#55 - Wednesday, 3 May 2017 - Alpine, Texas

Here's a mission for ya, before I begin ... why not copy and paste your browser's URL into an email send a link for this blog to two or three friends who might find it interesting. I happy to type for myself diary-style, but the more readers the more time I will invest here. Thanks! 

With the BTS Journal done and dusted, edited and designed, I had a few bonus days here in Alpine, but other than my drive down to Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management area I have ventured too far.

Yesterday was my first dedicated maintenance day. It was deep clean, hyper organize and fix day. I got my oil changed, which in these parts isn’t as easy as finding the nearest Jiffy Lube, and also got it washed. I then cleaned the glass and gave it a bit of a polish. There’s a True Value just a couple miles down the road where I picked up RV wash supplies. Tomorrow after I am hooked up and pulling out I am going to be using the RV Park’s very nice RV wash area to give the Wheelhouse a scrub. Unfortunately, I needed to repair a hole in my RV awning that occurred during gusty winds one night in Big Bend N.P. Lesson learned; always retract awning before bed. I was so proud of how I had shoehorned by RV into a secluded and shaded spot where I could only extend the awning 25%. That 1/4 of an awning was enough when middle of night power winds got it flapping and the shady desert willow drove a stake through it’s heart. I bought a roll of black and a roll of white vinyl tape and a double thickness of 4” of each repaired the whitish underside and dark top.  I changed my guitar strings, I filled all of my water jugs and did all sorts of little fine-tunes to my gypsy life.

Today I continued my organizing and stocked up the fridge and pantry. I returned to the True Value to buy a hummingbird feeder as I had seen a little hummer whizzing around my door this morning. My neighbor when I first arrived here at Lost Alaskan RV Park had a seed feeder and I’ve seen many others. Many of these people in huge motor coaches build an entire patio set when they arrive. I figured a naturalist/wildlife photographer needs a hummingbird feeder to attract photo subjects. It took all of five minutes before I had my first visitor.

I was stoked to find one of my top three beers in the grocery store here. I don’t know how I missed it on my first visit. Imperial is the pride of Costa Rica and a delicious, easy drinking lager. I already had a case of Lone Star and miscellaneous craft beers in the fridge, but had to add a twelve of Imperial. I’ll have guest starting Monday. I’ve got loads of electrolyte drinks, teas and other stuff and somewhere beneath the varied and plentiful drinks and condiments I think there is something to actually toss on the grill tonight. I even have stuff for a salad!

Tomorrow morning I will break camp, scrub the Wheelhouse and head out of Alpine. Hopefully driving through El Paso won’t suck too much because I am not sure I feel like shunpiking around it. If I hit the road early enough I may do a scenic detour. See map below: 

I blogged previously about a man named Mick that I met in Seminole Canyon. One of the things he shared with me, which he explained he had learned from some Canadian RV trekkers, was the 3x3 rule, or something like that. It is setting the goal of never driving more than 300 miles each day, always arriving at next destination by 3 pm, and always staying in each spot at least three days. I'm down with that mantra. Tomorrow, though, I will travel a bit more than 300 miles and arrive somewhere I am only staying two days. But I have no doubt I'll make it by 3.

In an upcoming blog I will give an overview of my road traveled thus far. But until then here is the macro view of Road Trip 2017 through Sunday's arrival in the Catalina Mountains east of Tucson.

– All the best, M

#21 - Friday, 3 February 2017 | Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida

It is Friday morning. I woke before dawn and decided to make a cup of coffee and take a sunrise stroll. The birds were singing and coaxing me to join them for the break of daylight. Deer were everywhere. I walked along and they didn’t seem too bothered by this early-rising primate, but would bound into surrounding cover if my approach was too close. I had one camera. I also had my iPhone. I must learn to live fully off the grid and not be so dependent on it, but there was a message I wanted to send so I hoped I would acquire signal at some point. I saw a raccoon walk across the crushed shell and sand main road of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. The post cold front skies had been clear all week, but some morning clouds today aided me in capturing a few beautiful sunrise images. I saw more and more white-tailed deer. When I got to the park office I sat at one of the picnic tables and checked my cell signal and was able to send a couple important direct messages and also answer a few emails. I sat finishing my coffee and three young deer approached. One got within ten feet of me before finally spooking and trotting off a bit.

