Gusher

Alley Spring mill race. 84 million gallons of water per day.

Rollercoaster

We drove into the heart of the Ozarks, where nature—with a little help from the highway department—lays down a series of thrilling roller coaster tracks along a driving loop called the Ozark Hellbender, named for the forearm-sized salamander that hides … Read More

Cave Food

The Undercliff Grill & Bar is cool and inviting, in its campy cave chic. The locals keep coming back for the food. I know why. The French onion soup comes protected by a helmet of Gruyère cheese that could stand … Read More

Mom’s Cafe

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

New Book in 2018!

She handles through turns like a dancer with the spirit of a sports car and the mileage of a miser. Her flanks show dings from parking lot encounters, and her roof is a quilt of dents from hail and scratches … Read More

Road Story

Erifnus waited patiently beside old hotels and farmhouses, chapels and prisons, diners and greasy spoons, graveyards, museums, creeks and canyons and unsavory encounters. She always escaped with a story. She won an Emmy. I just went along for the ride.

Nature’s Canvas

The Great Impressionist has turned expansive soybean fields to green and gold palettes worthy of Monet or Van Gogh, framed by hardwoods who slowly dress for autumn.

Will She Fly?

As thousands crowd the escape routes to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Irma, I hope this old relic can still fly, and takes a planeload of people and pets from Marathon Key to safety.

When the Big One Washes Us Away

OK, this wasn’t our boat. But the same Hurricane Omar chased us from St. Barts to a hurricane hole in St. Martin. Photo above is on Anguilla, just north of St. Martin/St. Maarten. On a spit island just north of … Read More

Milestone

Should’ve planned it better. Some exotic background like Mt. Rushmore or the Golden Gate Bridge. It sneaked up on us as we left the city limits, so we pulled off I-70 and into a parking lot, where I made Erifnus … Read More