Author Archives: George Berry

LOTS of driving again today! From Des Moines, I continued westward, again, with no real plan other than seeing how far I could get. Turns out that was Spearfish, a lovely little town where I posted up at days end.

Finally did some proper podcast listening on the drive, still amazed that it took this long. But after a few hours of peaceful thinking and driving, I decided I needed a monologue other than my internal one for a little while. Night Vale still makes me laugh! I was a little worried I wouldn’t like it as much on a repeat listen, but it still gets me, was delighted to discover that.

As far as sights along the way, I made the excellent decision to detour through the Badlands National Park on my way, what an incredible drive! Made lots of stops and short little walks along the way. Almost walked right into a rabbit that I didn’t see until I was right on top of it, curiously nonplused by my presence! I usually weave photos into the little sections of writing here, but I think I’ll just dump them at the end of the post today. Seriously, what a cool place!

Oh, as a final note, all along the drive today, I was seeing signs for Wall Drug. And when I say all along the drive, I mean it. No hyperbole here, I don’t think there was ANY stretch of road after the first sign (Wall Drug, 150 miles!) where there wasn’t a sign advertising the distance, and the attractions to find there. Seriously, I’ve never seen more signs for a location than that, I started counting about halfway through, and gave up after about 200! Hah, anyway, random note, but it was a fun, curious thing. Badlands detoured me away from actually seeing it, so I fear it may live in my brain as a great mystery.

Not much further now! Especially with the time I’ve been making these last few days! Booked a campsite in the Grand Tetons next, and I’ll be writing about that shortly!

Not sure how I managed to fit as much into this day as I did, but it turned out to be quite a good one! I hadn’t yet seen any of the Great Lakes, so my first stop was the Indiana Sand Dunes, which runs right along the southern edge of Lake Michigan. The park itself is really neat, and has lots of different things to do, a real recreation hub for the area it seems like. For myself, I mostly stuck to the west beach area, after asking one of the rangers for advice. Really helpful folks! It turned out to be a good call, I took a really cool looping trail down to the beach.

Worked up quite a sweat by the time I made it to the beach, and so was quite happy I’d worn my swim trunks out. The water was a bit chilly, but nowhere near as bad as I had feared. The lack of salt in the water kept tripping me up, my brain had a hard time accepting that this wasn’t the ocean! It definitely felt different though, and not just due to its non-saline nature, something about the waves and then horizon felt different, but it’s hard to put my finger on exactly what. Still pretty incredible though, and swimming always tends to rejuvenate me.

There’s a very nice shower and changing facility with a little cafe right by the water, so after drying off and grabbing a snack, I hit the road! Well, for about twenty minutes that is. A ways back (cough, a thousand or so miles, cough), I’d noticed the car had hit its due for an oil change, and after looking at how many miles were left between me and home, I decided it was probably unwise to let it go that far without a change. It’s been very good to me on this trip, least I can be is try to take care of it. Got lucky with a little place in Gary (wonderful name for a town), where they were able to fit me in. Had a nice talk with a long haul trucker named Desmond while I waited, very cool guy, we swapped recent driving stories.

With the car and myself properly refreshed, I hit the road with no real plan other than westward. Made it to Des Moines before I decided to call it quits for the night. For the last few hours, I was driving straight into one of the more spectacular sunsets I’ve seen on this trip. Right at the peak of its color, I came over a hill to a field of wind turbines. The sight of them spinning, black against the red sky, was hauntingly beautiful, and I’ve thought of that image fairly frequently since. I took a picture, but as expected, it really didn’t capture the full effect. An unexpected sight, but I’m fairly sure it’s one that will stick with me. Definitely left an impression.

Fell asleep pretty quickly that night, swimming and driving will take a lot out of you! Had another long day of driving ahead of me as well, thought about combining them into one post, but I think I’ve mostly settled on a day by day approach to this, until then!

Kicked off the first leg of my return with a nice easy day. I was headed toward Ann Arbor for the the day, but first I made a stop at Cuyahoga Valley. The road to the falls was undergoing renovations, but I enjoyed stretching my legs a bit, and checking out the visitors center that occupies the old historic mill.