Yesterday I went to breakfast at Cowpoke’s Cafe, which is maybe ten miles from my campsite. You drive several miles to exit the park and then follow the paved roads towards the main road. The cafe is remote and I wondered about the locals that were inside. After an omelette, toast, juice and coffee, I drove back to camp and along the park road stopped for six snakes that were sunning in the road. Three were Florida garter snakes and three were related ribbon snakes. The largest was no more than two and a half feet long, and most drivers would have just thought they were twigs or other debris. When I arrived at the park office on the first day I saw a graphic that explained that 80% of the animals found dead-on-road (DOR), victims of vehicles, are snakes. Certainly these small snakes, which were motionless and sunning and not moving across the road, would be overlooked by most drivers and accidentally killed. However, the sad fact is that some drivers that recognize snakes on the road go out of their way to crush them beneath their wheels. Humans can suck. I photographed a couple of the snakes and released all in the roadside grass. I’m sure they went right back out onto the road, but at least the traffic I saw during the rest of my drive wouldn’t kill them.

I parked back at my campsite and decided to hike towards the slough that runs through the park where I was certain to find alligators and wading birds. As I walked down the path running parallel to the wetland I came upon an alligator sunning in the trailside grass. It was a six-footer and didn’t even move as I stopped to photograph it. Farther along I saw many alligators ranging from six to ten feet or more. Great blue herons, great egrets, wood storks and other birds took to flight at my disturbance. The area is close to the park road and allows access for those less adventurous than me. There is a bench on one side of the path and a picnic table a bit farther up on the other side. I spent a couple hours at the site with my long lens on a tripod and another camera in my hand. I watched both great blue and little blue herons, cormorants, egrets, ibis, wood storks and, of course, alligators. Fish were constantly jumping in the marsh and I saw some large fish in the shallows. It was a serene spot to spend the late morning. I was by myself except for a couple that road up on mountain bikes. I recognized them quickly as my campsite next-door neighbors. Their arrival sent the birds to flight, but I waited for many to return.

Tonight is my last night here. Tomorrow morning I will drive two and a half hours north to Ocala where I will be storing the Wheelhouse while I am in Borneo and Malaysia. Hopefully I will be done by midday and then I will continue north to Macon, Georgia for the night. I intend to make it back to my bonus dad (stepdad) Joel’s house on Monday. On Tuesday I will get ready for my overseas trip and have lunch with my sister Lisa. I fly out of Chicago’s O’Hare airport Wednesday evening arriving in Dubai on Thursday evening, Kuala Lumpur Friday morning and then Kuching, Borneo on Friday afternoon. My friends will join me in Kuching on Saturday.

Today after I have everything packed I am going to make the campsite and RV tour video I never got to yesterday and I also am going to buy some firewood so I can have a campfire on my final night and enjoy the big can of Foster’s lager I bought the other day.

Due to the lack of wifi and almost no cell signal I am way behind on posting images to Instagram. Tomorrow night when I reach my Macon hotel I will bomb Insta will loads of pix. I'm sending this from town, but have no wifi and am using my cell data plan. Images will have to wait until the weekend. Enjoy yours!

All the best, M

#12 - Tuesday, 17 January 2017 | Homestead, Florida

I'm already falling behind on my daily blogging. Sunday I visited Biscayne National Park and yesterday was spent in Everglades National Park. I will return to both when I have more time and #roadtripusa2017 is officially underway. I am just glad I was able to make a quick trip to the subtropics and enjoy my new truck. 

Biscayne is a maritime park and to truly experience it you need to get on and across the water. There are boat trips and many visitors use kayaks, canoes or powered boats to access and camp on the outlying islands that are part of this national park. When I return I intend to rent a kayak and explore the mangroves and creeks cut into the shore. During this initial visit I just walked the boardwalk where the visitor center is located and chatted with fishermen and photographed pelicans. Those fishing were after mangrove (or grey) snapper and striped mullet is also caught. Yesterday I returned to the Everglades. I have posted some images from the day on Instagram. I was fortunate to see osprey, American crocodiles, alligators, anhingas, great blue herons and more. I had a veggie burger lunch in the cafe at Flamingo Visitor Center at the southern tip of Everglades National Park. 

