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

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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Thanksgiving-Road-Trip-Planning-Bob Davis Podcast 876

Thanksgiving-Road-Trip-Planning-Bob Davis Podcast 876

Mega Road Trip!

I have started the countdown clock for departure for my 2019 Thanksgiving Mega Road Trip. Find out why I only do back roads. In addition, why am I taking a trip through the American Midwest. Learn more in Thanksgiving-Road-Trip-Planning-Bob Davis Podcast 876.

Back Roads Only Please

As far as I am concerned back roads are most noteworthy. I don’t do freeways or toll roads. The back roads are where you learn what is really going on in this country.

Podcasting From The Road

Moreover I really have a passion for podcasting from Mobile Podcast Command, a ‘repurposed’ 2000 ambulance.

Places No One Ever Reports On Or Goes To

On America’s two lane state, county and farm roads, a traveler sees and feels places no one ever goes to or reports on.

“No One Ever Comes Here”

Especially relevant are two Iowa farmers I interviewed last summer. With all the politicians in Iowa you’d think someone would have knocked on their doors. “That’s all up in Des Moines”, they said. “No one ever comes here to talk to us”.

Real America

In contrast I’ve taken the back roads from coast to coast, north and south, east and west. Because of the back roads I’ve learned a lot about America.

Mysterious Ancient Paper Maps

As a result I have learned the value of a mysterious thing called a map. I don’t mean google maps. I’m talking about paper maps. I’ll explain in Thanksgiving-Road-Trip-Planning-Bob Davis Podcast 876.

Exact Route

Above all I’ll give you the exact route I’ll be taking this Thanksgiving across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. Pretty much all back roads.

RV Nomads

Finally when I started back roading in mobile podcast command, there weren’t very many RV Nomads out there. This podcast is a salute to all the Van Life and Skoolie Conversion people I follow. Now there are millions. Maybe they’re onto something.

Mobile Podcast Command Is Primitive

In contrast I won’t be living in relative luxury in my RV. Mobile Podcast Command is primitive. I sleep in a hammock. Cook my dinners on a camp stove. I Take showers at Yoga studios and Truck Stops. I do have a coffee maker, however.

Real Happiness Through Travel

Above all, happiness is a clean windshield and a full tank of fuel.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Reliafund Payment Processors

Thanksgiving-Road-Trip-Planning-Bob Davis Podcast 876

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Media Lies-Travel Truths-Small Town America-Bob Davis Podcast 789

Media Lies-Travel Truths-Small Town America-Bob Davis Podcast 789

To hear Der Spiegel tell it, Fergus Falls, Minnesota is a very special place these days. The town on Minnesota’s prairie is in a deep forest. A city manager carries a gun. The local high school sports iron doors and metal detectors. Moreover the mouth breathing savages that inhabit this place all voted for Trump. Learn more in Media Lies-Travel Truths-Small Town America-Bob Davis Podcast 789.

All Lies

The most noteworthy thing about this story is the fact that it is a complete fabrication. To Der Spiegel’s credit, the magazine is sending a reporter to Fergus Falls.

This time to apologize.

Dark and Dangerous Rural America

Sadly often media lies tell us more truth about biases than their coverage. Especially relevant are the new storylines about the mysterious and the mystical “rural America”. Land of republicans and Trump supporters. Dark and Dangerous. Well spring of public radio’s murder mystery podcasts. Source of the angry and red faced nationalist republican.

Small Town America

Truth is rural America is just as difficult to report on and explain as any urban center. We’ll talk about it in Media Lies-Travel Truths-Small Town America-Bob Davis Podcast 789.

Travel Is The Antidote

More importantly, travel is the antidote for the half truths and fairy tales of the media. I have traveled back and forth across this country, east to west, west to east and north to south many times. There are places I have missed but in thousands of miles of travel over the past few years, I have learned a great deal.

The New Nomads

Moreover many people have taken to converted school buses, RV’s and even Ambulances in search of their own version of America. Here’s to them.

Have A Cup Of Joe

In small towns across the US dedicated to ranching, farming, and mining people aren’t just going to walk up to you and tell you their life stories. Simple observation won’t tell you their stories either. Travel takes you through but you have to stop. Have a cup of Joe and talk to people. Get to know them over time.

Sometimes Working Together…Sometimes Not…Just Like The Big Cities

Finally what I’ve found in these places are all kinds of people living and working together. In some places things are better than in others. Reasons for decline or improvement are often elusive, even to the locals. Whether it’s a mining town or a farm town.

Politics Doesn’t Make The Man or The Town

In conclusion, I am sick to death of reporters telling us politics determines whether we are red or blue. These things don’t take the measure of the people who live in a town, large or small.

Coast To Coast and Back Again

Join me for Media Lies-Travel Truths-Small Town America-Bob Davis Podcast 789. Hear the sounds of some of the places I have visited over the last few years, from a hound dog in Mendocino, California to the total eclipse in Makanda Illinois, and finally overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the coast highway.

I’ve got a few stories of my own to tell.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors, John D. Scott Personal Injury Lawyer and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Media Lies-Travel Truths-Small Town America-Bob Davis Podcast 789

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:30 — 85.8MB) | Embed

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