2026 Road Trip - Day 1

Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 - A GOOD FULL DAY, and I'm glad to be back Out On The Road. I left Home at 5:50 AM, and checked into the La Quinta Inn in Erie, PA at 8:30 PM:

oh, and did I mention 19 Post Offices in New York and Pennsylvania.

At The Breakfast, I'm helping Ernie "manage the nametags" - these are just some of the ones THAT AREN'T ON THE BOARD. Time for a little thinning:

I was able to stop at REI in Albany to get a replacement for my water filter:

An hour west I stopped at The Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, NY. I guess Art Museums aren't very popular on Thursdays:

Their main galleries were closed for renovaation, and I have seen what else was on display, but it was nice to get out and stretch my legs. My 2 favorites today are:

Winslow Homer - Watching the Breakers - A High Sea, 1896 oil:

Winslow Homer - On the Beach, ca. 1869 oil:

Driving the next 3-and-1/2 hours on I-90 was a bit harrowing. The weather was beautiful (not much direct-sunlight, high clouds, 80's), but the constant go-go-go at 70/75 mph takes its toll on me. I had a MUCH more pleasant experience after getting southwest of Buffalo, and grabbing Post Offices down State (& US) highways. It turns out that I was on US 20, which runs from Boston to Oregon:

It was fun getting 19 Post Offices from Buffalo to Erie:

After 601 miles, I checked into the La Quinta Inn in Erie, PA:

Thank you God for this wonderful Adventure Day! Good to get back out on The Road.

Music for today - I want to start with a couple of Triple-Albums:

Yes - Yessongs, 1973 live triple-album, last heard 9/09/2023. SO COOL!!!

Then, in New York State, let's go back to 1969: various - Woodstock One, 1970 live triple-album, last heard 25/01/2025:

Then into some of my favorites: Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978 album, last heard 5/13/2024:

lyrics "Racing in the Street":

Now some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
And go racin' in the street

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes, 1979 album, last heard 8/01/2018 - GREAT Energy:

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited, 1965 album, last heard 9/07/2025. WOW - "Like a Rolling Stone", "Ballad of a Thin Man", "Tombstone Blues", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Desolation Row":

lyrics "Ballad of a Thin Man"

Ah, you've been with the professors
And they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers, you have discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read, it's well known

But something is happening here
And ya don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

lyrics "Desolation Row"

Across the street they've nailed the curtains, they're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera in a perfect image of a priest
They are spoon feeding Casanova to get him to feel more assured
Then they'll kill him with self-confidence after poisoning him with words
And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls, "Get outta here if you don't know"
Casanova is just being punished for going to Desolation Row"

The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks, 1971 greatest hits double-album, last heard 9/07/2025. CLASSIC album:

Hot Tuna - Hot Tuna -1st album (expanded), 1970 live album, last heard 9/03/2025. Very nice listening on non-Interstate roads:

Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends, 1968 album, last heard (in a blog) 6/26/2024 - of course, a classic:

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

2026 Road Trip - Day 0

August 10, 2026 - It has been a WONDERFUL SUMMER here in Manchester-by-the-Sea, but it is time to "hit the road". I want to visit the Upper Penninsula, then Fish Creek, Wisconsin, and then a Northern Route to get down into Idaho for a 3-day-2-night overnight-camping in Idaho's White Cloud Mountains. Then north for a couple of dayhikes in Glacier National Park. Wendy will join me in Calgary, and we will visit Lake O'Hara and Maligne Lake. After a couple of days in Glacier National Park, Wendy flys home from Bozeman, Montana, and I'll make my way back Home through the Heartland of America:

The Art Museums are few-and-far-between - almost all of them no longer display "the art I like" (Bierstadt, Cole, Church). I'm glad I saw a lot of them when I did.

There is currently 65,000 miles on my white 2023 Crosstrek (decals courtsey of Wendy!)

I will be getting home Wednesday, September 16th. 35 days, Close to 11,000 miles (I wonder How Many Albums? How Many Post Offices?)

