Walkabout: A short period of wandering bush life engaged in by an Australian aborigine as an occasional interruption of regular work —often used in the phrase ‘go walkabout ‘
Mirriam-Webster
In the fall of 2021 I decided to quit my job and do some aimless wandering.
Though I’ve visited all fifty states, I wanted to see the places that I didn’t really get to know – the Missisippi Valley and the deep South. My country was more divided than I’d ever seen. Some pundits warned that we’re headed for a second Civil War. I’ve been living in liberal, white, secular Vermont for most of the last half century. It would be good for me to leave the bubble I’ve been living in and see what it’s like somewhere else. To see the places we call Flyover Country and The Bible Belt and to get a taste of what people there are thinking and experiencing.
On my return I decided to write about my experiences. To be honest, I decided to write my travel experiences for selfish reasons, to revisit the joy in writing, and to get a little better at it.
At worst, this blog will be like one of those long, rambling holiday letters that families send out; of interest mainly to the people I visited on this trip and a few of my other friends. I hope it’s more than that. I’m not attempting to commit literature here, But I think you’ll find some of my stories worth reading.
I’m eager to tell you about a National Park that’s also a highway, a lost city in Wisconsin, barbecue mutton, the stunning natural arch where Thomas Jefferson vacationed, a museum dedicated to mustard, an ancient Native American city (yes, a city), a precise replica of the Parthenon with a terrifying statue of Athena, a Kentucky prairie filled with elk and bison, a car made of wood, a dessert called concrete, a city with museums honoring both the Freedom Riders and The Confederate White House, and the sad final days of the world’s last Howard Johnsons restaurant.
I spent about 30 days traveling and have twenty-one stories to tell. I hope you enjoy them.
— Russell