Surviving the Year of COVID: A Backroad Planet Update

Surviving the Year of COVID: A Backroad Planet Update

Surviving the year of COVID: an update on the silent months, the prospect of safely resuming travel, and the announcement of a new direction for Backroad Planet. This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to our our Disclosure/Disclaimer page for more...
6 Lessons Learned Cycling Solo through Latin America

6 Lessons Learned Cycling Solo through Latin America

Transcontinental bicyclist Adrian Marziliano shares six lessons learned cycling solo through Latin America, powerful lessons about biking, life, and the kindness of strangers. Note from Howard: In December of 2016, I interviewed Adrian Marziliano, a young man who had...
Reflections on an Epic US Road Trip

Reflections on an Epic US Road Trip

Nathan Kolk’s epic US road trip was a 13,000-mile adventure that included a stolen vehicle, friendly strangers, and a new perspective on life and travel. Note from Howard: In the spring of 2016, I interviewed Nathan Kolk, a young man who was about to embark on A...
Confessions of a Traveling Cinephile

Confessions of a Traveling Cinephile

A confirmed traveling cinephile declares his love for travel and the movies, and discloses how his passions converged at an antebellum mansion in Louisiana. Note from Howard: Jim Swilley and I have been friends since our first day as college roommates in 1976. I was...
People and Places: My Year in Travel 2016

People and Places: My Year in Travel 2016

People and places are the reason for travel. This year-in-travel photoessay features my family, friends, traveling companions, and the destinations we visited in 2016. Disclosure: Some links in this article are to travel brands and destinations that have sponsored my...
Should You Travel to States with Discriminatory Laws?

Should You Travel to States with Discriminatory Laws?

EDITORIAL: Some say yes, others say no! Thoughts and observations to help you decide whether you should travel to states with discriminatory laws. Although I do not shy away from politics and religion in my personal life, it is rare that I address such polarizing...
Transitions: A Year in the Life of a Travel Blogger

Transitions: A Year in the Life of a Travel Blogger

A month-by-month account of Year One in the life of a travel blogger who quit his day job to travel and write full time. 2015 has been a transitional year at Backroad Planet! It marked my exit from a 35-year career as a public school teacher, and my entrance into the...
Searching the World for Corrie Ten Boom

Searching the World for Corrie Ten Boom

My search across 4 continents for Corrie ten Boom, a watchmaker’s daughter who rescued hundreds of Dutch Jews from death during the Holocaust. This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to our our Disclosure/Disclaimer page for more information. Corrie...
What Clara and Henry Taught Me: Quotes About Change

What Clara and Henry Taught Me: Quotes About Change

How quotes about change by Clara Barton and Henry Thoreau from over a hundred years ago resonate with a traveler to Gettysburg NMP and Harpers Ferry NHP. What Clara and Henry Taught Me: Quotes About Change Last summer’s major road trip was a doozy! We took the...