Went ashore. Jumped on a ’63 Schwinn Continental and rode toward the sunset, at turns laughing or lamenting my first 63 years…came back with a bucket list for my next 63, if nothing goes awry…
It Was a Good Weekend
After speaking to the Missouri Press Association Convention last month, I let my hair down at Columbia’s Roots & Blues festival, before hopping in Erifnus, my car, for a whirlwind trip to Kansas City. There, our film crew won an … Read More
O Danny Boy…
Daniel O’Dwyer would approve of new Pope Francis, I suspect. I have no way of knowing for sure, since Daniel O’Dwyer, my great grandfather, died eleven popes ago, shortly after the long reign of Pope Pius IX. Pius excommunicated Daniel … Read More
I Can’t Get These Names to Stick
Some roads evoke emotion, like the Trail of Tears through Belleview, Boss and Bixby. And some roads evoke wonder, like the Scenic Byway along Crowley’s Ridge. Traveling every Missouri road, I gave some personal nicknames to a few pathways. Winding … Read More
My Favorite Road
One of the most legendary highways on Earth unfolds over 300 Missouri miles, and bears a name that’s the highest tribute ever bestowed a route: the Mother Road. But it’s a mother with multiple personalities. Before it bore children west, … Read More
Missouri Life and Death
The King of the Road series went dormant after a nice five-year run, and Erifnus and I rode into the sunset. But lately, I happily agreed to start writing features for the magazine from time to time…just took an assignment … Read More
Along This Endless Road
Along this endless road, a few reporters traveled with me. It was an honor to have Jim McCarty of Rural Missouri Magazine riding shotgun for an afternoon. And Erifnus — that’s my car — tolerated him even though he wrote … Read More
Book Goes National
Well, that’s a stretch. Yes, people all over the world can buy it, although a California reader who saw the story about my travels, “One man’s quest to see Missouri, mile by mile” by Tom Uhlenbrock, in USA Today wondered … Read More
Past CDT Articles about My Book
The Columbia Daily Tribune has published a couple articles about my journey over the years. “Man explores state one road at a time” was originally written for the St. Louis Post Dispatch by Tom Uhlenbrock in 2009. “Road Warrior” by … Read More
Bringing the Backroads to the Classroom
Just spoke to 70 fourth graders. Captured their attention with my prairie chicken dance. We talked about finding wild Missouri. Their eyes got even wider when I told them about joining a producer from Saturday Night Live to raft the … Read More