The Books of the Bitch of the Bitumen

Following are photos that illustrate my book
WALKING NEW JERSEY

The causeway over to Ocean City, New Jersey

The Ocean City boardwalk, Ocean City, NJ

Panda, my stroller, parked on the Boardwalk

The author standing in the Atlantic Ocean

Blisters!

More blisters

And more blisters…

Love, Peace and Bacon Grease – Sign I passed

Lady Liberty made from scrap metal

Frank Sinatra – Live. On an abandoned club on US 206 in south NJ

Really tore my feet up… and this was within the first fifty miles

The Pic-A-Lilli Bar’s retro sign

The board I spanned the ditch with; I camped in the woods beyond it

The author, hot and sweaty

The pedestrian bridge crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
WALKING PENNSYLVANIA

Crossing the Delaware

The Pocono Mountains, barely turning green

Roadside waterfall

My reflection is in the window

One of many beautiful old barns I passed

Pennsylvania hills and fields

Another beauty of a barn

Long and winding road, Pennsylvania

The cooler in the tree by Walter Dam

Pennsylvania farm

Misty, wet Pennsylvania

Unusual barn I saw on my detour near Jersey Shore, PA

Miles of pastures, barns and farms.
I hated the rumble strips when they were too close in to avoid.

Old Mail Pouch Tobacco ad

Downtown Bellefonte, PA

Pretty park in Bellefonte, PA. Typical cloudy skies of Pennsylvania in April.

Firemen and the burning Chevy truck

The remains of the Chevy; Port Matilda, PA

I was developing a ridiculous tan, and I was only in Pennsylvania. where it rained a lot.

Overhead railroad bridge near the Susquehanna River

The Gourdheads playing at Over The Mountain, a bar in Rockton, PA

Over The Mountain, Rockton PA. Best bar ever.

Misty moisty morning in Pennsylvania.

Curvy roads

Piney Dam at the Clarion River

The 40º Clarion River, in which I jumped and immediately regretted.

Three curious horses watch me go by

Sunny misty dirt road shortcut in Pennsylvania

Cute cabin I stayed in. Undressed Panda on the porch.

Another beautiful old barn I passed

Casey, picture taken at his cabin and property near Knox, PA

Two forms of old fashioned travel. Near Irwin, PA

Despite Pennsylvania’s relentless Spring rain, I still developed a ridiculous tan.
WALKING OHIO

The Spring corn was young and maybe a foot high

Bridge near Norwalk, Ohio

Tick Time Away, or in my case Walk Time Away

Lake Erie, taken on my Harley Ride with Ray

North Coast Inland Trail near Clyde, Ohio

North Coast Inland Trail in northern Ohio, parallels US 20

The trail was nice, it even had occasional portapotties and benches.

Ohio was full of beautiful farms and barns

Another old beauty alongside the rails-to-trail

Huge grain silos along the NCIT

Huge grain fields along the NCIT

Sign I just loved in Ohio, south of Toledo
WALKING MICHIGAN

Just as I entered Michigan, my GPS “turned over” to 1000 miles walked

“Conjoined twins” barn in Michigan

Yet another cool barn. I walked rural roads, trails and unpaved roads.

Crossroads in Michigan

Another beauty of a barn in Michigan

An Edsel peeks out from this old barn

Go to Hell! So I did.

Welcome to HELL, Michigan

Quiet dirt road like many I walked in Michigan

Miles of nothing but dirt roads and farms

My propane tank camping spot. Just In Time Campground, MI

My feet continued to blister

By mid-June, the corn was getting pretty tall

Seagulls in inland Michigan, on the roof of a dairy farm’s barn

Long-time friends

Central Michigan. Lots of quiet, traffic-free walking

Quaint, mid-century tourist cabins and motels bordered the many lakes

Tourist cabins

Otsego Lake

Somebody had something to say…

Another cute motel. Wish I’d had the budget to stay at some of the really cute ones.

Inside Rob’s brother’s cabin, near Houghton Lake, MI

Gaylord: The Alpine Village on the 45th Parallel

Downtown Gaylord, MI

In Gaylord I picked up the North Central State Trail. This tin can tunnel was along it.

The NCST becomes a snowmobile route in the winter, and the posts are removed.

The Rails-to-Trails route was mostly through forest, and shaded

Overhead railroad on the NCST

‘Sweet Traverse City Cherries’

Panda’s break in Indian River, MI

Rodee’s repair team got Panda up and running in short order.

Panda, back on the trail.

The Mullett Lake Country Store

The Bud Light logo looked like Panda’s crescent moon design

A North Central State Trail sign

The roadside park in which I fell to my knees.
Mackinac Straits Roadside Park, and Lake Huron

And when I saw the Mackinac Straits Bridge, I fell to my knees again

The shore of the Great Lake

The line to board the ferry to Mackinac Island

Ferry ride to Mackinac Island

Downtown Mackinac Island

Carriages on the island

Viewing bench on Mac Island

Mackinac Island State Harbor

Bicycles on M-185, the endless loop state “highway” that does not allow motorized vehicles

The view from my illegal camping spot, overlooking Lake Huron and M-185

My private loft with a view on Mackinac Island. The trees by my sleeping bag are full height, I slept on a cliff.

The moon on Huron

My view of the Mackinac Straits Bridge

Carriages lines up waiting for passengers

St. Ignace, Michigan. Old corvette from the local car show

The Mackinac Straits Bridge as seen from St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula

The bridge at night

I could relate to this old Nomad…

Lake Michigan Beach. Who needs sharks? Who needs California?