When I returned to my hotel in the afternoon I actually took a dip in the outdoor! swimming pool. This morning I check out of my hotel in Homestead. I probably will return to Everglades, but may instead take a drive out to Key Largo. I have decided that going further along the Keys will have to be saved for when I have nothing but time. I am staying in this area tonight, but am moving to the neighboring town of Florida City to a hotel that hopefully has better wi-fi and from where I will start heading north tomorrow morning. I have decided to take three days for the return trip instead of two very long days. Tomorrow night I will be in Macon, Georgia and from there will continue north into the chill. 

Today is the day that my Coachmen RV 276RKDSLE Freedom Express Liberty Edition travel trailer is scheduled to be completed. I'm just guessing that it will take another week to be ready for pickup at my dealer. When I get back to Chicago I will do some more organizing and look forward to finally being able to load the RV and prepare for the official launch of #roadtripusa2017.

All the best, M

#10 - Friday, 13 January 2017 | Cutler Bay, Florida

I passed out exhausted the night before and slept later than I expected in the Radisson Marietta hotel room. I realized that I now wouldn't make it to my next hotel in Cutler Bay, Florida until night and would have to contend with some morning rush hour traffic in Atlanta. Cutler Bay is a southwestern suburb of Miami where I had booked a room at La Quinta. It's northeast of Homestead–the gateway to Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. I wanted to base myself around Homestead for this quick one-week reconnaissance trip to southern Florida, but Cutler Bay was close enough for crashing for one night upon arrival.

I'll spare you the details but today's drive was much less pleasant than that of day one. I was tired and fought a headache all day. I needed coffee but worried I was drinking too much. I drank as much water as possible and swallowed more than a few Tylenol. I don't like much about Florida. To be honest, the only thing I like is the wildlife. That's why I'm here ... oh, and for the glorious winter weather. Driving in southern Georgia was relaxing and I listened to my audiobook while taking in the billboards advertising pecans and peaches. Of course, the roadside signs in this area also are dominated by the religious, conservative and anti-abortion. These giant gaudy preaching signs begin to dominate the landscape and don't relent once you are in northern Florida. In Florida they are even more plentiful but wrestle for space among the increasing tourist attraction billboards. My head throbbed and miles became more of a struggle. Darkness eventually fell and I didn't mind as Florida isn't much to look at. I was glad once I got on the Florida Turnpike. I drove its full length for $20 in tolls, but the road is good and the service centers spaced every forty-five minutes should you need a restroom, fuel, food or to surround yourself with Floridian travelers. 

My struggle continued and I fought a pounding head for each remaining hour to my destination. Traffic jams caused by accidents slowed my progress. It wasn't until 9:30 pm that I finally arrived at my hotel. I felt dizzy and weak. But two days of driving were behind me. I had made it safely and the temperature was 75ºF. I had dressed in shorts and stood outside in just a t-shirt and shorts feeling warmer than I had in a long time.

My night's sleep was restless and I awoke at 3:30 a.m. At 6 a.m. I set my alarm for 11 and hoped I could get some more sleep before checkout. Of course, it was not to be. I gave up by 8 and headed downstairs for a dismal breakfast. The coffee was poor and I had a bowl of cereal, a banana and a few hard-boiled eggs. I did not feel good at all and knew I'd have to fill the time before 3 pm check-in at my next accommodation in Homestead. I decided I would head to Everglades National Park for some recon, but would not do much in the way of hiking or photography. I wanted to check out the park's two campgrounds that have RV spaces for when I return to Florida in the coming weeks. I stopped in the visitor center and bought a postcard and a snack. I ended up hiking the Mahogany Hammock trail where I saw the first reptile of #roadtripusa2017. Of course, it was the ubiquitous green anole common in southeastern U.S.A. But reptiles mean warmth and are my jam. I was elated as I paused to photograph him. 

