Heading west out of Sioux Falls, I found the best fellow passenger was of the four-legged variety.

Record of a Well Worn Pair of Boots

Episode 22: Cletus the Dogman

Foremost, though maybe not first, Rapid City is a tourist town. It's a more spit and polished version of Cripple Creek, Colorado: wild, wild west meets plucky people and pesky uncomfortable history that, when looked at too long and examined too deeply, uncovers some truly terrible things that never made it into a Macmillian public school history textbook. But there's a lot of spittoon quality brassy things, saloons, casinos, and statues of presidents and robber barons who visited once upon a time.Full transcript here.

Episode 21: Rapid City - The Lazy U

The next part of the story of how I was thwarted by Larry the Cable Guy in Williston, North Dakota. Full transcript available here: https://wellwornbootspodcast.blogspot.com/2020/04/episode-20-part-2-lapped-by-larry-cable.html

Episode 20, Part 2: Lapped by Larry the Cable Guy

A trip to Williston, ND, in 2013: I wanted to tell that story. I wanted to know how people were creating life for themselves in the midst of this boomtown that exploded. It felt like one of Those Stories... a story that reflected the point where America was, at that precise moment. There are events that feel more distilled than others. And this story about so much money floating around but no way to live even if you're one of the ones making the money... that's an imbalance which can't last very long. That was an American tale, if ever I heard one.

Episode 20, Part 1: Lapped by Larry the Cable Guy

Visiting Mother Jones wasn't just a tourist stop. It was a pilgrimage.

Episode 18, Part 3: No where to lay my head

Traveling to San Antonio for a "professional" conference only brought one thought to mind: Good God. How is anyone supposed to pass out business cards that no one reads and then leaves in the hotel for housekeeping to throw away?

Episode 19: Some Notes from the Plague Year

To orient myself and to maybe have a wee bit of beer, I stopped in at the 2nd bar I found. I stopped mainly because of the name: Crawdaddies. It looked small, local, and I liked the resonance of a New Orleans reference.

Episode 18, Part 2: Solidarity in strange places

..what I learned was that downstaters are, in general, a cautious bunch. And I can't say I blame them much. We do not live in idyllic times and me, a road dirty monkey that looks the exact opposite of a wide-eyed youth out to see America, doesn't engender much sympathy. The short version: I'm probably too ugly to hitchhike.Full transcript here: https://wellwornbootspodcast.blogspot.com/2020/02/episode-18-part-1-visiting-mother-jones.html  

Episode 18.1: Visiting Mother Jones

I turned 40 in New York. It was February 2012 and I was almost a month into a year of living on the road, hopping from bus to bus, station to station, and, when I was fortunate, couch to couch. Luckily, I had friends in New York – dear friends from my teaching days who were kind enough to put me up for a few days. Part of the reason I wanted to go to New York during what's arguably one of the least hospitable seasons was because of a not-too-old argument with my ex about the Occupy Movement and wanting to be involved.Full transcript: http://wellwornbootspodcast.blogspot.com/2020/01/episode-17-zuccotti-park.html

Episode 18: Zucotti Park

Driving through Alabama felt like a cliché; it was all one long stretch of interstate with bill boards advertising the Alabama – the band – fan club, and when I stepped out to buy gas and stretch my legs, the air felt like I was being slapped with hot rag. Full transcript: https://wellwornbootspodcast.blogspot.com

Episode 16: Y2K D'oh!

My old Losantiville, it seems, is split between those who travel on the train and those who have no clue it’s there… which is a shame not only for the train, but for the city.Full transcript: http://wellwornbootspodcast.blogspot.com/2019/12/episode-15-as-cardinal-flies.html

Episode 15: As the Cardinal Flies

Abandoned industrial areas tell fascinating stories – maybe the most American of stories, full of ambition, sweat, and rot.Episode transcript: https://wellwornbootspodcast.blogspot.com/2019/12/episode-14.html

Episode 14: Beyond the Painted Falls

Episode 13, Part 3: Visions of Gerald

Even genteel travel means brushing up against distinctly UNgenteel rules.

Episode 13, Part 2: Visions of Gerald

My faith in the currents that carry has been waning a little. But luckily, they never lose faith in me. 

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Record of a Well Worn Pair of Boots

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