Happy Labor Day! I hope most of you enjoyed a nice & restful long weekend. I certainly did; in fact, my #1 goal recently has been to avoid breaking a sweat in any way. Nine days ago I completed CWU's fifth tour: a 6-week, 2,000-mile journey through America's Prairie Heartland. Sleeping in my own bed has been the highlight of every day since I've been back home.
Of course, it was entirely worth the effort! Some of America's most iconic landscapes are now firmly rooted in my memory: Iowa's rolling farmland, Kansas' Flint Hills, North Dakota's Badlands. Here are a few previously unpublished photos. You can see and hear more of what I experienced under the Sights & Sounds tab where I've uploaded new photos and audio clips, and lots of new video clips like a fun annotated helmet cam video from an open swath of Oklahoma ranchland.
I'm constantly amazed by the rich sensory experience of slowly pedaling through the USA, but what I'm really searching for is a more thorough understanding of the people who live here- our neighbors and fellow Americans. I sat down to speak with dozens of Midwesterners over 40-some days on the road, learning things and getting to hear perspectives that had been entirely foreign to me before my immersion in the region. I hope you'll take a moment to listen to the voices of those many folks kind enough to share with me their thoughts on how we're doing as a nation.
As always, thanks so much for exploring America with me. I'm thrilled to have you along for the ride.