The body wilts before the spirit does, so it didn’t occur to two 41-year-old men that they might not be able to pedal 155 miles in three days through southeastern Utah on bikes loaded with the essentials: water, food, bedroll … tobacco, coffee, beer. The plan was simple. Pedal from Nizhoni Campground to Elk Ridge, down between Bears Ears, across Cedar Mesa, through … [Read more...]
Utah: The Road Tripping Capital of the World
According to MMGY Global, between 2015 and 2016 the percentage of Americans going road tripping nearly doubled. From 22% to 39%. Domestic vacations have increased by 14 million, with Americans now spending $5 billion on leisure travel. Overseas vacations have declined. Speaking to farmers market vendors, I learned they cancelled their European vacation plans due to their … [Read more...]
Donkey Basketball
On just a bit more than a whim, I picked up my two teen-aged sons after school. We drove 130 miles to a rural Utah high school auditorium where student body officers straddled the backs of rubber bootie-wearing donkeys while also playing a game of basketball. A week before, I had seen a poster advertising ‘Annual Donkey Basketball’ as a school fundraiser and, I thought, “now … [Read more...]
A Song for Colorado City
I was traveling through the Southwest, taking in the deep red of the rocks and the blue of the sky when I came across a town unlike any other in America. Colorado City, or, as the locals call it, The Crick, is on the Utah/Arizona border and is comprised of Colorado City, Arizona; Hildale, Utah; Centennial Park, Arizona; and Cane Beds, Arizona. Its vermilion cliffs and the wide … [Read more...]
Utah’s Best Dive Bars
As a traveling salesman, I always appreciated the dive bars full of locals yet friendly to tourists. There are "tourist traps," and then there are local bars. None of these picks, while famous, are tourist traps. They all offer a genuine, authentic vibe because they are owner-operated and mostly full of locals. Enjoy these dives on your next road trip. As a traveling salesman, … [Read more...]
Trippin’ & Splorin’ Through Utah: 3 Days, 570 Miles, and Maybe a Dinosaur Bone
Okay, so maybe it isn’t a dinosaur bone. But if it is...road trip jackpot. There are essentials to a road trip: route, vehicle, cooler, music. But the road accommodates idiosyncratic interpretations of travel. I like to research and plan a destination framework, then fill in the gaps with how the spirit moves me. If you plan enough seasonal adventures, one of them will … [Read more...]
Road Trip Adventure: Blues and Bluegrass
I’ve driven the highways of 43 states, sang in endless divebars, and slept in more WalMart parking lots than I care to remember. I left Utah in 2013 in a van with a bunch of blues musicians, and we worked our way playing shows all the way to the Georgia coast and back. I haven’t left the road since. I was singing at the Urban Lounge In Salt Lake City and Richard Markosian … [Read more...]
Getting Ready to Hit The Road, Utah Stories Explores the Signs of Our Times
Roll into downtown Bountiful. It’s a gorgeous little main street. Like the main streets in many mid-sized towns, Bountiful’s Main Street is showing more signs of life than it has in many years. On this Saturday afternoon, all the retailers are on the curbs with their products, trying to lure the steady stream of motorists out of their cars. One business owner is throwing around … [Read more...]