When we pulled into Interior, South Dakota, we were stopped by a parade. Most places put their horses at the end of the parade. Here, they led it. A circle of trailers signaled the rodeo grounds and we found our spot in the bleachers next to a fella I’ll just call Fella. Apparently my denim…
We drove 672 miles to watch a movie. And it was a rerun. I’m not sure when I first learned that the KOA campground (or is it Kampground?) outside Devil’s Tower, Wyoming has nightly outdoor screenings of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But ever since, I’ve known that I would sit in the audience….
Sometimes when I start a trip I just want to get there. I want to pack food, dehydrate the children for a day to avoid the bathroom breaks, and just roll. The more time I can preserve for the final destination, the better. Other times, I prefer a lazy stroll. Leaving Laura’s Homestead, we were…
When Pa Ingalls made the journey from Walnut Grove, Minnesota to his homestead near what is now De Smet, South Dakota, it took him more than a week by horse and wagon. Friday evening we made the same trip in two hours. Back in his day, the settled lands had been hunted out. There was…
In my mind, the final days before a trip are filled with hours of relaxation and joy. Coffee with friends, reviewing and fine tuning the itinerary, and maybe picking up the perfect pair of Tevas for the trail. In my mind, the road trip has already begun and the physical presence of my home is…
Slow down. Stop. Get out of the car. Two decades as a travel photographer and I still have the same knot in my stomach every time I approach a new location. “Crap,” says the voice in my head. “I don’t see anything here. How’s this gonna work?” At 70 mph, it’s hard to see the…
Men don’t stop to ask for directions. It’s an old stereotype with no basis in reality. Or is it? I have been known to drive long distances with my eye on the gas gauge, my directional certitude diminishing by the mile and my carefully planned itinerary thrown to the wind. I remember my dad hurtling…
Travel is about exploring new places…the thrill of navigating unfamiliar cities or watching the sunrise over a range of mountains for the first time. Drive the same road often enough and it becomes routine. You lose sight of what’s special. I once met a man who complained he was late to work because a herd…
If you are like me, the time between trips is just the price you have to pay for travel. It’s the waiting room for the next journey. So to make the waiting more bearable, I’ve instituted a three-for-one strategy. Plan, Travel, Reminisce. I get almost as much joy from planning a trip as I do…
It seemed like a good idea when I booked it. The fifth-floor flat on Rue Saint Merri looked out over the rooftops of Paris, just north of Notre Dame. There was no lift, but we Noltners travel light and we are hardy. Well. Often we are hardy. But on this day, we were tired from…
WideEyedRambler 