Summer 2009 Wrap-Up

It's been a great summer on the road! US Highway 2 "End-to-End", seeing family and friends on the east coast, driving Route 66 with my niece… Fantastic!

My "Road Rig" performed extremely well, especially after upgrading the wheels and tires… What a difference! Solid, steady and smooth… Perfect!

I've now returned to Seattle and am catching up with myself… Again!

I've got some ideas for "what's next" of course and I'll fill you in as soon as I have some solid plans… Stay tuned!

Route 66

My niece Jennifer graduated from the University of Chicago this spring, and we talked at length about things we might do together to celebrate. You may recall that Jennifer joined me for a couple of excellent stints in Paris and Vienna while I was on the first Voyage, so I was quite keen to work up something fun to do with her.

She called a few weeks ago, saying that she'd just gotten a job in Los Angeles and asking if I'd be willing to drive her and her belongings from Chicago to L.A. on Route 66. I said yes immediately, of course, hooked a trailer onto the back of my rig, drove to Chicago, packed her up and off we went.

I don't really have much to report, because we had such a great time on the road together that I didn't make time to take many photos. I can share that we remained pretty "loyal" to the old Route 66, but it's been decommissioned and replaced by interstates in so many places that we sometimes skipped the odd, short segment of the old road in favor of speed on the modern road.

We ate at all the finest places, usually spending our lunchtimes poring over info books and maps to figure out where we were going and what we might stop to see along the way. We did stop at many attractions, but we also skipped a bunch of them. Sometimes enough is enough!

We also made a little side-trip to Las Vegas, where we immersed ourselves in the lights, sights and shows. Jennifer insisted that I teach her how to play cards, and she picked it all up very, very fast and did very, very well. As we were at the cage cashing out for the last time, Jennifer declared that purple -- as in purple chips -- is her new favorite color!

You rock, Jennifer! Thanks for a great road trip!

Happy's Heritage

Note: This is an excerpt from my contributions to the SP Kennel Dog Log

Some of you might have noticed a very special dog who is absent from the SP Kennel family tree: Happy The Sled Dog.


As most of you know, Happy came to us with a lineage all of her own. Her mother was a sled dog that I met for just a few short moments as I walked around a village dog yard. Her father was a dog that Happy's mother must have "met" for just a few short moments as well. No one knew his lineage, breed or even his name. Mystery man!

The first summer that Happy lived at SP Kennel she was certainly an anomaly. I wasn't sure that she was even a husky. I had her spayed and she had another minor surgery in order to keep her healthy. My original reason for taking her was pure compassion - it didn't cross my mind that she might be one of our Iditarod Dogs.

I realize that Happy has many fans, so I hope to do something for them this season. We will have a spot on the website devoted to a "Happy Corner". And, maybe even come out with a Happy T-shirt.

So, even though we will not have any Happy genes added to our dog yard, I do hope that we'll have all together happy dogs.


This is a photo that Jeanne Schnackenberg took of Happy resting during our Mushing Adventure Trips on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in April 2008.

Darth's Got New Shoes!

My "Road Rig" performed flawlessly throughout our first cross-country drive together on US2. Darth was just amazing, a real "beast" who is also easy and comfortable to drive. The camper has exceeded my expectations for comfort, roominess, features and ease of use. I'm very happy with the whole set-up and look forward to many, many more drives together.

The only thing just a little less than perfect was that on poor roads -- for example with lots of ruts and/or sloping shoulders -- the ride sometimes felt a little wobbly, roly-poly or even squishy. I didn't think it was a problem with Darth's suspension, so I did some checking around.

It turns out that most truck/camper drivers complain of the same feeling, and the problem is with the tires! The soft-sided radial tires the factory mounts to help make the ride smoother aren't ideal for hauling heavy loads. They flex and roll too much, which causes the feeling I got.

The solution is to switch to heavy-duty, commercial truck tires. The problem there, however, is that all those tires are made for 19.5" wheels, not the 20" factory wheels! What to do?

The solution to that problem is provided by a company near Baltimore called Rickson. They custom make 19.5" wheels for pick-ups, and then match balance new truck tires to them... Perfect!

Since I was in the area, I drove down to the factory and checked them out. Dan Richter, the owner, is totally cool and explained everything to me. Plus, he had a set of wheels ready to go for Darth and could make it happen that day!

So, Darth's got new shoes! Super heavy-duty truck tires with very solid side walls on fancy new Rickson wheels. Not only has the load rating has gone from 3500 to 5000 pounds per wheel -- a huge increase in capacity -- but the sidewall flex is virtually eliminated and the tires will wear for twice the usual mileage of normal pick-up tires. Darth's being even more handsome than before is just a side benefit!

We're now "new and improved" and ready for our next long drive... Stay tuned for details!

Darth Goes To The Rodeo!

My good friend Marty has two daughter -- Samantha and Kelsey -- who are both avid horsewomen and barrel racers. While I was having dinner with them all last night, the girls told me about a race they had scheduled for today. They were very excited, all except for driving their father's "little" pickup to haul their horse trailer. To hear them tell it, the poor truck could barely do the job.

You can probably guess that I offered them Darth's services for the event, which they enthusiastically accepted. They were practically beside themselves at the prospect of, as they put it, having an easy drive and showing up at the race in a "real, big, tough, fancy truck!"

When I showed up this morning and we hooked up the trailer, however, they were quite surprised -- and a little intimidated, I think -- when I said that one of them would have to drive. I wasn't worried about Darth, but there was absolutely no way I was going to take responsibility for driving their horses around!