Could have stayed longer, but I was pretty excited to see Ann Arbor, it’s a town I’ve wanted to see for a while, and it didn’t disappoint! Lots of bookstores, most of which were closed for the holiday, but there were a few people selling books out of boxes on the sidewalk. Definite college town vibes, but lots of neat old buildings as well, tons of brick, and a few historic buildings scattered about. Wandered around town for a while, working up an appetite.

Once I was properly hungry, I went back to a place I’d noticed on my walk, and ordered one of my favorite meals. Gotta say, it was some of the best food I’ve had on this trip, right up there with the gumbo in Memphis, and that sandwich in Cambria. I’ve always had a soft spot for good, proper ramen though, and this was maybe the second best I’ve ever had. Definitely helped that I was pretty hungry by this point!

All in all, a very lovely way to kick off my return trip. I’m glad I took it pretty easy today, because the next few days were long ones. Just off the tail of one now! But I’ll save that for next time. Till then!

200 miles. As best as I can tell, that’s how close I came to the Atlantic Ocean. Sitting down to dinner in Roanoke, I thought long and hard about those last 200 miles, looking east as if I could see it. If I wanted an excuse, I could say that the roads were still packed with Memorial Day tourists, which they were, or that I wanted to save the east coast for its own proper trip someday, which I do. But really, after a long bit of soul searching, the truth was that it would have added another day or two to my trip, and I was ready to head home. I wondered if I’d regret the decision, and granted it’s only been a few days since then, but I’m happy with the call I made. It was something of a moment for me as well, I lack the words right now to describe what exactly I mean, but I think I’ll remember that decision for a long while to come. Like finally getting the first bit of slack in a knot you’ve been worrying at for some time.

Anyway! I didn’t just turn back the way I’d come of course, some of you might be familiar with my fondness for circles. After Roanoke, I made my way north through Shenandoah, along Skyline Drive, which runs right through the middle. Another beautiful park, but really, I can’t say there are any I’ve visited this trip that HAVEN’T been.

Took a short hike or two along the way, but mostly just passed through. It was a lovely drive though, and once again, while the roads outside the park were pretty packed, the park itself was fairly sparse, so I was able to take my time winding along the road.

Ended up just outside of Pittsburgh for the evening, and since I’d mostly been traveling north that day, I looked one last time to the east, said my goodbyes, and officially turned toward home. There was, and still is, lots that I wanted to see on the way back, but it felt good to know that each mile from this point on would bring me closer to home. It’s the longest I’ve ever been away by far, and while I’ve handled it better than I feared I might, I didn’t realize quite how much I’d been missing it until then.

“True voyage is return” – Ursula Le Guin

Lots more driving today! Had planned to stop in Nashville for breakfast at least, but the city was quite overrun, and after driving around for a while, I decided to stop at a little diner just outside of the city instead. Against all odds, I’d been able to book a campsite in the Park the night before, and as I got closer I realized exactly how lucky I had been. Traffic slowed to a stop just after Knoxville area, and it finally dawned on me that it was the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Seemed like the entire country was on that road with me!

I’d punched in Gatlinburg as my destination, thinking I’d stop there for lunch, since it was so close to the park entrance, but my gps claimed it would take 7 hours to get there from where I was, but after removing that stop, and routing around the town, it recalculated to 17 minutes! Strangely enough, it seems it’s Gatlinburg, and the Dollywood theme park, which is the true crowd drawer, as the Great Smokies actually wasn’t that bad! Beautiful place as well, I was staying on the east end of it, and the drive through was delightful.

Lots of wildlife to see as well, tons of what I assume were turkeys all along the side of the road, and after rolling down my windows, I was treated to lovely birdsong for the rest of the drive. Also made a stop so that I could say I had technically set foot on this:

Finally made it to my campsite, Smokemont, just as the sun was starting to go down, but luckily I’ve gotten pretty quick at setting up camp, so after tending to that, I went for my final, and favorite, hike off the day. No fireflies sadly, but it was still gorgeous.

Slept quite well that night, and on the way out in the morning, I got treated to one last wildlife viewing. Some elk were munching on grass and leaves, and all the cars passing pulled over to let them pass, and to take pictures of course! Took it as a good sign for the day, and so I was off to Shenandoah!

