Author: Shannon C. Ward
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How to Travel on Amtrak with the USA Rail Pass: 4 Brief Lessons
The concept of the Amtrak Rail Pass is simple: for $499 (or less, if you happen to catch a sale), you get “10 rides… over 30 days to your choice of over 500 destinations.” Planning your route is slightly more complicated, but this post will give you some basic knowledge and tips that should make […]
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Choo-Choo!
It’s been several years since I’ve kept up with my website in any kind of meaningful way, but since so much has changed for me in the last year–and since I’m about to embark on yet another epic train trip (this time to try and decide upon a new place to call home)–I thought this […]
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Couch Surfing My Way Cross-Country
I heard passing mention of couch surfing about six months ago on the Indie Travel Podcast, but I didn’t know much about it. Then, when I was budgeting for the West-to-East-Coast portion of my trip, I realized that I was going to need to find very inexpensive—or, better yet, free—accommodations along the way if I […]
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Walking the Vera Wagner Memorial Labyrinth, in Tribute to Elspeth Pope
On May 18, I arrive at the Holly House in Shelton, Washington, about an hour and a half south of Seattle, down a long, gravel drive shaded by grand, impossibly green cedars and maples and oaks, all draped in a fine filigree of moss. I am so grateful to have been granted a month-long writing […]
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Travelogue, 05/18/2013: Portland, OR
I don’t know if I could stay forever in Portland, but I would definitely try it out for a year or two. We had dreary weather, but people were dressed so brightly, and the smell of wood smoke carried through the streets, which were lined with giant calla lilies and great, drooping peonies. We visited […]
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Being Called a Twat on an Otherwise Lovely Day: Travelogue 5/17, Yellowstone to Boise
We had an uneventful night in Cody and moved on the next morning through Shoshone National Forest into Yellowstone. Exposed rock rose up dramatically along the Sylvan Pass, and as if right on cue, the bison, still shedding their winter coats, appeared along the road just as we reached the park: Much of the forest […]
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Travelogue 05/16/2013: Scenic, SD to Cody, WY
This morning, I had perhaps the best breakfast of my life— fresh scrambled farm eggs, homemade apple cinnamon dumplings, a strawberry salad, homemade granola with yogurt, and blueberry pancakes made from wheat grown by our host’s brother—all prepared by Amy, one of the proprietors of the Circle View Ranch. Over breakfast, Phil, the other proprietor, […]
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Travelogue, 05/15/2013: Scenes from Scenic, South Dakota
Tonight, we are staying in an 1880 homestead cabin (sans electricity) a few miles outside of Badlands National Park. It is stunning here. We built a fire, watched the sunset, and looked up at the stars until the coyotes erupted in this frantic chatter that kept seeming to get louder and closer. Nothing like a […]
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My Book Is Here!
You can order a copy from the good people at Longleaf Press or on Amazon.com. Thanks for your support!
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Reading in Santa Barbara
I am heading to California tomorrow to read at the Narrative-Making in the Aftermath of War Conference at the UC Santa Barbara Interdisciplinary Humanities Center. Wondering whether the seven and a half hour plane ride will actually be long enough for me to finish all this grading….
Shannon Camlin Ward 