RED BOILING SPRINGS, TENNESSEE – Last year, we went on the most epic hike…
We were in Egypt… in the Sinai Peninsula… somewhere near the border with Israel. We were staying in a Bedouin camp.
The Bible says God revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses in these parts. And the landscape looked just as you’d imagine: red, rocky, barren, and mountainous.
We hired a guide. His name was Farhan. He looked like he’d come straight from the pages of the Old Testament. Except beneath his white robe, he wore a pair of sneakers.
Farhan, our guide, leads the way
We set off into the mountains at dawn. I carried Penny on my back. Eventually, we crossed the ridge and came to a high plateau.
Our guide led us over the hills and around the red, rocky outcrops to an ancient stone cottage nestled in a secret grove of almond trees. It had been in his family for generations.
Penny and Farhan share a piece of bread
We picked almonds while our guide made lemongrass tea over a little fire.
We basked in the sun for several hours, munching on almonds, drinking tea, climbing boulders, and throwing rocks.
We basked in the sun for hours
Then we went home… back to our camp down in the valley…
The sun set while we descended. It was the most beautiful sunset I’d ever seen.
And even though we’d walked for more than eight hours on treacherous little donkey paths up and down mountains, eating only almonds and apples (and a little bit of bread), the kids didn’t complain at all.
When we started our round-the-world trip two years ago, the kids hated hiking, and they’d complain bitterly about it.
That day, they were still scrambling up and down the boulders long after the sun had gone down…
Here we are at sundown. The mountains turned to gold and started glowing…
Waiting for the sun to set
One of the things about our trip was, it really strengthened the kids’ mental toughness.
I have a friend who takes his kids on a camping trip every year. He makes sure the kids feel cold, hot, tired, and hungry at least once every day.
I understand now why he did this.
– Tom Dyson
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FROM THE MAILBAG
In today’s mailbag, readers share their road trip ideas… and offer the Dyson family more places to stay on their journey to Alaska…
Reader comment: Tom and Kate, I cannot express how much I enjoy seeing these postcards and living through your adventures. My wife and I spend money on trips for our kids instead of buying them things they will break and won’t remember when they get older. I still remember fondly the few vacations we had as a kid out west.
I don’t know if you are coming through our neck of the woods on your way west, but you all are welcome to stay at our home in Aurora, MO any time. Or if you just need a place to park the camper for a while. I’ll give you all a tour of our family’s ranching operation that’s been in the family for well over 100 years. We’ve also got a 5-acre lake that has some nice bass in it if you all want to fish. My kids enjoy it. I wish you all the best on your trip. Stay safe, and keep the postcards coming!
Reader comment: Hi Tom and family, I just want to send your way that I’m a brand-new fan of your writing! I had always heard of your Postcards from Dan Denning, but never dove into it until now. Really wish I did ages ago and not lost half my money on stupid over-leveraging in the stock market.
Luckily, I got out when I did and am prioritizing my gold allocation now. Aside from the market… I just dove into 40 pages of your journals last night. Just wonderful! It’s a big relief to read writing that’s honest. So thank you for that. Photos are beautiful, too. Really paints a picture and gets a fellow wanderlust really stoked. Definitely looking forward to the rest and upcoming!
Reader comment: Tom, I’m disappointed that you aren’t heading Northeast! Maybe you are planning to be here in the fall for the scenery? The kids would enjoy all the historical sites of the American Revolution. I have a small vacation apartment two blocks from the shore in Asbury Park that you can stay in anytime… and the driveway would even fit your camper. Never responded before to any newsletter, but like so many others, I find your writing style quite nice. You are going to love the parks out west. They’re absolutely stunning!
Reader comment: If you do end up doing more of those small-town human-interest stories, I recommend reading William Least Heat Moon’s book Blue Highways. Also, there was a good one by Charles Kuralt of CBS News Sunday Morning fame who did sort of the same for years.
The less fortunate seem to be getting further and further behind and in debt now, so I am sure there are very interesting stories to be found out there. If you do get through Utah on your way west, I could put you up for a day or two near Heber City or in Oakley. Great stopping points for the Park City mining history and plenty of recreation opportunities.
I also had a point where I needed to try to do better for myself and took off on a year-long solo round-the-world trip during the ’08 financial problems. Might be time for another here soon! Loved the updates along the way. Thank you!
My advice is to not try to go too fast from one place to another if you find interesting people and things to do along the way. My travels across the country included meandering on the smaller roads and towns, with a longer itinerary to be able to seize the day as I saw fit.
Tom’s note: As always, thanks to everyone who wrote in! Kate and I read every note you send us. Please keep sending us your questions and comments at [email protected].