Driving in Tennessee : 👎

Well, I’ve certainly fallen behind again! As you may be able to tell from my current location, this happened… geeze, I guess it’s only been a few days really, but it feels much longer than that.

In any case, sad as I was to leave Hot Springs behind, I was excited to see Memphis. It was a Thursday, so I wasn’t expecting there to be a lot going on, but boy was I wrong! Seems like every block I went down had live music of some sort. I spent a good portion of the morning walking down Beale Street, stopped in to listen to a band playing a mix of covers and originals in this little covered outdoor venue sandwiched between two buildings. If this is what a random Thursday has to offer, I would LOVE to come back here on a weekend someday, and spend the whole time just listening to music. Lots of blues as you might expect, and a healthy mix of rock as well. Stopped in for lunch at what turned out to be a place famous for their gumbo, and I can see why! Some of the best food I’ve had on this trip for sure, I was sad I didn’t have room for more!

Properly fed, I continued strolling around, and after a quick check of the map, discovered I was pretty close to the Civil Rights Museum. I didn’t stay long but it was definitely an experience, it’s built right alongside the Lorraine Motel, where a permanent memorial still stands. There have been a few places on this trip where I felt compelled not to take pictures, and this was one of them. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but places, more than things, have always been capable of affecting me pretty strongly.

Thought that was going to be the last stop in town for me, but as I was leaving, I passed the Sun Studios, which rang a bell that got clearer as pulled over and made my way inside. Birthplace of Rock n Roll as some would say. Cool place, they do tours, but I settled on looking around and getting coffee (good coffee too! Didn’t expect that from a tourist spot).

I’m glad I had such a good first half of the day, it helped give me the mental energy to carry me through what was probably the worst part of the trip so far. I REALLY don’t want to complain on this blog, and I’ve been having such a grand time, that doing so feels almost petty, but some of the worst road experiences I’ve had in my life were on the stretch between Memphis and Nashville. The worst was getting literally pushed off the road by a Semi truck. Pulled up alongside me and pulled right into me, tapped my mirror while I was laying on the horn, but kept coming, so I ended up in the grass alongside the road, hyperventilating and a little shaken. Gave myself a good twenty minutes to collect myself and check the car, which was luckily alright, but it definitely spooked me. I was alright though, all told, it could have been much worse, so pressed on. A few more close shaves occurred, but I really would rather not dwell on this stuff, as part of the reason for this trip is to get over some of the fear of driving I’ve built up over the last year.

Pulled into my motel on the edge of Nashville, and was greeted by possibly the best balm for my shaken spirits that I could ask for:

The little one came right up to me when I stooped down to say hello. Warmed my heart right up! Got me missing my own cat, I hope she’s doing okay.

And that about covers it! Might try another post soon to catch up a bit closer to the present. And for anyone worried about my driving experience, I’m alright, it was scary, but that’s about the worst of it, and like I said, so many good things and good luck, that I can’t complain!

Hot Springs! Let me repeat… Hot Springs! Can hardly begin to describe how much I loved this place. Didn’t realize until I got there that it’s both a National Park AND a town, but both are incredible! Pulled into Bathhouse Row early in the day, and after a brief stop in the visitors center to add to my growing collection of maps, I hit the trails. The Grand Promenade runs along the entire back of the row, and it’s a lovely way to start a stroll, lots of historic buildings and private little corners.

Eventually, I decided on a trail, and began the hike up to the top. None of the trails are very long, a few miles each, but they loop and intersect with each other in quite the neat little maze, and along most of the paths, little canals have been dug / paved to allow the water to flow down along the path. Even though it was a relatively short hike to the top, I sweat more in the first five minutes than at any point on this trip. The most humid place I’ve ever been to by far! The hot water seeps into the air, making it feel like you’re swimming as much as walking. Despite all that, I had a huge smile on my face the whole time. The birdsong was constant and lovely, and I even saw a deer right by the trail!

Would have been happy enough with the view from the top of the hill, but when I got there, I discovered a way to get an even better view, and to escape the soupy air for a while:

The view from the top was incredible, and the humidity was palpably lessened. You can see all of Hot Springs and the surrounding area. And I had the whole deck to myself as well!

