In the dark early morning hours of June 28, TotalAdventure once again set out across North America. TotalAdventure was on his way to Portland,Oregon to see his 3 month old Grandson, and also see parts of the 48 States not seen in the Summer of 2020. The continued worldwide COVID crackdowns had eased a bitt, bit still made seamless travel impossible. Even the Canadian border remained closed, and it was hoped it would open in July in time for TotalAdventure’s return to the East.

The first 600 miles were high speed and effortless and I arrived in the sleepy Southern town of Tallahassee, which happens to be our capitol. Florida is a large and diverse state . Sophisticated city dwellers of the large International Latin & New Yorker Metropolis 600 miles away do not appreciate being legislated by Bible Belt moralizers. As the joke goes, “Why is the capital of Florida in Alabama ? “

Alabama is a State of the Old South being pulled in seperate ways – those who want to be part of the New South and those who wish to remain in the past.

TotalAdventure spent the night in Montgomery and traveled though Selma the next morning.

TotalAdventure explored the Civil Rights Battlefield city of Selma. Now peaceful, the genteel old buildings are a bit run down. One of the only restaurants in town has some great BBQ !

The next stop of the day was Tupelo, Mississippi, at the Birthplace of Elvis Presley. Not only is it a shrine, but also a National Landmark.

The family was so poor ,the house had no s electricity or running water. The outhouse was shared with 8 other families.

The second day finished up in Memphis ,Tennessee, just across the Mississippi River from Arkansas.

Beale Street, not quite as lively as the French Quarter, was in recovery mode from COVID and music was back on the menu, along with fine BBQ.

Most of the the time crossing the Mississippi is on a high steel bridge ,hundreds of feet over the water. TotalAdventure decided to do it Mark Twain style – on a car ferry across the 1.5 mile wide River from Hickman KY to a cornfield 20 miles north of New Madrid MO.

One drives off the ramp of the ferry onto a road through miles o Missouri cornfields, , some of which go in circles. Even the map gets confused. Finally we come upon roadsigns. Missouri has lettered routes as well as numbers. The signs are frequently used for high-calibre target practice. New Madrid was the site of one of the most powerful earthquakes in US History. In 1812 and earthquake of 8.2 reversed the flow of the Mississippi, destroyed the town and was felt as far away as New York. It can and will happen again.

FromNew Madrid it was Westward bound through the hills of the Ozarks. The Ozarks are higher mountains in Arkansas. Watch the video to see the ferry ride and the Ozarks ! At mid day on July 1 I dined on Porterhouse at Antoine’s in downtown Kansas City.

In Kansas City it rained for about 10 minutes. After that, I did not see rain again for the entire trip. After lunch the X 2 did a high speed crossing of the Kansas cornfields.

Considering the human eye can see 7 miles distant at flat ground level – that’s a lot of corn !

By mid day on Friday July 2, TotalAdventure reached the Rockies at Boulder Colorado. Spnt the night at a lodge at 10,000 feet in Nederland ,where the temperature dropped to 40 at night.

The TotalAdventure X-2 Crosses The Continental Divide For The Third Time. TotalAdventure spent 4th of July Weekend in Aspen. I had also worked there in the Winter of 1979 -giving me the taste for Adventure Travel as I hitchiked around the West.

Only A Week Into The Trip – And Already Crossing Into Utah. From Aspen it was on to Dinosaur National Monument, which is in both Colorado and Utah.

In Salt Lake City ,stayed at the very nice Little America Hotel and went around the Mormon Temple which was under reconstruction, for the first time since being built by Prophet Joesph Smith.

I then swam in Great Salt Lake, which you can experience in the video. It was amazing to float on top of the water,whcih has ten times the salt volume of an ocean. It is not a pleasurable undertaking, but more of a bucket list thing. Bugs swarm, the water smells and you have to walk half a mile each way in 110 degree heat to actually get to the water. See above.

By late day , almost to the Nevada border, I crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats on 1-80. The world’s fastest car has driven there, breaking the sound barrier at 1,220 km/h (760 mph) set October 15, 1997.

Spent the night in Elko, Nevada, a poor mans Vegas. TotalAdventure hit a $50 jackpot, which paid for a steak dinner and cocktails.

In the morning the X-2 drove north through the Black Rock Desert, not far from where Burning Man is held. Crossed the line into Oregon at Denio Junction.

11 Days and over 4000 miles after leaving Miami, TotalAdventure was in Portland !

We reached the Westernmost Point of the journey at Tillamook ,Oregon. After 3 trips across the USA in the last 12 months, it was hoped the X2 would journey North through Washington State and on the British Columbia, as a Northern Route home through the Great White North.

On the broiling hot morning of Monday, June 29,2020 TotalAdventure departed Miami at dawn – for a 3 to 4 month journey – crossing – actually circumnavigating the United States.

In May, at the height of the COVID panic, I traded in my 2013 BMW X1 with 120,000 miles ( plus a considerable amount of cash) for a 2020 BMW X2 with 19 miles. Technological advancements had been considerable in the last 7 years and now, with all the navigational and entertainment needs I was set to cruise the Nation in what was like a jet on the ground. Driving was a pleasure even on the most boring stretches of I-95 up the East Coast.

At the start of the trip there were 2300 miles on the odometer and at the end over 17000 – a 15000 mile journey in all. I did almost all alone – though others were invited. There was no timetable ( which made it difficult for others to join) and no interstates except for some segments, especially up the East Coast. The first day I did 1000 miles to Fredericksburg ,Virginia, stopping only for gas and and excellent BBQ lunch in Georgia. The next day, I arrived in my hometown of Bay Head New Jersey, where I spent the next 10 days seeing friends and family, with one day trip into ghostly New York.