Should be fun - come along for the ride! Maybe I'll see you Out On The Road - as Paul Simon wrote:

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America

Watkins Glen, and The Gorge Trail - May 28-29, 2026

Thursday/Friday, May 28/29, 2026 - At the beginning of April, Wendy became aware (Instagram?) of a trail with "19 waterfalls in a one-mile-stretch". It is The Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen State Park. I got it on our calendars to visit, and that is these 2 days (841 miles total):

I drove to Boston for my Thursday Men's Breakfast, and came home to make sandwiches - we left Manchester about 11:30. We checked into the Radisson Hotel Corning at 6:30

At a friend's recommendation we had a great dinner at Three Birds Restaurant:

Up and at 'em the next morning. After breakfast at the hotel, we were up at Watkins Glen State Park at 9:45. I have actually hiked this trail before, back on October 11, 2015, (and you can read that blog here), but I'm SO HAPPY Wendy gets to do it:

From the lower entrance (the "Main Entrance"), it is about 1.5 miles up The Gorge Trail to get to the "Upper Entrance". Not hard, but a lot of steps:

Although one waterfall was in a "closed area" at the beginning of the Trail, the rest was WONDERFUL:

"Rainbow Falls" is a lot of fun, with the waterfall going right over you:

Sometimes the best shots are looking behind you:

For the last 1/2 mile, the gorge opens up a little, and the river is calmer. The water is cool, but not too cold:

The last big push up The Steps, up to the Upper Entrance:

We took the "North Rim Trail" to get back down to the bottom:

We wound up hiking 3.31 miles in 1 hour 52 minutes:

I took a picture of the Watkins Glen Post Office:

We headed 20 miles south to Horseheads, NY and got lunch at Jersey Mike's. Up onto I-84 East, which got me home by 7:30 PM. WOW - Thank You God for this wonderful 2-day-adventure!

Before I get to The Music, over these 2 days Wendy read a few hours from a book we are making our way through: Dennis Lehane - The Given Day, 2008. To quote AI: "The Given Day" is an epic 2008 historical novel by Dennis Lehane, set in Boston around World War I, exploring the lives of two families—one white (the Coughlins) and one black (the Laurence family)—amidst social and political turmoil, including the 1919 Boston Police Strike. :

Music for these days:

The Doors - The Soft Parade, 1969 4th album, last heard (on a Road Trip) 8/21/2019:

various - Whatever - The 90's Pop & Culture Box (7 cds), 2005 album, last heard (on a Road Trip) 7/21/2024 - I like The Energy!

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, 1995 double-album, last heard (on a Road Trip) 9/10/2025:

George Winston - Plains, 1999 album, last heard (on a Road Trip) 9/08/2023 - nice way to finish thei Road Trip:

Past entries of this blog are available on the website https://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

Scotland Trip 2026 - Epilogue

Friday, January 30, 2026 - I was just going to leave it saying "And then we went home", but a lot of stuff happened on our way home! Up and at 'em. A nice breakfast in the hotel, and we left about 8 AM. The Map for Day 4 in Scotland:

Not really "Rush Hour", but the roads were full with people getting the day started. We saw a Very Cool Horse Statue on the way to The Airport:

Returned the car, and caught the shuttle bus over to the terminal. Very nice bus map:

Airport are Airports, all around The World. The best way to manage them is with a lot of time and (at least) a little patience. After a while, we were on our flight to Iceland:

Bye-Bye Scotland:

Hello Iceland:

We had a lay-over, then had to walk across the tarmac to board our new plane:

It would be GREAT to visit those other places in Iceland, as soon as I figure out HOW TO PRONOUNCE THEM:

The video-screen showed "stuff about Iceland" - my favorite is the 3rd:

A few hours later, we were flying over Greenland:

Fun seeing Cape Ann out the window:

Roast Beef sandwiches on the way home. Thank You God for this wonderful Scotland adventure (and getting us Home safe and sound)!

Past entries of this blog are available on the website https://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/