
CHOOSE THE JOURNEY – NOT THE DESTINATION
This site is both to entertain and guide you in your road travels whatever your budget. Geared for anyone really, but likely most appreciated by those lacking mechanical and methodical planning skills who still want to take to the road and find great food, coffee, and natural beauty without loads of effort or cost. Scroll down to access my BLOG.

Hi, I am Mel and in 2022 I decided to tackle my long time dream of traveling the Lower 48 (the contiguous U.S. states and D.C.) on a very, very long road trip. My mechanical skills are limited so I looked for creative ways to build out my traveling home (Forester SUV) for the occasional bed, part time closet, garage, well you get the picture. I am not a long term planner and a bit allergic to extreme weather, so each destination is a combination of search and learn as I go. Sometimes it works and sometimes it leads to a story.
One of the great things in travel is meeting people you would otherwise not have the opportunity to run across. Turns out if you camp and rent rooms as part of your journey you find a community along the way and often meet like minded people just out exploring and learning new skills and another way to be. Mixing it up with hotel stays as well as flights to a familiar place to ground yourself makes the travel a bit easier. And if you can swing it, of course wonderful to indulge in some splurge meals and activities.
SO MUCH BEAUTY

LAMOILLE CANYON
Beautiful and relatively untraveled canyon in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada

Garden of the Gods
Biking adventures

ZION CANYON
Just beautiful

PICTURED ROCKS
A bit of Thailand in Michigan
BLOG POSTS
- AND THE JOURNEY BEGINS
- PLANNING FOR YOUR TRIP; EQUIPPING YOUR VEHICLE
- FIGURING OUT YOUR ROUTE AND ITINERARY
- OREGON REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- UTAH REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- COLORADO REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- KANSAS REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MISSOURI REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- ARKANSAS REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- OKLAHOMA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- TEXAS REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- LOUISIANA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- BACK IN TIME – CAMBODIA AND VIETNAM 2009
- THROW BACK TRAVEL POST – COSTA RICA AND PANAMA
- GIG ECONOMY (GENERATING INCOME for GIANTS)
- MISSISSIPPI REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- ALABAMA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- TENNESSEE REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- FLORIDA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- GEORGIA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- SOUTH CAROLINA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- NORTH CAROLINA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- VIRGINIA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- WEST VIRGINIA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MARYLAND REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- DELAWARE REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- PENNSYLVANIA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- CONNECTICUT REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- NEW JERSEY REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MASSACHUSETTS REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- RHODE ISLAND REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- NEW HAMPSHIRE REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MAINE REVIEW; WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- NEW YORK REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- VERMONT REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- OHIO REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- KENTUCKY REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- ILLINOIS REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- INDIANA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MICHIGAN REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- WISCONSIN REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MINNESOTA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- IOWA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- NEBRASKA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- NORTH DAKOTA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- SOUTH DAKOTA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- MONTANA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- WYOMING REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- IDAHO REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- EASTERN CANADA SIDE TRIP
- NEW MEXICO REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE
- ARIZONA REVIEW: WHY GO; WHAT TO DO & SEE