Our wandering path
Pricetags
Red pepper jelly for the brie: $15; Our pick of sites in deserted campground with view of crashing Pacific waves: $25; This amazing Roadtrek life in The Epic Van: Priceless.
Blacktop excursions: 10 dramatic drives
Sheep grazing in Paradise Valley on Montana's Highway 540.
As we traverse the country in The Epic Van, we are drawn to historic sites, roadside attractions, and odd museums, but sometimes the best thing is the landscape sliding past the windshield. Here are 10 (with one bonus) of our favorite drives.
Perfectly precious poodles on parade
Last Saturday, in Carmel, California, was poodle day, starting with a poodle parade in the morning, moving to the beach in the afternoon for a poodle swim, and ending in the evening with poodle-friendly cocktails.
“The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately,” said Thomas Paine, one of our country’s revolutionary founders. “One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again.”
He would not have been able to turn away from this poofy spectacle, with poodles dyed pink, turquoise, purple and polka dot, dressed as French floozies, Western sheriffs, and supermen, and with owners whose aviator glasses reflected the blue of the California sky.
Origins of Jeannine Tour (7): University of Kansas
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Mom’s first exposure to the University of Kansas was during five summers spent in Lawrence when she was a kid, four when her father was working on his master’s degree, one when he was rolling gunpowder for the war.
Origins of Jeannine Tour (6): Winifred, Home
Mom in Winifred at the site of the big house that burned to the ground.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
In Winifred, Mom found the spot where her grandfather, Gottfried Keller, built what everyone called the big house, a place where the family gathered for Christmases when Mom was a little girl.
Origins of Jeannine Tour (5): Summerfield
Mom sitting on the steps of the house where she lived in Summerfield, Kansas, in grade school.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
It was in Summerfield, Kansas, in first grade in 1935, that Jeannine became Jeannine, which is actually her middle name. Up until that time, she had been Carol, which sounded a lot like Harold, her brother’s name, a coincidence they used to their advantage as in, “I thought you were calling Harold,” and “I thought you were calling Carol.”
So when her parents delivered her to Miss McDonald’s classroom, they told the new teacher that her name was Jeannine, a development that came as a complete surprise to Mom. “I wondered what the heck was happening,” Mom recalled. It was thus, ever after.
Origins of Jeannine Tour (4): White City
Mom in front of the now-abandoned house where she lived in White City in high school.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
In White City, Kansas, we visited the house Mom lived in in high school, now abandoned, peeking in her bedroom window. She remembered swinging on the porch swing, watching the cute boy next door come home from dates. Her mother fed hobos from the train tracks behind the house on their back porch.
Origins of Jeannine Tour (3): Republic, Kansas City
Mom at the gas station in Republic, Kansas, where her father told her she had a new baby brother.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
We stopped at the gas station in Republic, Kansas, where Mom remembers, when she was 4 years old, Grandpa sitting sideways in the car and telling her, “You have a new baby brother.” She was thrilled with the idea of a new playmate. But when they brought him home and set him on the library table in a basket, all she could see was his little fists waving as he cried, and she said, “You should take him back.”
Origins of Jeannine Tour (2): Wayne
Jane Maddy, the local historian, sharing her three-ring binders full of information with Mom.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
We knocked on a random door in Wayne, Kansas, population 68, where Grandpa Prichard was teaching when Mom was born, and found Jane Maddy, the local historian, who recognized Harley Prichard’s name and, in her many three-ring binders, had a picture of Harley with his 1927 basketball team, which included Jane’s father, “Champ” Campbell, far left. She told us the school had burned and was now a pig sty. I thought she meant it was a mess. Not!!!
Origins of Jeannine Tour (1): Concordia
Mom in front of St. Joseph's Hospital in Concordia, where it all began.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
The Origins of Jeannine Tour commenced with a family reunion in Marysville, a visit with her sister-in-law, Margie, in Riley, a doorbell reunion with college pals, and a stop at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Concordia, where it all began. The historic plaque must be in the shop for repair!
Nomads and the civilised look at each other with disapproval and misunderstanding. Why would anyone want to wander the wilderness and live in a tent? Why would anyone want to live in a box and obey unnecessary masters?
Ali, Mostly we’ve found people think it’s really cool. Many tell us they dream of being able to wander the world. Are you a nomad?