Modes of Transport / Off-the-beaten-path / USA / Wandering
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published January 9, 2023
Having a fat-tire electric bike is great. It’s able to handle the desert terrain. From deep, soft sand to rough gravel. So I’ve spent a lot of time riding around the desert and checking out some of the RVs parked out here near Quartzsite, Arizona. My favorites are all the...
Active / Logistics / Off-the-beaten-path / Strenuous / USA
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published December 31, 2022 · Last modified December 29, 2022
Life — all three months that I plan to be out here — in Quartzsite is a lot different from life in the “real world”. I’m not really sure what the term self-sufficient means to most people. In fairness, this isn’t like living on the open prairie in the 1800s....
As I crossed the last mountain pass, traveling west from Phoenix, I stopped by the side of the highway and looked down over the tiny town and surrounding desert valley I had traveled so far to call my winter home. More to come about the ups and downs of life...
A 2,500 mile thunder run is absolutely not my preferred pace of travel. I put a great deal of time and effort into building a life that would allow me to travel and explore at a somewhat leisurely pace. Unfortunately, elements of this particular trip are dictated by constraints that...
Activities / Adventure / High Adrenaline / USA
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published March 12, 2022 · Last modified February 20, 2022
The place where I hid out for winter of 2021-2022 was on a very tiny horse farm outside Mobile, Alabama. Aside from the two horses, the family that owned the farm had a collection of toys that rivaled any church carnival. A trampoline A motorized train made from rain barrels...
Adventure / Culture / Laid-back / USA
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published March 5, 2022 · Last modified February 20, 2022
It was an accident of timing that I visited New Orleans two weeks before the start of Mardi Gras. But I can now definitively say that’s the best possible time to go. The French Quarter is a ghost town. You get none of the drunks, vomiting, crime, or other unseemly...
Off-the-beaten-path / USA / Wandering
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published February 26, 2022 · Last modified February 20, 2022
I read the book Forrest Gump long before it was made into a movie. These days I like the movie but when it first came out, I despised it. Forrest went through so many more adventures in the book. It was much more of a farce. I felt outraged at...
I’ve been hiding out from winter in Mobile, Alabama. The rainiest city in America, as it turns out! (It’s true! I didn’t believe it when someone told me. Then I looked it up. Mobile gets 67″ of rain per year; easily enough to submerge most 5th graders.) One rainy day,...
The small town of Adrian, Michigan very briefly held the world’s record for largest number of decorated Christmas trees on public display all in one place. Within a few hours, another town took the record. But seeing these trees was still quite a sight, even for someone who hardly cares...