Roadtrip-Adventure-Ohio-West-Virginia-Bob Davis Podcast 879

West Virginia Stand Out

I promised a podcast for Ohio and West Virginia. West Virginia though, is most noteworthy. Find out why in Roadtrip-Adventure-Ohio-West-Virginia-Bob Davis Podcast 879.

Hard To Remember Where I was!

I’m on a mega road trip for Thanksgiving week. Heading across the central United States from Minneapolis and Saint Paul all the way to Richmond Virginia and back. As a result it gets difficult to remember just where I was.

Back Road Fading

First of all I intended to include more of Ohio. My route for a good part of this trip is US 33. Truth is, much of 33 through Ohio is actually more like an Interstate than it is a two lane back road.

Pouring Rain and Autobahns

Moreover through most of the time in Ohio, it was pouring rain. As I angled down toward West Virginia I focused on driving. In addition, I was a little frustrated with highway improvements that have left 33 a four lane autobahn with seventy mile an hour speed limits. I am searching for adventure in Roadtrip-Adventure-Ohio-West-Virginia-Bob Davis Podcast 879. That means backroads.

Wild and Wonderful

In contrast, there is West Virginia. I am enchanted with this “Wild and Wonderful” state. A place that turned out to be the stand out of the trip so far.

Mountains Mountains Mountains!

Maybe it’s the mountains. Towns and mountain hamlets. Old trailers and school buses. Picturesque unincorporated clusters of churches and antebellum houses. The contrast between wealth and poverty in some places goes back generations.

Hairpin Curves and 10 Percent Grades

Due to the mountains, there are times when Mobile Podcast Command was rumbling along at 25 to 40 miles an hour, rather than freeway speeds. Through most of the state 33 is two lanes, with hairpin curves and 10 percent grades up and down. Almost heaven!

Story Within A Story

Seems like every little turn and twist in West Virginia’s mountain roads have a story. From Glenview to Elkins and more. Almost certainly all these places actually do have pretty good stories.

Crystal Clear Night

Finally this podcast ends in Virginia. One hundred miles from nowhere. On a crystal clear quiet night just before Thanksgiving.

Now I get to plan the return trip.

Stay Tuned

Sponsored by Fitness Together Private Customized Personal Training and Nutrition and LaCroix Law Real Estate Attorney

Roadtrip-Adventure-Ohio-West-Virginia-Bob Davis Podcast 879

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Podcast 583-Summer Storm

Podcast 583-Summer Storm. Nothing better than a summer storm to help you forget the bitter cold. It’s well below zero in Minnesota. While Europe and parts of the South consider mid twenties to thirties ‘bitter’ cold, in the Upper Midwest we’re talking minus twenty, thirty or even forty below. This is the kind of cold you don’t need windchill to exaggerate. If you’re in the deep freeze this podcast is designed to provide a half an hour or so of relief.

Last summer I had a chance to record a huge summer storm that rolled through the area. The storm track on this podcast isn’t edited. It was recorded in real time, complete with bouts of heavy rain and thunder. Interspersed throughout the storm are some thought starters to help subscribers to the Bob Davis Podcasts mentally escape.

Maybe when you were a kid your family did a road trip to Florida. Or while in college you and your friends took a trip through the mountains, or the desert. Many have had one of those summer college jobs for some agricultural company that required rolling around on back roads across Iowa and North Dakota, recording the growth of corn, or whatever those companies require people to write down on clipboards.

For me, sitting in a broken down old ’67 Ford Galaxy in the fields and watching the storms roll in across the prairie in Rural Illinois, will always remind me of deep summer. It’s easy for people to say, “Why don’t you get on a plane and go to LA, or Hawaii”. Yes, it sure would be nice. Thing is, not all of us can do that.

As we head into the deep freeze, keep this podcast handy. Put on your headphones for Podcast 583-Summer Storm and prepare to be transported to my porch during an awesome summer storm. Of course, you’ll have to put up with me talking in your ear about places I’ve been and places to go, but it’s better than looking out the window wishing it wasn’t twenty five below.

It is true we welcome the cold weather, at least the first blush and especially at Christmas Time. Trust me, though. You’re going to want to escape. If you can’t get away as soon as you’d like to or at all this year, Podcast 583-Summer Storm is your ticket to paradise. Summer in the Midwest. Storms. Thunder. Steady Rain. The hum of summer insects. Thoughts of rolling down two lane roads cutting through green fields. Freedom is a clean windshield and a full tank of gas.

Sponsored By Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Hydrus Performance.

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Podcast 464

Welcome to Tennessee. Live from Bristol, Tennessee – The Birthplace Of Country Music. New Hampshire’s primary is history. Flush with new data and fresh story lines, every satellite news truck and reporter is rolling out of the Granite State headed for South Carolina, the third primary in election 2016. The Bob Davis Podcasts are already in the south, taking a break from the political craziness. Welcome to Tennessee, and to one of the coolest towns in Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia: Bristol. Part of Bristol is in the Volunteer State of Tennessee and the other part is in the Old Dominion. This is a great introduction to South Carolina, because this part of Tennessee and Virginia are in the Appalachian Mountains, first settled by the Scots-Irish, English and Germans over two hundred years ago. They brought their culture with them including stories and music dating back centuries. Industrial growth from the late 1800’s and beginning of the twentieth century brought change to the people who call this part of the country home. In 1927 a Bristol area musician and performer recommended the town to a recording engineer and talent scout. The scout brought the latest recording technology to town, set up shop in a hat factory, placed an ad in a local newspaper and prepared to record. Ralph Peer’s Bristol Sessions turned out to be seminal in the development of American Roots music and the careers of artists who later became major country music stars. The Bristol Sessions are often referred to as ‘The Big Bang of Country Music’. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol celebrates the Bristol Sessions and so much more. Take a break from the endless political nonsense going on, to get a sense of the influence this part of the country has had on the rest of the United States, and the gift the people of Appalachia have given us all. Today the south is a major economic, social and political influence, equal or greater to any other part of the country. Get set for surprises after South Carolina votes, and after the mid south primaries on Super Tuesday. (Big Thanks to Renee Rogers and Charlene Baker for meeting me at the Museum office back door on a snowy Monday, and for doing an interview for this podcast.) Sponsored by X Government Cars, Pride of Homes and Luke Team Real Estate.

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