Tag Archives: Motorcycle

Religious Light & Reality at National Parks

Posted on January 31, 2019 by smspangler

Snuggled up indoors, the polar vortex condensed home humidity into narrow frozen frames at the bottom corners of our new double-pane windows. Watching sunset’s pastel colors play across a crystalline canvas stirred warm weather memories. No matter the season or … Continue reading →

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Following the Scenic Dotted Line & Other Adventures

Posted on August 12, 2016 by smspangler

In the 1970s, I made my inaugural exploration of California Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway or, concisely, the PCH. On a series of trips I extended it through Oregon and Washington to Seattle, a route we … Continue reading →

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Route 66: Following the Pink Line From Chicago to LA

Posted on August 1, 2016 by smspangler

As an aficionado of small towns and the people who live in them, there seemed no better  way to explore those not yet visited than by following the path of the road that once connected them: Route 66. The towns … Continue reading →

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Black & White Life and Legacy at Missouri Military Academy

Posted on February 13, 2015 by smspangler

MEXICO, MISSOURI—Missouri Military Academy fills a prominent place in my cranial archive. It was founded in 1889. I was its director of publications and public information from 1982, when I graduated from J-school, until 1989, the school’s centennial year. In … Continue reading →

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Travel’s Last Leg, as Eagerly Anticipated as the First

Posted on August 17, 2013 by smspangler

OMRO, WISCONSIN—In my decades of travel, on trips far and near, long and short, I’ve always anticipated the last leg home with the same eagerness of their first leg. This two-wheeled adventure to Seattle and back (and neither Ed nor … Continue reading →

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Heading East for Home but Waylaid by Lindbergh’s VW Beetle

Posted on August 16, 2013 by smspangler

LITTLE FALLS, MINNESOTA—Heading home after two weeks on the road, crossing into my home time zone yesterday at the border of North Dakota and Minnesota infected me with get-home-itis. Starting every day by riding into the rising sun as it … Continue reading →

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Tonka Trucks Discover the Spirit in North Dakota

Posted on August 15, 2013 by smspangler

DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA—North Dakota’s license plate is a colorful image of the plains, and in the sky it says “Discover the Spirit.” In the lower left corner stands a bison on two stems of wheat, opposite of the ready-to-harvest … Continue reading →

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Alone on the Range Under a Big Cloudy Sky

Posted on August 14, 2013 by smspangler

MILES CITY, MONTANA—Alone on the range, where the buffalo no longer roam, deer were no where to be seen, and a lone antelope glumly stared at me from behind a barbwire fence. After turning right at Harlem, Montana, where I … Continue reading →

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Making All the Right Turns, Counter to the Traffic’s Flow

Posted on August 13, 2013 by smspangler

HAVRE, MONTANA—Thunderstorms awakened me in Kalispell around 0245 this morning, and when I reawakened at 0730, I was afraid to look beyond the curtain. Partly cloudy and sunshine. With no free breakfast or coffee at the Blue & White, I … Continue reading →

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Interstate Decisions: Which Road to Ride, Where to Stay

Posted on August 11, 2013 by smspangler

SPOKANE VALLEY, WASHINGTON—Return trips are essentially restarts of a trip because you have to make all the same directions, only going in the other direction. With a business call in Spokane Valley, I spend Saturday trying to decide whether to … Continue reading →

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