Hello Everyone!
Greetings from sunny Bend, Oregon. It feels like this week has lasted considerably longer than the seven days since I last wrote. Unfortunately, I was falling into a bit of a funk in Idaho as everything seemed to still be closed for the winter. From roads and trails to campgrounds and museums, I constantly felt like it was more effort than it should have been to find things to see and do. And since it was cold out there, I struggled to get out of bed in the morning. I wouldn’t say I was depressed, just kind of bored and anxious to be out exploring, as summer is fast approaching and this may be the last summer I have off from work for a while. I want to make the absolute most of it. A little dose of Oregon was just what the doctor ordered. Oregon has been bright and sunny since I arrived over the weekend and it’s been amazing to be out on the trail, chasing waterfalls and beautiful scenery and finding things open around town. I will look forward to seeing more of northern Idaho in a few weeks, but for now it is great to be back in the Beaver State.
After finishing this post last week, I set out into the night to enjoy one last wander through downtown Boise, a city I have come to really enjoy and feel comfortable in over the last year. I stopped into Gatsby’s 1920 speakeasy, where the correct password got me buzzed in through the plain door in a dark alley. Once the door shut behind me I found myself in a small library where a bookshelf was swung inward to reveal a beautiful old wood-paneled bar. I had a nice cocktail and then moved on to Press and Pony, another prohibition era bar, where a Guinness seemed to be the best option. I wound up back at my old favorite, The Pengilly Saloon, for some live music and a nightcap to end my time in Boise for now.
Hello Everyone,
It’s been a pleasant but quiet week here in southern Idaho. I spent the early part of the week in the Magic Valley out by Twin Falls, and the latter part of the week in the Treasure Valley here in Boise. The weather started off sunny, quickly turned cold with freezing rain pelting down on me, progressed into some beautifully warm and sunny days and is finishing off cold and rainy. It is nice to be here in Boise, a comfortable and familiar city, and I’ve actually been taking it easy here the last couple of days as I needed to take a breather from the road and this is a good place to do just that. I’ve been able to catch up with a few friends, get some much-needed supplies delivered from Amazon, resupply on food and water and get ready for the road ahead. It’s been a good week on the road.
After finishing up this post last week, I set off to explore downtown Twin Falls. I’ve been to Twin Falls a few times before, but never really had any time to check it out. The downtown area was really quiet on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, and I had the streets almost all to myself. There are some great old buildings around, but mostly Twin Falls is a modern city. There’s a nice city park in the middle of town with an amazing old band shell which still apparently hosts the Twin Falls Municipal Band it was built for in the summertime, although it’s now called the Magic Valley Symphony. There’s a magical old post clock on Main Avenue, a couple of nice statues and some interesting historical signs to help understand how the city has changed over the years. I stopped for a delightful pint of porter at Koto Brewing Company and then headed out of the city center for the night.
Hello Everyone! It’s been a lovely week here in the greater Lake Tahoe region. The weather has been cold, but also clear and sunny and hard to beat for the middle of January. I’ve spent most of the week catching up with old friends and taking it slow which has been really nice. I did get out for a day on the slopes in South Lake Tahoe while I was here which was awesome and a real treat. It’s about time for me to hit the road again and head out across Nevada, but it’s been a nice break here in the mountains among friends…
Hello Everyone! It’s been a cold week out here on the road with nighttime temperatures dipping into the single digits. While I’m always prepared for the cold and have plenty of warm clothes and blankets, it’s no fun getting out of bed in the morning. Thankfully it’s also been a week of catching up with old friends and tagging along with them on their adventures so my spirits have been high all week. I started my week in Winnemucca, made my way across the top of the state on Interstate 80 and am finishing my week here in Reno, “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
Hello Everyone,
Sorry I didn’t get this post done last week, but it’s been a busy time since I got home at the beginning of the month. I wish I could say it’s been a fun kind of busy, but it has mostly been continuing to clear out my uncle’s house in Virginia and dealing with my dad’s estate (tasks my good friend, Gillian, refers to as “sadmin duties”). Last week I took a whirlwind trip to West Virginia to drop off my dad’s probate papers at the court, go to the bank, pick up some of his things that I want to get to my brother’s house next week and come back. I hit some serious snow in the mountains, but it was beautiful and didn’t slow me down too much. In other exciting news, I’ve also been to the dentist, several doctors and the Department of Motor Vehicles, all thrilling adventures for sure (but thankfully all routine, so I am counting my blessings). I have been able to spend a little bit of time with my friends, gotten together with my Monday night music group and had some good times with my family, so I’m grateful for that. I also took a nice trip to Delaware last weekend which I’ll tell you more about below.
