for me to set a departure date, and the last weekend in July turned out to be the one. This would theoretically allow me to have a couple of days on my own to relax in San Francisco and then be able to drive, push or tow my van out of storage before paying for another month on the first of August. After sitting for almost an entire year and most of the year before that, I honestly didn’t know what I would find parked out there in California.
Looking Forward to Washington and Oregon!
I am happy to report that everything has worked out really well on the west coast so far. I did, in fact, enjoy a few quiet days on my own in San Francisco. I had a couple too many beers, saw some live music, caught up with a few friends, hit my favorite restaurants and slept and slept and slept some more. When I made it out to my van on the 30th, I reconnected the battery, topped up the fluids and hopped into the driver’s seat. She started on the first turn of the key and I drove out of the storage lot for the last time that afternoon. I am pleased to say that she’s been running strong and we’ve had no problems arise in the last few days (or no new ones at least). Driving up the coast with the Pacific Ocean on my left, the music loud and the wind in my hair, I couldn’t be happier.
So what lies ahead at this point? I am headed north along the coast all the way to Washington State. I’m not in a rush and hope to spend some time reading at the beach, hiking in the redwoods and exploring little towns along the way. I plan to watch the sun set into the ocean as often as I can and I will definitely be taking some photos. along the way. If all goes well I will get out to do some nice multi-day hikes in Olympic National Park, visit the San Juan Islands and climb some peaks in the North Cascades. From there I will cruise around Washington and Oregon for the rest of the fall and then see where the winter takes me - probably south into Utah and Nevada. I have every intention of restarting this blog fully and keeping up with my social media as well (Instagram: @miles2gobeforeisleep), so definitely expect my newsletter in your inbox most Thursday mornings. Also expect photos of mountains and beaches and glaciers and small-town America at its best. I have no real intention of guiding next summer, so hopefully the next 20 months or so will just be me, my van, you guys and the open road.
It is so very, very good to be back on the road. I hope you guys are as excited for the road ahead as I am. No more sad stories. The road goes on forever and the party never ends. Until next week then, my friends. Keep well out there.
-Mike