DETROIT, MICHIGAN – We’re traveling like a pack of bandits, running from the law…
We drive the backroads all day, then – when the sun starts dipping – we look for somewhere quiet to pull over and camp for the night. The next day, we pack up and do it all over again. Always keeping one step ahead of the law…
The quaint signs we see while driving America’s backroads
We never use freeways. Only country roads. (There’s a setting in our GPS to “avoid freeways.”)
We never eat in restaurants (they’re all closed). We either buy food from Walmart or eat from drive-throughs. When we’re lucky, we get invited in and served a hearty home-cooked meal.
And we never use hotels. We sleep in barns, in fields, in parking lots, in driveways, in backyards, and in designated campgrounds.
Today, we drove through Ohio and across the state line into Michigan. Ohio is beautiful… at least the part we saw. More cute little towns in a vast sea of corn and grass. We saw lots of barns, silos, and farm animals.
Here we are getting some fresh air and stretching our legs at an isolated stop sign intersection in Northwest Ohio earlier today…
Playing on the side of the road
Tonight, we’re sleeping in a driveway a few miles outside Detroit. Our hosts are Pete and Carol. We’ve just set up the tent. And in a minute, we’ll sit down for supper together. Carol is cooking fried chicken…
Our camper parked at Pete and Carol’s home
We are having such a fantastic time roaming around the American countryside. We’ve covered almost 4,000 miles now. Getting to travel around America with my family, meeting locals everywhere we go, often staying in their houses, sharing meals and communing with them is, really and truly, the best experience I’ve ever had. Unconditional hospitality. We know we’ll never be able to pay it back… so we vow to pay the hospitality forward one day, when we have our own place…
Tomorrow we tour downtown Detroit…
– Tom Dyson
P.S. Here we are sharing supper with Pete and Carol tonight….
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FROM THE MAILBAG
Kind words and well wishes from readers today…
Reader comment: I’ve been reading your ideas for 15 years. Thank you for making my life rich. I hope to meet you someday. Do you think there will be any Canadian meetings like you have had in the past?
Tom’s response: We hope to cross the border between Montana and Alberta in August.
Reader comment: Tom, I have been following your reckoning, getting back together with your wife and children. Solidarity! It takes an in-depth thinker to realize that life IS fulfilled reunited with family. Now, you won’t miss all those precious moments of your children’s growth, intelligence, and enlightenment. That moment of “By George,” I think they got it! Best to all.
Reader comment: The picture of the pop-up camper in the back brought up so many memories of my childhood. My dad dragged that thing around for years, and we camped in it from Bar Harbor, Maine down to Florida. We were a big family (six kids) but we made it work. I think those experiences really helped make us who we are today. I tell my kids those stories (I have two girls) and they say it’s not for them. Times have changed, but I will get them out there at some point. Gold and gold miners are starting to look real good with this upcoming financial mess. Have fun!
Reader comment: I’ve been following you for a while and am enjoying the Postcards a lot. Who doesn’t love a good love story?! Especially one with a happy ending…
We live a couple of miles out of the famous (infamous?) Bavarian tourist town of Leavenworth, a possible stop on your way up to British Columbia. We have lots of room, both outside and in, and would love to host y’all (we lived in Tennessee for 30 years and still have a business there 😊). You can stay with us or up in our orchard, whatever you like. Looking forward to the rest of your postcards!
Reader comment: As part of formulating a response during such confronting and mentally disturbing times, the clarity of your gold presentation came at an opportune moment. It has been central to our formulating a direction and plotting a way forward through this disaster with hope. I write from New Zealand. Should your journey eventually bring you to these remote parts, you will find a warm welcome here. Best wishes to you and your family on your travels.
Tom’s response: We continue to be absolutely blown away by your encouraging messages and invitations for us to come and camp with you. Thank you SO much! Please keep ‘em coming by emailing us at [email protected]. We will do our best to stop by and say hi if we can…