Travelin' Man

Some weeks ago I began reading The Best American Travel Writing (2009) edited by Simon Winchester. I enjoy both travel and reading travel, and have written a fair amount of travel writing myself for such magazines as AAA Midwest Travel and Kayaker. Often, I write while I travel, and frequently find myself taking notes in restaurants. I write on the back of napkins or save my receipt and use it as a notepad. I've got enough receipts with notes on the back to write a book.

The travel writing in Best American, however, is another breed. There are great pieces in here about such esoteric experiences as looking for a missing penis in Sudan or observing a corn harvest. (Don't ask me about the missing penis piece, you just have to read it to believe it.)

My travel writing is much tamer by comparison to most of these high-brow artsy-fartsy Winchester selections. I enjoy writing about sunsets and sunrises, trying to describe the beauty of mountains, or offering opinions about the various wines I taste. Obviously, I don't know what I'm doing, but as long as someone out there values my opinion, I'll offer it.

This summer my wife and I plan to travel to the northwest and hike Mt. Saint Helen and Mt. Rainier, as well as drive an extensive wine trail. I'll be writing as I go, carrying notepads and ball point pens in my backpack.

Naturally, we have to be in shape for a trip like this. One of the trails we plan to hike has a high rating for Grizzly Bear sitings, and a few people have actually been eaten while walking this trail in the past decade. I don't plan to get eaten, but I'm sure I could sell a travel article to Outdoor Magazine if I could witness someone else being eaten. I'll keep my eyes peeled for this and other unexpected opportunities for turning out a great travel piece with some gore. I'll be in slightly better shape than my wife so I can outdistance her . . . just in case.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to the gym. If I'm going to be writing all of these travel pieces and running from Grizzly Bears this summer, I'd better do a couple hundred calf raises, five hundred crunches, some squats, and twenty minutes on the elliptical. I'll take notes and make my travel outline while I sweat. I'm also going to buy some pepper spray.

It's a long way from here to Portland.