Looking for America - A Listening Tour

I thought it a little bit coincidental that I would be arriving in Canada just when the news commentators were reporting on the overturning of Roe v. Wade back in the US.  Canadian television broadcast Justin Trudeau guaranteeing all Canadian women the right to choose.  I was actually entering a country with fewer guns, and provided more freedoms to its people, than in the US. We have some very unhappy, spiteful, unethical people in the US.  The most hypocritical people on the face of the planet.  If you think that politicians care one iota about preserving a fetus, you are wrong - their vote (and yes Supreme Court justices are politicians) was purely politically motivated.  "Leave it to the States" is their motto.  I say, "Leave the choice to the individual".  Politicians who cater the uneducated masses who believe themselves to be Christians; who celebrate stupidity and fascist anarchists; who clearly are not living up to Jesus' commandment: "Love th...

  It has been one week, today, since I left Boca Raton, Florida.  Driving up to Sanford (Orlando area), Florida to catch the Amtrak Auto Train to Lorton, Virginia, the heat was almost suffocating.  I thought the heat was bad in Florida, but nothing topped the heat from Lorton to Damascus, Maryland - especially in bumper to bumper traffic in 98 degree weather. A sea of humanity in metal cages (i.e., cars) on Highway 15 from Leesburg, VA to Frederick, MD.  I used my "motorcycle card" by zipping past miles of standstill traffic via the shoulder.  I justified it by a legitimate rationalization: I am exposed to heat without the luxury of air conditioning that was enjoyed by those in cars.  A typically 1.5 hour ride took me 4 hours.  I arrived in Damascus to attend Janis' family reunion - a great first 2 day stop filled with fun and human interaction. Amtrak Tamara, my host while on the Auto Train.  She has three boys; the oldest is 29 years old and who...

  Without this sense of what is naturally fitting, you can be cleaning up the world with one hand and spreading poison with the other ... this sense of rightness does not appear naturally in people, even though they live in the heart of nature. Custom is the enemy of awareness, in individuals as much as in societies.  It regularizes the fears and cravings of everyday life ... Ted Simon, Jupiter's Travels (1979) This year I will be taking my final North American motorcycle tour.  It will be a long one (approx. 10,000 miles).  I will spare you from the daily journaling, and will write/publish an account on a weekly basis.  Next year, and years following, I anticipate taking a tour of Australia and Europe - Looking for the World, a Listening Tour.  Of course, that is, if I am physically able. What I have learned over the past 5 years is that many people are predisposed to believe almost anything. I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles such ...

  Natchez, MS - Riverboat Sometimes I get lucky.  I had a choice: drive straight home via I-10, stop at Baton Rouge, LA, and plop on my bed through mere exhaustion; or, I could find a town along back roads and take one final stab at a unique experience.  I just did not want to go too far out of the way.  Thus, Natchez, MS. Most people, either they never heard of Natchez, or if they had, never thought of visiting.  But, I have to tell you, for me it was the best real ending of the tour that I could have imagined.  This is not a place for everyone.  You have to like a "down home" "river town" with tons of history - families have been there for centuries.  The only town unfazed by the Civil War, with antebellum homes, dating back to the early 1800's, and still owned by direct descendants of the original owners.  Cotton plantations, attached to the owners of these homes, still in operation.  I stayed at one of these homes: Choctaw Hall B...

A long slog from Marfa, TX to Fredericksburg, TX - but the desert is fascinating.  Open space and you can see forever in the distance.  When I got close to Fredericksburg, I entered the famous "Hill Country".  There is nothing like it in the world.  Luckenbach, TX, nestled in the Hill Country, is only 15 minutes outside Fredericksburg.  A town that has signs saying Population 3, but the women in the Post Office said no one lives in Luckenbach these days.  Here are some photos that better describe the area: Luckenbach is famous because it simply is the best forum for intimate concerts - Willie Nelson used to play on that stage.  The setting is perfect for just hanging out on a nice day with a cold beer.  Meeting new friends: Graham & Robin Cier - From Ft. Myers, FL  Back in Fredericksburg, I found myself at a Crossroads Saloon. - a locals hangout.  Every Sunday night a band plays your favorite songs.  The crowd was getting bigger...

  Outside Valentine, TX 33 Miles from Marfa I explored White Sands National Park and ran across a BBQ party in the middle of the Sands: It was getting late (around 11:30 am), so I hightailed it out or White Sands and headed to Marfa.  I took the long route over the mountains to the east so that I could take a look at a resort called Cloudcroft, NM.  Here is a video of what I saw on the way to the mountains: I stopped in Cloudcroft for lunch, and I met a fellow biker, Scotty Gordy, a City Commissioner from Lovington, TX.  We talked about economic development and what could be done in his fair city.  We then road together to Artesia, NM, where I headed south on my way to Marfa. The ride through the Guadalupe Mountains, in Texas, was thrilling.  I never knew these mountains existed: As I got near Marfa, TX I noticed a group of people standing next to a building - as it turns out this was the famous Prada store in the middle of the Texas desert: The two in the ...

  White Sands National Park, NM Yogananda was right!  In his Autobiography of a Yogi (read once a year by Steve Jobs), Yogananda decides to travel to the South India without any money, only to encounter one miracle after another.  He ends up at a mansion eating with a prince.  Along the way, he meets a number of people; each changing the trajectory of his trip.  Have you ever worried about where you are going to stay for the night?  Do you plan each stop along the way of your travels? All of a sudden, my arms and legs were starting to hurt.  Something was pounding on my helmet.  I looked down at my arms - HAIL!  Ice was bounding off my gas tank, arms and legs.  It was 50 degrees.  I was cold, my rain gear was drenched, and I was headed into unknown territory in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception.Today's journey took me from Santa Fe, NM to Alamogordo, NM, where I was to visit White Sands National Park the next day.  T...