Never again.

This chicken was punished for crossing the road.

The thespian thief

The bandit played his part like a trouper, quoting Shakespeare to his victims:“I am joined with no foot-land-rakers, no long-staff sixpenny strikers, none of these mad mustachio purple-hued malt-worms, but with nobility and tranquility, burgomasters and great oneyers, such as … Read More

But the greatest of these…

Hartville. Welcomed by the café’s official dress code–jeans and ball caps–I felt at home on Rolla Street next to Bullfrogs Pawn, bathed in the aroma of bean soup and the promise of blue plate specials. Betty always dreamed of owning … Read More

Road trip stories

These books are not suitable for everybody. Not good for narrow views or asphalt brains. Keep them away from burning bridges. Avoid gifting to anybody who thinks “my way or the highway” is covered in the Ninth Amendment. They’re not … Read More

Carnival Without People

A carny sleeps off the Midland, Texas morning. A ride called The Tornado stayed folded in its trailer. “…there was no motion. Nobody coming or going. There were no carnies or talkers or troupers, no roustabouts or ride jockeys, no … Read More

World’s Largest Chile

Yeah, technically the world’s largest Chile wraps around South America’s tail. But there’s another big damn chile in Las Cruces, too, laying on its side like a Rubens model. Las Cruces embraces New Mexico’s greatest product: We pulled into Big … Read More

Break on through to the other side

We summoned the spirit of Gram Parsons at the Joshua Tree Motel, where he died. He told us to check out the Harmony Motel down the road, where U2 stayed…u can 2.

Gravy

There’s a sad phenomenon in so many of these precious old towns. Generally, more people lie under the ground than on top of it. I thought back to an experience I had in London. The date was November 11, and … Read More

The Ghost of a Roadside Inn

Took a nap beneath this sign, sharing space with the ghosts of travelers who stopped here long ago to add a sticky chapter to their Route 66 journey. It was a time when cars had crank-down window air-conditioning and tube … Read More