So, Marty gave Sam a quick rundown on all the driver controls that she's not accustomed to -- especially the foot pedal adjustments which meant that she could sit up really high and still reach them! -- and off they went.

I enjoyed seeing Darth hooked up to the horse trailer and realizing he's just a natural at this kind of stuff. One look at the happy couples and you can see they were all enjoying themselves, too!

US Highway 2 -- "End-to"End" -- Video!

I had no idea what I'd get when I decided to mount a camera on my dash and set it to shoot a picture every minute during my end-to-end drive of US Highway 2, but I couldn't have imagined this video as the end-product.

The video is surprisingly like the road: long and a little monotonous is places, yet captivating and even endearing. Sixty hours of driving in under ten minutes… That's equivalent to a speed of about 20,000 miles per hour! Hang on and enjoy the drive!

US Highway 2 -- "End-to-End" -- Complete!

My last day's drive on my US Highway 2 -- "End-to-End" -- road trip took me across the middle of Maine, all the way to the Canadian border at Houlton. The road was astonishingly similar to what it has been for the past 3,000 miles. The vegetation is a little thicker and taller, the tiny towns a bit closer together, but overall it's been the exact same road: straight, flat and utilitarian.

Looking back at my posts over the last month and a half, I'm afraid I may have given you the impression that -- at least at times -- I didn't enjoy the road or the drive. Nothing could be farther from the truth. US Hwy 2 has become like an old friend to me, a bit stuck in its ways perhaps, but lovable none the less.

As I looked at my road rig parked in front of the "End 2" sign, I had a profound sense not only of accomplishment, but of privilege. Traversing the entire country -- the entire continent, in fact -- at almost precisely the same latitude throughout has been amazing. To see so many small towns and villages, many so remote from each other, and to realize how many people live there, how they live... It's given me a sense of my country that I could not have gotten any other way. This road trip has been a profound experience and success.

I'm going to hang out here for a couple of days, to catch up with myself, to decompress a bit, and to figure out where to go next and how to get there. Thanks for joining me and... Stay tuned!

Mom's Old Stomping Grounds

Bless my mother, she arrived with two bottles of our favorite scotch whiskey and a pound of Starbucks coffee. Even better, as she handed me the treasure she said, "I know this isn't enough scotch and coffee for us for a week, but it's all I could carry!" Bless my mother!

We've had a really good few days together in the road rig, the first time my mom has traveled and lived in a camper. She has been in recovery from a broken hip, pushing herself as always to get back to 100% as fast as possible.

So, we've done some hiking in addition to our driving around upper Vermont and New Hampshire. We've also had some really, really nice camping places, so she's pretty well hooked on the milieu.

A definite high point was a visit to the Balsams hotel in Dixville Notch, NH. I have long heard about the place but never been there. When my mother was a girl she spent many summers there because, at the time, it was owned by her uncle!

The family story of Uncle Frank is a long and colorful one. Nobody seems to have the complete story, least of all is the current hotel management! The general manager was thrilled when my mother walked in and explained who she was. He had a million questions about Uncle Frank, what the place was like, who was who, etc. She was able to fill in a number of gaps -- including put names to faces in old pictures that hang throughout the place -- and resolve a number of mysteries. After a couple of hours of consultation, we were rewarded with a free lunch and an invitation to come back any time!

I'm dropping my mom off at the airport tomorrow, then I'll get back on US Hwy 2 for the last little stint to the Canadian Border at Houlton, Maine... Stay tuned!

Getting From Point A to Point B

One of the peculiarities of US Highway 2 is its discontinuity, with a big gap across the Great Lakes. There are two primary ways to get from the terminus in St. Ignace, Michigan (Point A) to the terminus in Rouses, New York (Point B):

I've chosen to take the northern route, entirely through Canada, mostly because it is the more direct path and it comes as close as possible -- in my opinion -- to the path that Hwy 2 would take if it continued.

Not surprisingly, the route in Canada (C17) is almost identical to the US 2 I've been driving for the past few weeks in almost every way: type of roadway, environment, scenery, etc.

Maybe a bit surprising is that for as little as there has been on US 2 in terms of things to see and do, there have been even fewer things of interest on C17!

Nevertheless, it's been a pretty good drive and I'm glad I chose the northern route. The whole drive has been so surreal, yet somehow so normal, that I've grown quite fond of its "nothingness."

I've now re-entered the US in upstate New York at a place where -- as you can see -- several major US Highways make their start, finish, connections, etc.

I'm going to take a couple of days here to sort myself out, in anticipation of the arrival of my mother who has decided to join me for a few days in the area. She spent a fair amount of time around here when she was a young girl, so it should be interesting to get her perspectives, find out what's changed, etc... Stay tuned!

Mystery Spot

I've been back on the road for a couple of days, now at the extreme eastern end of Michigan's upper peninsula. On the way here, I passed a series of signs advertising the "Mystery Spot" and figured I better have a look-see. My buddies Mr. Bacon and Monsieur Tofu were too afraid to check it out, but Big Foot said, "Bring it!"

The place is mostly one of those optical-illusion things where buildings are smaller than they look, water flows up hill, etc., and pretty much just a tourist trap for passers-by. The inside exhibits, though, were hilarious: Melonheads, Dog Man and Bearded Baseball Players were my favorites!

I'll be crossing into Canada tomorrow, and I'll explain that in my next post.