10,000-plus miles
Just like the Johnny Cash song says, I've been everywhere. OK, maybe not everywhere, but name a city or town and chances are I've been there. More than once, in many cases. And if I've not been there, I've probably been somewhere nearby. Sometimes it's been with a band on tour, sometimes it's been traveling alone. Most times it's been with friends or other folks.
Whatever the reason, the mode of transportation has often varied only slightly. Usually a van or pick-up truck, most times a vehicle many would be hesitant to drive across the street, let alone across the country. A vehicle like Isabel, who before heading across the country and back had 100,000-plus miles on the clock, an engine that rattled and shook, a speedometer that only worked part of the time and other items that never worked.
In all those miles criss-crossing the country only minor troubles have occurred. A broken radiator hose, a half shaft that needed replacing, a broken headlight from a bird strike in South Dakota, a wayward deer in California that ran into the side of the vehicle and a rear window to repalce the one shot out in Eugene, Ore., by a 7-year-old with a BB gun, to name a few.
What follows are a number of photographs made while heading across the country. Some are of those with whom I traveled. Others are of the places visited and people we met. Nearly all have a greater story behind them, but that's true of almost any photo.