On Friday, July 10, just ahead of an approaching hurricane, I took a sunrise swim in the Atlantic and headed west to the Pacific. The first stop was New Wilmington, Pennsylvania to visit an ancestral graveyard. With the help of the caretaker, I was able to find the grave of my Great-Grandfather who died early, and that of my Great Great Grandparents as well.

I spent the night in Massillon, Ohio where my Father grew up. My Grandfather,Blaine Zuver, was an industrialist who supplied hundred s of jobs in the town. Enterprise Aluminum Company developed the Percolator – first at home coffee maker, as well as cookware. In World War II the factory went on war production, making canteens and mess kits for the army ,as well as bomb fins and crates, and bullet cannisters.

That afternoon I drove Highway 30, the Lincoln Highway, as there would be no more interstates for a long time. The idea was to see the real America. I spent the night in Auburn, north of Ft.Wayne.

At the beginning of the trip I had been to 43 States. The route was also planned that I would visit the 7 remaining states I had not been to. On Sunday morning July 12, I entered Michigan, my 44th State.

There’s a lot of corn in the Midwest, so much we can’t eat it all. That’s why 10% of the gasoline you put in your car is actually ethanol from corn. And the corn tortillas of Mexico -made with American corn. Pigs in the US and China eat corn too.

West of Kalamazoo, I reached Lake Michigan. I even caught a rideable wave. From there it was off to Whitehall to stay with old friends in their compound overlooking Lake Michigan and Whitehall Lake.

10 PM Sunset, very far west in the Eastern Time Zone while my hosts served delicious Scandinavian meals and many libations.

Watch The Video Above To Cross Into All The 33 States !

Today was a relatively light day with only 200 km on the road. First above the beautiful Arctic City of Akeryuri to Hliarfjall Ski . Though there is only 600m ( 1900 ft ) of vertical it looks delightful – fresh powder, no line ( there were only about 8 people on the whole mountain) . All for about $ 30 a day – far less than US ski prices – now over $ 100 a Day !

We then headed west to Hvanneyri, on the way to Westfjords. Once again we encountered wind and snow, though not the blizzard conditions of yesterday.

Typical house of Akeryuri.

An early Prime Minister of Modern Iceland immortalized in Akeryuri’s Lutheran Cathedral.

Oceanic Ice ! Not quite the Arctic Ocean, but the Greenland Sea, which leads from the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean.

Evening snowfall in Hvanneyri.

For Adventures In Iceland CLICK HERE.

Crossing North Iceland from Egilsstaðir to Akureyri was slow going as a blizzard struck in the mountains. The landscape was literally torn apart by volcanoes and earthquakes over many millennia. We also crossed from Europe to North America, as this is where the Eurasian and North American plates meet on the MId Atlantic Ridge.

Courtesy BBC.

Cold beyond imagination.

Icy.

Country Church.

Whiteout.

City Church. Akureyri 65.68 North.

For adventures in Iceland, CLICK HERE

After 48 hours in the Vatnajökull region , ArcticTropic traversed Route 1 into Northeast Iceland – now less than 100 miles from the Arctic Circle. Though days are getting longer by over 7 minutes each day – the weather is very wintry.

Black Tower Beach

Sturdy Viking Horses. Direct descendants from the Year 900.

High atop the cliffs.

Sea Harvest.

Snow 12 Months A Year.

Reindeer – It’s What’s For Dinner !

For adventures in Iceland, CLICK HERE

Today ArcticTropic climbed Vatnajökull Glacier – the largest in Europe. Winds gusted as high as 65 mph ( 110 kph) but we held steady thanks to icepicks and crampons supplied by our guide.

Ice Cave.

Looking up into Springtime Arctic skies.

Corn surface – good for climbing.

In 1900 , when the current warming period began . the mountain behind us was covered in the glacier, it was not even visible The very elderly of the community remember that time. . While it snows more on the mountain tops, the weight pushes the ice faster down the moraines where it melts into the ocean. When the Vikings came in 900 to 1000 AD , it was a warm period and there was almost no ice. 1600 – 1900 was a mini Ice Age with rapid ice accumulation. Yesterday’s report on growing glaciers in the area was incorrect.

At day’s end -caviar – $ 3 per jar.

Sunset in Höfn,where we are spending the night.

For adventures in Iceland, CLICK HERE

ArcticTropic drove East along Iceland Route 1 for about 200 km today. While only about 125 miles, it was long day because of the incredible amount of nature to experience.

Glaciers flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean.

Black Lava Sand Beach At Vik.

River of Ice. Recent winters have gotten colder and the glaciers are expanding.

Icy Iceland Beach.

On The Moon ?

During the 2 hour sunset.

For adventures in Iceland, CLICK HERE

Early this morning ( March 19 ) ArcticTropic departs Miami for Boston, spending the day there. At 2135 we depart Logan for Keflavik – arriving just in time for the Total Eclipse on the Equinox !

For adventures in Iceland, CLICK HERE

ArcticTropic is now planning 2015 journeys. Three trips are shown here. The first , in February is to Southeastern Australia. The longest flight will be from San Francisco to Sydney – about 15 hours. In March – off to the Polar Regions of Iceland. September – Puerto Varas in Chilean Patagonia for the ATTA Summit. Several other ventures are in planning stage.

Today ArcticTropic returns to the United States aboard Lufthansa via Frankfurt. Total trip time 25:30 with five hours in Frankfurt. Double – Decker A 380s all the way.