Prisoner of Hopes

Category: History

  • Verde to Tonto: Rural Road Trip

    I wouldn’t call us aimless. But we have no plan other than to enjoy this beautiful weekend. The weather is perfect. Blue skies. Cool breeze. And we have a whole day ahead of us to enjoy whatever we can.

  • Meiji Morning: Travel Goals

    This morning I wake up with the sun. It is a mystery to me how my internal clock always knows sunrise. Even on the other side of the globe, I’m up at the first hint of dawn. Last night we arrived in Tokyo after nineteen hours of travel. Unsurprisingly, the boys are still fast asleep.…

  • Jerome: Rural Road Trips Arizona

    Jerome is a little city with a big past and tenacious residents. It is built on a steep hillside. Some might call it a mountain. It once was the center of a mining empire. Today it is best known as a ghost town. There are only dozens of people who call it home. I drive…

  • Hopi Ruins: Rural Road Trips

    After standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona for about as long as we care to, we head out of town on Route 66. Within a few minutes, we find a trading post that sells native made products. I leave with a lighter wallet and some beautiful jewelry. The shop keeper recommends that we visit…

  • Standing On A Corner: Rural Road Trips Arizona

    “Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona. Such a fine sight to see.” The Eagles’ hit dominates the town of Winslow. At the infamous corner, you can take a picture at the junction of Route 66, take your picture with Glenn Frey, take your picture with a local musician, buy souvenirs, buy a guitar, have…

  • Trading Post: Rural Road Trip Arizona

    On our way to Canyon de Chelly, we stop at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic site. To get here, we drove though miles of Navajo Country, wdesert and across a tiny one lane bridge. On the outside, the building looks as it once did. Adobe bricks baked by the sun form crude walls. A…

  • Old Town Charm: Rural Road Trips

    Sometimes a road warrior just needs a little down time. In old town Albuquerque, a quiet stroll and a leisurely meal fit the bill. The old section of town is a bit ragged around the edges. Shops have closed and the tourist traffic is light. But the streets and adobe buildings have a magic all…

  • The Canyon Remembered: Rural Road Trip

    We are standing in Palo Duro Canyon. A roadrunner follows us around the parking lot. He assumes an assertive stance on the red dirt hill just off the sidewalk and challenges us to follow along the trail to the river. Of course I tag along. He is cute and I love to hike. It is…

  • Pompeii: Tragedy on Tour: Rural Road Trip

    When I have time between grown up responsibilities, I like to make my own fun. This often involves random searches for “things to do near me” or “things happening this weekend”. Today google suggested that we could check out the Pompeii exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center. We hadn’t been there in several years…

  • Ceide Fields: Travel Goals Ireland

    Once in awhile, I find myself in a place that feels timeless. I could be anywhere at all. Time stands still between the Earth and sky. At Ceide Fields near Glenurla, County Mayo, it is easy to forget modernity in favor of a simpler life. It is cold and the wind coming off the Irish…