At 3 p.m. I checked into the Floridian Hotel in Homestead and will stay for three nights. I have to be back "home" by Saturday morning to take care of my parrot Jesse after my sister Lisa and bonus dad Joel leave for a holiday in Riviera Maya near Cancun, Mexico with my brother-in-law Randy. I've tried to think of what I want to do during this short stay that would be easier now when I don't have the RV to think of. To be honest, I am still undecided. I would like to go to Biscayne N.P. and already add a second national park to this nascent road trip. My goal really was just to get on the road to the lifestyle I love and seek warmth. I also want to dial in my camera gear for the year's adventures. I'm considering being a tourist and visiting Jungle Island to do some photography. Of course, I will return to Everglades N.P. and on Monday might drive to Key West. This is just a pleasure trip to do some preliminary scouting and get used to the truck, plus get some camera practice in after not doing much photography during the brutal Chicago winter. My whole year will be about going wherever the wind blows me, and I need to give myself no deadlines. All I know is I want to take three days to drive home after the two days south was a bit too much. And that means heading north Thursday morning.

Double rainbow and palm trees.
Rest stop north of Orlando on the Florida Turnpike

Reminder: I will only post the odd photo to this blog. As #roadtripusa2017 continues, look for most photos at my @jacobipix Instagram.

All the best, M

Total miles driven: 689.8
Total time on the road: 11.5 hours
Departure location: Marietta, Georgia
Arrival location: Cutler Bay, Florida

#9 - Thursday, 12 January 2017 | Marietta, Georgia

Finally a post from another state! Full disclosure, however – I am actually writing this on Sunday morning from Homestead, Florida. I am playing catch up on the blog as I was too exhausted after the long drive south to type.

Last Monday morning's phone call informing me that my truck had arrived was a complete surprise. My original plan of being in Florida before the end of 2016 and ringing in the New Year from Key West seemed like a distant memory. I had actually resigned myself to the fact that I'd likely just have to wait for the RV to be ready before my #roadtripusa2017 would commence. As soon as I was able I was off to Tom Peck Ford, and that afternoon I drove off in my new ride. I knew then that I would hit the road and seek warmth. In text messages I told my sister Lisa that I would head to Florida on Friday morning and her response was "why wait?". I did want to leave immediately, but I had purchased a Protector package for the truck that would have to be applied. On Wednesday I exchanged the new truck for a loaner car while they applied treatments to the interior, the undercarriage and the truck's finish. I packed my camera backpack and a suitcase and was off at 3 a.m. Thursday morning.

The truck practically drives itself. It is so smooth and powerful. As I drove I tried to familiarize myself with each bell and whistle. The cruise control not only allows you to choose speed, but it can be set to maintain a specific distance from the vehicle in front of you. There are controls to adjust the accelerator and brake pedals to your liking. It has Apple Car Play so nine primary apps are easy accessible on the 8" touch screen control screen. I had it reading incoming texts to me and dictated my replies, which were read back to me and appended to prior to sending. I listen to audiobooks while I drive and the Audible app is included. Although the truck has its own navigation system that is voice-activated, I chose to use Maps from my iPhone as it loads directions from my Expedia app and its features were great during the drive.

white gold 2017 Ford F-150 XLT Chrome 4x4
with 3.5L EcoBoost Twin-Turbo V6 and 10-speed automatic transmission

My as of yet unnamed truck sits at a Georgia rest stop with young magnolia trees as a background.

I left Chicagoland at 3 a.m. and the roads were icy. As I progressed south through Indiana rains were frequent, but the roads were good. I watched the thermometer climb and soon was down to just a t-shirt. After several hours of driving I became very tired and pulled into a rest area and grabbed my favorite pillow. I dozed in the reclined driver's seat and after an hour or so was again soaring down the highway, listening to the second Game of Thrones novel A Clash of Kings. I've read all five of the current GoT novels, but sold them as I liquidated unneeded possessions. I will always be a man of the printed book, but today I do most of my reading on my iPad Kindle app and for road trips enjoy audiobooks. The novels are about 1000 pages each and the audiobooks over thirty hours in length, so long road trips are the perfect time for George R.R. Martin's complex stories.