Hello Everyone,
It’s always good to be home. Home is definitely sweeter when you come in off the road, especially when it’s cold and dark out there. December is a great month to be in Washington D.C. and I’m really looking forward to a few weeks of rest before getting back out there at the end of the month. I have plenty to do while I’m home as I need to sort out my dad’s estate, work at my uncle’s house and help my folks out with a number of things, but I’m also looking forward to holiday shows, playing music with my friends and quiet nights by the fire. I’m not going to lie, 2025 was an incredibly difficult year for me and I’m very much looking forward to putting it behind me. 2026 is going to be better. It should be a very busy year and I am looking forward to it very much, so I hope to be well rested by the time it kicks off. I did have a nice week in Eastern Oregon and Boise, though and I want to tell you all about it, so let’s jump into it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends here in the United States. I hope you get to spend the day with friends and family, good food and cheer. To those of you who will be spending the holiday alone, as I will be this year, I hope you can have a quiet and peaceful day and find a good meal somewhere. I have officially left the state of Washington and returned south to Oregon. My last few days in Southeast Washington were excellent and I was sad to see it fade away in my rearview mirror. I was there for over two months, though, and saw most of what I had hoped to see and it is wonderful to be back in The Beaver State. It’s a little bit warmer and a little bit less expensive here and I’m looking forward to this coming week here before I fly back to the east coast for the holidays. I have a lot of photos left to edit and publish from Washington and I’m looking forward to catching up on those in December and starting fresh and up to date in 2026.
It’s been a busy week out here on the road in Central and Southern Washington. I’ve traveled down some beautiful roads this week, many following winding streams and rivers, and stopped in some really cool little towns. I’ve been listening to a great radio station out here playing real oldies – like oldies that were oldies when I was a kid. I haven’t heard a lot of those songs in decades and my toes have been tapping as I cruise down the road. This is apple country and it’s cool to pass through the apple orchards and see many with fruit still on the trees, while the leaves have turned bright orange with the season. Empty apple crates dot the landscape from earlier picking. There are plenty of grapes out here too as this is Washington’s wine country. The weather hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been terrible and there have been some wild clouds in the sky overhead much of the week. The days are short, but I’ve been trying to make the most of the daylight I have as I wind up my time in Washington State.
It’s been an interesting week out here in the “Inland Empire” of Washington State. The week started out in deserted ghost towns of the far northeast of the state, took me to the big city of Spokane, led me just across the border into Idaho for a night and finally back towards the center of the state and the enormous Grand Coulee Dam. I’ve passed through a lot of ranch country this week and a handful of railroad-and-grain-elevator towns similar to those found all across the heartland of the country. I caught a lot of live music this week, ate one too many burgers and somehow managed to dodge most of the raindrops in the area. All in all, I’d say it’s been a good week.
I have made it across the mountains and into Eastern Washington and it feels like I’ve landed in another country. While the west of the state is covered in evergreens, this side has a lot more deciduous trees and they are popping with fall colors at the moment. The towns are few and far between and the landscape is more wild west than coastal. I’m liking the change of pace and scenery. Daylight Saving Time has ended and it’s getting dark before 5pm which is always a challenge, but I’m happy it is light earlier and I’m not waking up in the dark. And I turned 50 this past week which I’m actually pretty okay with. It’s hard to believe in some respects, but I feel like I’ve lived several lifetimes in the last half century which is a good way to be. It hasn’t been a super-busy week, but let’s get into what I’ve been doing since I wrote last.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for me out here. I spent all of last week in Charleston, West Virginia saying goodbye to my dad and trying my best to sort out his affairs. While he had many health problems over the last few years, his death still came as a surprise. It wasn’t something I was ready for at all. While my dad and I were not super close, I will still miss talking with him and visiting with him. I hope he is in a better place and I’m glad he is no longer suffering from any pain or discomfort. My brother flew in for a few days and we were able to spend time with Judy, my dad’s partner of 33 years, and their two Japanese chins Jake and Charlie. I was also really thankful to have a friend passing through Charleston while I was there who took me out to dinner and helped me talk through a lot of my pain. I had another friend drive out from D.C. for my dad’s memorial service which was really something. I’m very blessed to have so many good friends in this life. Since I last wrote, I also turned 50, a milestone birthday which snuck up on me with everything that was going on. I’m glad I didn’t have any exciting plans for it as they probably would have fallen through. Anyways, I am back in Washington State and I am writing to you today from Bellingham in the far north of the state. I’m still sorting out a lot of things in my head, but I wanted to write about my time leading up to my flight to WV because it will be good for me to write.
Hello Everybody! It’s hard to believe it’s October already. The leaves are definitely turning here in Washington State and the stores are filled with skeletons and pumpkins. It’s definitely starting to cool down and the days are getting noticeably shorter. This week has brought me from the heart of spectacular Olympic National Park to the state capital of Olympia with a couple of cool small towns sandwiched in between. I put in another 20 miles on the trail this week which I’m pretty proud of and finally got my views of Mount Olympus. After a couple of weeks of small towns and national park, it was nice to return to the city, although Olympia is hardly a thriving metropolis. I finished off my week with a night off the road in the classic Olympic Club hotel in Centralia. All in all, it’s been another great week on the road and I can’t wait to tell you all about it…