Didn’t want to leave, but eventually I made my way back down. The elevator plays an interesting little audio log during the ride. I guess the water from the springs comes from the rain that falls on the hill, after taking a 4000 year journey through the earth! And I thought I was taking a meandering journey!

The trip back down was just as pretty as the way up. I know I’m loading this post with pictures, but it really was incredible, I can’t seem to help myself!

Worked up quite the appetite by the time I made it back to town, so I wandered around until I found an awesome looking spot for dinner.

Some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. If you’re ever here, I highly recommend the Cosmic Charlie. While I was eating, a huge clap of thunder shook the building, enough for the windows to rattle, and the next moment, it was dumping rain harder than I’ve ever seen even back home in Oregon! Luckily I was parked pretty close, so I made a dash for it, and headed back to the inn I was spending the night at.

I had a campsite booked for the next day, but as I looked out the window that night, I started to get a little concerned, it looked fit to flood out there! By the morning the storm had passed, and it turned out to be a lovely and sunny day, but when I swung by the campsite to check it out, a ranger was stationed at the entrance, letting folks know that conditions weren’t the greatest. I hadn’t slept in my car yet this trip, so I decided to give it a go for the night, more comfortable than I thought it might be, but I’m glad this is the only time I’ve had to do so. But I’m getting ahead of myself, that came later, for the day, I headed back into town, and spent the morning wandering around the town portion of the area, loved it almost as much as the park! Tons of neat old buildings and shops.

Met this amazing little dog called Dixie, who was shuffling along the sidewalk, before stopping and scratching at the door of this little cupcake shop that advertised cupcakes for dogs. One of the workers came out and greeted the dog like an old friend, before giving her a cupcake and wishing her well. Needless to say, I was completely charmed. Sounds like she comes by fairly often for her daily treat before walking home.

After a lovely brunch at the Pancake shop, I went over to a spot my waitress recommended, Cedar Glades Park, and wandered up to this cool old treehouse in the middle of the woods.

Next up was the Mid-America Science Museum, which I stopped at on a whim. Really cool and interactive exhibits, reminds me of Omsi in a lot of ways.

Could easily fill another post with things from the museum, but I’m running long enough as it is! To cap the day, I took a soak in one of the bathhouses back in town, but the power went out while I was in! Still pretty cool, and honestly just made it more memorable.

Whew! Did you make it to the end? I almost didn’t, quite the couple of days! Slept in my car in the campsite parking space that night, as I mentioned, but I was tired and relaxed enough not to mind. I promise the next post will be a much more reasonable length!

I’ve been mostly meandering on this trip so far, cruising short distances, even if the time it takes is significant. But for the next few days, driving was the name of the game. First from Alamosa to Santa Rosa (with a stop in Santa Fe), then onto Oklahoma City, and finally to Little Rock, where I went back to more of a moseying pace, but more on that later.

Santa Rosa was pretty neat, mostly because of Blue Hole. It’s this really neat swimming spot that’s only about 50 feet across, if that, but over 80 feet deep! Lots of spots to jump in and dive as well. While I was swimming, a diver surfaced in full scuba gear. Didn’t even know they were down there!

Heard some locals (I assume) talking about how frigid the water was today, but maybe I’m just used to the water in Oregon, because I found it quite pleasant, and I’m usually not one to stand the cold water!

My plan for the next day was to follow Route 66 when I could, it overlaps with I-40 a good bit, but there are signs for the exit when it diverges, usually to pass through the small towns that must once have been quite busy. Nowadays though… well, it’s kinda sad in a lot of ways, seeing all the partially demolished, closed, and generally run down buildings and businesses that dried up when the route did. The interstates certainly gave us speed, but it’s still a bit of a shame. Definitely gives you a sense of history.

Made it to Oklahoma City without much trouble, passed through Texas on the way, pulled over at a neat little rest stop at the state border.

Pretty uneventful day all told, one of the first on this trip, so I can’t complain! Wandered around the city a bit, but was mostly just taking it easy, had another long drive the next day. Glad to have at least spent a night in Oklahoma, pretty countryside here.