Vegetarian options are scarce while living on the highway, and I have returned to a diet excluding meat. Truth be told, I am still eating fish meat as sushi is my favorite food and I worry about not getting enough protein for a big man who hikes. I definitely won't return to being vegan as I get used to fake sausage and such and love quinoa or black bean burgers, but faux cheese is just bad. For lunch I found a Pizza Hut buffet and had a crappy salad, slices of veggie pizza and garlic breadsticks. 

It was a long, long day but I was happy in my luxurious new truck, heading south to warmer climes and spectacular wildlife. I had a nice room reserved at the Radisson Hotel in Marietta, just north of Atlanta. I only stopped for coffee and places to discharge processed coffee. My new truck has the maximum trailer towing package, which includes a 36 gallon fuel tank. I only have to stop to refuel once a day. It was about 8 pm before I made it to the hotel. It was 69ºF. I had a light dinner and two bottles of Samuel Adams in the hotel bar. I hoped to be on the road again early the next morning but – spoiler alert – I slept in.

All the best, M

Total miles driven: 725.3
Total time on the road: 12.5 hours
Departure location: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Arrival location: Marietta, Georgia

#2: Thursday, 15 December 2016 | Huntley, Illinois

I am in a holding pattern. I will close on my house on Tuesday, 20 December, but I can’t flee the frozen heartland until I have four axles beneath me. My shiny new travel trailer and truck are expected on disturbingly vague dates: “by Christmas” and “by the end of the year”, respectively. My itinerary for 2017 will be open, and I will follow the weather to try to stay between fifty degree nights and eighty degree days. However, snowbirds flock to Florida during January so I have already made some campsite reservations. The first begins 3 January 2017 for four nights at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. Will I make it?

Kissimmee Prairie is between the Kissimmee Chain Of Lakes and Lake Okeechobee with the Blue Cypress Conservation area just to the east and the Atlantic coast near Vero Beach just further east. There is much to see in this area and it is the base camp from which I will seek to find the introduced population of the Mexican theraphosid species Brachypelma vagans along the canals and orchards near Fort Pierce. It is my first destination regardless, but the question is whether I will have to forfeit my prepaid campsite during the first week of January. While much of my western camping will be the boondocking, the free and dispersed primitive camping I defined in the first blog entry, Florida has fewer opportunities for staying at no cost on public land, and during the month of January most RVers crowd southern Florida. The state park offers full hookups with electricity and water for $16 a night so I eagerly made a reservation hoping my timeline would jive. Now I just need Coachmen RV/General RV and Ford/Tom Peck Ford to do their part. Because of the many snowbirds (people who flock to warmer climes during the northern winter) who made reservations long ago, campsite reservations are tricky and I was only able to book four nights. Once I hit the road I will be able to begin picking some other spots. The only other reservation I have made is not prepaid and is not in a state park. I will seldom stay in private and comparably expensive RV parks during 2017, but I will have to during January and have my second set of dates scheduled beginning 16 January at The Boardwalk RV Resort in Homestead. This is a great location to be able to explore Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Reserve and drive out to the Florida Keys. I’d like to try to find a campsite in the Everglades while I’m down there, but I will find comfort in knowing that my RV is parked in a gated RV park with security if I decide to drive all the way out to Key West without it. It all depends on timing. Should the Gods of Love and Reason (who caught that Rush reference?) cooperate and RV and F-150 arrive by December 29, I will be off and will make it to Key West for New Year’s Eve (sought alone to rule the fate of man … Cygnus X-1, Hemispheres, Rush).

As I mentioned in the premiere posting, this blog will be an almost daily supplement to what will be daily posts to my @jacobipix Instagram. Follow the exploits of one guitar-picking, snake and spider chasing photog and his little parrot as they tour America. It’s a reality TV series in the making! You’ll learn all sorts of crazy stuff including new words like boondocking and shunpiking. How about glamping? It’s a matter of perspective, but I am pretty sure I wouldn’t qualify. This word is a mash up of glamour and camping and refers to those who have more amenities than most people do in their brick and mortar homes. Hell, I just watched an episode of Big Time RV where a couple bought a $650,000 motor home. That’s right. That’s four times what I sold my house for! But I’ve spent years camping in leaky tents, sometimes freezing me arse off in a cheap sleeping bag poorly suited even for summer. Some will accuse my new 31 1/2 travel trailer of being too posh. The grass is always greener …