US 2 runs right along the lake’s shore in the Upper Peninsula

The Tahquamenon River

Tahquamenon Falls in Paradise, Michigan

Another view of the falls and the river

Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The Edmond Fitzgerald sank off these shores.

Clear water and collectible rocks in Lake Superior at Whitefish Point

Hog Island Country Store. These little places were pleasant breaks along long empty stretches in the U.P.

Lighthouse along Lake Michigan’s shore

The Blaney Lodge, a bed and breakfast in Germfask, Michigan

One of the rooms at the Blaney Lodge

Narrow hallways in the old manse

“Honest Injun’s Tourist Trap,” a second-hand store with a lot of treasures

Michihistrigan, the campground-bar collaboration

Camping on Indian Lake

Sunset on Indian Lake
WALKING WISCONSIN

Wisconsin wildflowers

“Love From the Road” – an asphalt heart I saw on US 8 in Wisconsin. I’ve used it as my Facebook profile picture ever since.

Along US 8 in Wisconsin. Peaceful forested lands of the north woods

Fisher’s Resort on George Lake near Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Steve the Man and Steve the Dog boating on Lake Nokomis

US Highway 8 west, gentle hills and slopes

The Countryside Hotel in Prentice, Wisconsin, where my walking journey ended
BOOK TWO: THE MOTORCYCLE TRIP
THE DRIVE EAST

Driving to New Jersey in ‘Betty White’ the van, ‘Trigger’ the motorcycle rode right behind me

The wagon ruts at Guernsey, Wyoming, made by pioneer’s wagons

A. H. Unthank and other names carved into Register Cliff

Rattlesnake, common resident of rocky Wyoming

Chimney Rock, an Oregon Trail landmark and milestone in western Nebraska

The wasp’s nest in Betty White’s taillight

It was so hot my iPhone complained

This picture petty much sums up my drive east: corn.

The world’s largest truck stop, Walcott, Iowa. Like, wow.

Old steam train in Strasburg, Pennsylvania

The Budget Inn, where I stayed the night before each trip

Betty White getting towed away to her new home in Philly

A naked Trigger, with ugly sissy bar attached, outside the Budget Motel

Loaded motorcycle

Me and Bruce the cop from New Jersey
MOTORCYCLING NEW JERSEY

The author standing in the Atlantic Ocean again

Trigger at the Mullica River

The Pic-a-Lilli’s new, characterless sign
MOTORCYCLING PENNSYLVANIA

The curvy roads I walked in 2012 were more fun on a motorcycle.


Rachel and Aiden

The author with an unnamed ape.

Kim, owner of Over the Mountain, a great bar in Rockton, PA. Tell her I sent you.

MOTORCYCLING OHIO



Ray driving us to Lake Erie on his Harley. I can be seen in the side mirror.
MOTORCYCLING MICHIGAN


















MOTORCYCLING WISCONSIN







This concrete man was decorated with broken glass.

So many towns claimed to be the “something” capital of the world…

Wisconsin Point, Superior, Wisconsin

Swimmers in infinite Lake Superior, Superior, WI
MOTORCYCLING MINNESOTA

The flat lands of Minnesota

Another “Capital of the World”… this time catfish.

The Headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi River. Here it’s a languid stream.

The Big Fish Supper Club in Bena, Minnesota
MOTORCYCLING NORTH DAKOTA

Devil’s Lake and the land bridge to Grand Island, ND

The author in the middle of nowhere, and the middle of North America.
MOTORCYCLING MONTANA


Farm near Glasgow, Montana

My boots after driving the unpaved road into Glacier Park. The bike looked just as bad.

Creature from the Black Lagoon…? Just cold weather gear for the mountains of Glacier Park.

McGregor Lake in Glacier National Park

Near Libby, Montana

Along US 2 near Troy, Montana. The skies were orange from the raging forest fires.

Kootenai National Forest near Troy, MT, hazy from forest fires.
MOTORCYCLING IDAHO

Pend Oreille River, Southwest of Sandpoint, Idaho.

Near Sagle, Idaho
MOTORCYCLING WASHINGTON

The Unwelcome to Washington sign… for people who don’t wear helmets.

Spokane Riverfront Park

Spokane Falls at the riverfront park

Western Washington rolling fields of grain.

Hartline, Washington wheat fields.

Old truck in a field, Hartline, WA

Apple orchards near East Wenatchee, WA

The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Skykomish, WA. From flat wheat fields, to orchards, to dense forest…

…to rain forest

My campsite in the MB-S NF.

Trigger (lower left) with 3 other motorcycles on a ferryboat crossing Puget Sound, WA

The ferries were huge.

The ferry at Coupeville, WA

Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA
OCEAN CITY, WASHINGTON

The road to Ocean City Beach ended AS the beach. Here’s Trigger on the sands of the Pacific coast. Finally. 🙂

The author, me, on Ocean City Beach, Washington. after nearly 4000 miles of riding. (Still had 1000 to go to get home)

Standing in the Pacific Ocean

Trigger on the beach
THE DRIVE HOME

Keep Portland Weird…

Statue of Portlandia, the goddess of Portland

The Grave of the Unknown Pioneer Woman, near Mt. Hood, OR

This is where my bike was parked when I couldn’t get on it. Notice its excessive lean.

Private hot spring soak in Crane, OR

Great pics! I wish I had the website while reading your book. Great adventure!
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