Onto Little Rock, Arkansas next. Made pretty good time, and had an early start, so I had time to wander around the midtown park, and get one of the best burgers I’ve ever had (the umami bomb) at this trendy spot called Big Orange. If you’re ever in the area, I’d recommend it, they make a mean old fashioned! The park was really neat though, saw a couple rabbits!

Another pretty quiet day, but I was pretty close to the next National Park on my list, Hot Springs! Holy cow! Won’t get into yet, but look forward to my next post where I will be endlessly gushing about it!

I may have mentioned that I woke to a lovely surprise after my stay in Glenwood Springs. The previous day had been sunny and in the low 80s, so when I opened the windows and looked out, I was a bit stunned to see this:

Luckily, the roads were still pretty clear, so driving through it wasn’t so bad. In parts, the light dusting of snow on the road was being blown back and forth in this wave-like, hypnotic pattern. Had to look away before I became dangerously mesmerized.

I couldn’t really tell you when the snow gave way to wind, but as I made my way south, the mountains gradually flattened out until I found myself driving what looked like an endless straight road through grassy plains. The wind was strong enough that I had to fight the wheel to keep the car in my lane.

When I finally made it to the Great Sand Dunes, I looked it up, and sure enough, there was a major wind storm happening in the area. The walk out to the Dunes was fine, but on the way back, I literally couldn’t take a step until the wind tied down. And even then, I had to pull my hood down over my face to keep the sand from polishing my face into a smooth, featureless river stone.

Had decided to stay in nearby Alamosa for the night, and I’m glad I did! Found a book I’ve been searching for for ages in a little local bookshop, and the room I booked was one of the neater ones I’ve stayed in, lots of brick walls and wood. And unlike most motels that offer a free breakfast, theirs was a voucher for a free meal at the restaurant next door, which was FAR better than the usual fare of stale muffins and bruised bananas.

I had a hard decision to make that morning as well. And after a long, soul searching look in the mirror, I decided the Fisher-Price My-First-Mustache had to go. And yes, I know I’ve made that joke before, but I don’t care, I’m double dipping!

There are few feelings I find more gratifying than clearing away itchy stubble and hairs. Almost worth letting it grow out (as much as it does) just for the feeling of shaving it away.

Had a fair bit of driving, and some particular thinking, to do the next day, so I turned in early. Next stop, Santa Rosa, New Mexico.

Tried thinking of a cool name for this post, but I couldn’t come up with anything better than the the actual name of the park. Definitely wins the best park name in my book.

And wow! What a place! I took the south rim drive, and must have stopped at every lookout along the way. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of this place before planning the trip! The photos really don’t give you a good idea of just how deep this thing is. A sign at one of the overlooks give a hint at least, showing how two Empire State Buildings could be stacked on top of each other, and still not reach the top. Also, there’s lots of warnings about not dropping anything off the edge, as even a penny could be fatal if it hit one of the hikers below!

Lots of really neat rocks in the area as well, it’s definitely a great place for looking down! Might still have geology on the brain from that talk in Canyonlands.

I pretty much had the whole place to myself when I went as well, one of the benefits of the lesser known parks I suppose. Plus, it meant I was lucky enough to be visited by a passing Mule Deer. As long as I didn’t look directly at it, they seemed fine getting pretty close.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time here, even if it was only a half day at most. Most of the best views are pretty close to the road, and one of the best is right near the entrance, so if you’re ever in the area, I HIGHLY recommend stopping in, even if only for a quick peek. Seriously, must be seen to be believed.

Made my way north to Glenwood springs from here, and that turned out to be an absolutely amazing stay. The drive up was gorgeous, and I made it in time to have a nice long soak at one of the famous hot springs. Iron Mountain is the newer establishment, and I really like their layout. Lots of small little pools, of varying temperatures, and, perhaps most shocking of all, good prices on drinks and snacks. Sipping a mojito in a hot spring pool you’ve got all to yourself, watching the river go by… Top tier experience. Left after three hours, don’t know that I’ve ever felt that relaxed.

I’ve been keeping a list of places that I’ll need to come back to at some point, and Glenwood Springs has definitely earned its spot near the top. The town itself is incredibly charming as well, and I only saw a tiny (but lovely) corner of it.

Woke up to a nice surprise as well, but I’ve babbled long enough for now I think. More on that later!