As I wrote before, I will return to Chicago in early February to fly to Dubai and on to Kuala Lumpur and my final destination of Kuching, Malaysian Borneo. After a week at the LimeTree Hotel in Kuching, I will return to KL to fly to Langkawi Island to stay at Berjaya Langkawi Resort. However, with any luck, before the month of January ends my buddy John Apple will be joining the spider chase in Florida. Those of you who know John know that he is an expert on araneomorphs or "true spiders", as well as other little invertebrates. I imagine his girlfriend Ashley will be with him, and the three of us will comb Florida for all sorts of creepy crawlies. Having John as a field researcher will definitely increase my yield of true spider photographs for upcoming projects, and it will be good to have some company around the campfire at night.

Stay tuned as I continue to document #roadtrip2017. My post frequency will increase as I take delivery of my vehicles and prepare to depart. I will be on the road to Atlanta as soon as I can, overnighting in a hotel there during my two day trip to southern Florida. Will I make it for New Year’s Eve and toast 2017 with a tropical drink in some bar in Key West? Or will I still be bundled up in Chicagoland? Only time will tell …

All the best, MJ

#1 - IN THE BEGINNING

PIKEY is a term that is oft used pejoratively to describe "gypsies" in the UK. Typically, it refers to Irish Travellers or pavees that lead an itinerant lifestyle, often moving about in caravans. You may have heard this term in the film Snatch where Brad Pitt plays an Irish "gypsy" and speaks with an almost indecipherable accent. I love this movie, but I prefer the BBC/Netflix series Peaky Blinders, which is in my Top 10 favorite television programs of all time. In Peaky, the gang's enemies use "pikey" as a dismissive ethnic slur not because they are of Irish origin, but because they have Romani heritage. "Tinker" and "gypsy" are equally pejorative synonyms. The Romanis, a traditionally nomadic ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent, entered Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. Fans of Peaky will note that the language the "Blinders" occasionally use to speak to each other is Romani (or Romany).

I have found my greatest happiness as a nomad of sorts. I was entrenched in my suburban Chicago life for some time and then moved about the country, occasionally with some haste. I moved to the Washington/Idaho border to live in Pullman. Fourteen months later my journey continued and I ended up in Nashville. As much as I loved living in Tennessee, my road trips to exhibit at reptile shows from Kentucky to Florida, and occasional trips to visit my family in northern Illinois, were the highlights of that period. Next I moved to Seattle for less than a year, then moved back to Chicagoland, up to Milwaukee, back for a short stay with my mother and stepfather in Chicagoland and then, finally, back to Seattle for a longer stay. During the aforementioned moves, I once lived in four states in one year.

I now travel the world as often as possible and have made numerous visits to the UK (a dozen as of this writing) since 2006, plus field trips and holidays to Costa Rica, Suriname, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Tokyo. I've visited Amsterdam. I've passed through Dubai, Guyana, Hong Kong and other exotic locales. In October I visited Budapest and February will see my return to Langkawi Island, Malaysia after a week in Kuching, Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. However, this world travel has only occurred over the past ten years. I didn't own a passport until 2006. I got it for my first trip to England, which preceded my field trip to Costa Rica later that same year. I believe my wanderlust is the result of my youth.

My father worked hard when I was a kid, often working two or three jobs as his career in law enforcement evolved. A municipal job meant vacation time that is rare in the United States. Eventually he got to the point where he could save all of his time off so that we could go on three or four week long vacations. These weren't resort holidays. They were road trips. We mostly camped and cooked outdoors as we covered the United States and Canada visiting one national or state park after another. My parents were frugal and we became immersed in the natural world. In our basement my dad had a map of the United States, and he would use colored tape to mark our annual routes. By the time I was in high school, these colorful lines crisscrossed the states and provinces with very little area left unexplored.

My passion for road trips continued as an adult as did my passion for wildlife and nature, especially reptiles, amphibians and arachnids. When I was 21 or 22 a friend I met through a mutual love for tarantulas and other creepy crawlies and I took a road trip to Texas and explored the U.S. side of the Rio Grande. Ever since I have loved driving the open road myself and have continued to take in the majesty of the U.S. terrain. I am happiest when I am moving about and seeing new things.

Three and a half years ago I left Seattle to return to the Chicago area after a tragic accident took my mother's life. I bought a house. I settled. And I have been unhappy. Part of that is losing my mom and then losing my dear dog two years ago today. Those were the two most important relationships of my life, and those losses have exacerbated my feelings of depression, anxiety and unrest. I never intended to live in Chicagoland again, but I don't know that I would have stayed anywhere for long. The truth is that I was ready to leave Seattle.

During January 2016 I spent 24 nights on the road between Chicago and Los Angeles. I had events to attend, but I took as much time as I could to divert to national parks to take pictures. Photography is one of my passions, but it is truly just a natural accompaniment to my love of nature, wildlife and scenery. It is interesting to visit new places and interact with strangers you'll never see again. That January was amazing and I thought about living for an extended period on the road, often with destination unknown.

Nothing made me appreciate impermanence and the fact that tomorrow has no guarantee than the loss of my mother. I yearn to make the most of life. I wish to enjoy my life on the trails now; to explore the back roads and even the superhighways with some relative youth. I seek the happiness of transience and variety. As a life-long loner, I have the selfish fortune of doing only as I choose. Why return to Nashville or Seattle, or seek some other place I'd enjoy, if I can move about and enjoy them all?

This is the start of a new blog and now you know why its title includes the terms "pikey" and "gypsy". I've spent a lifetime traveling and have transversed many of the highways of the U.S. and Canada. Now I want to do it again on my own. The other two title terms may still require some explanation. "Shunpiking" is a term used to describe driving the back roads and avoiding highways and superhighways as much as possible. One of my favorite books is by Neil Peart. He is the drummer of Rush, one of my all-time favorite bands. After two great losses of his own, first his daughter and then his first wife shortly thereafter, he rode 40,000 miles on his motorcycle and documented the stories of his back road travels with Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. Neil enjoys his alone time as I do, and also enjoys the interactions of chance encounters with strangers along the road. I read it for the first time 10 years ago and, perhaps, I am finally getting around to chasing the same healing. "Boondocking" is a term used to describe traveling by RV or motorhome, but shunning the RV parks and developed campsites with power, water and waste hook-ups for free and temporary remote locations on public lands that allow overnight parking (often up to 14 days). This dispersed camping (outside developed campgrounds) without "hook-ups" is also known as "dry camping". In the American west, 43% of the land is public, and there are books and websites with GPS coordinates for great free camping spots.

But I've gotten ahead of myself. I haven't even left town yet. This past weekend I ordered a 2017 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 with the brand new second-generation twin-turbo 3.5L EcoBoost V6 with 10 speed automatic transmission. It has the maximum trailer towing package and is rated for pulling 12,200 pounds. I'll be pulling 7600 pounds in the form of a 31 1/2 foot 2017 Coachmen Freedom Express Liberty Edition 276RKDSLE travel trailer. This blog is so I can document my entire journey, but I skipped the researching RV and truck, buying them and selling my house. That's not as much fun as tales from the road. I have wanted out of my house for quite some time, especially since the loss of my sweet pooch Taylor. I have wanted out of Chicagoland since I've returned. I am not one for a sedentary lifestyle. I've spent some quality time with family over the past three and a half years, but I am increasingly restless and wishing to be chasing critters and capturing images full-time. With camera, books, laptop and guitar, I can live a life on the road.

And so the journey begins ... I am hoping to be in Key West for New Year's Eve. That might be a bit ambitious. I close on my house December 20, but the RV dealer has promised a delivery by Christmas and the Ford dealer can only guess "by the end of the year". I have a reservation in a Florida state park for January 3, but I might have to abandon it. Regardless, in early January I will be in southern Florida, combing the Keys and the Everglades for snakes, spiders, birds and other wildlife.

Keep up with me here for frequent, almost daily, stories from the road and please follow me @jacobipix on Instagram (same for Twitter) to see my daily images.

Cheers, Michael