![[Overview Map]](usa_rt.gif)
| |
|
(NOTE: this is the original site as it was developed in 1997 by non-web developers. That's why it has that. . .organic, simple feel. -John)
( or welcome back ! )
This
site chronicles the adventures of me, John Henkel, as I travelled 8700 miles
across the United Sates on a motorcycle from April 18 through May 28, 1997.
Some of you might be checking this out for the first time, others were with me throughout my travels and simply want to refresh your memory (perhaps re-read the Roswell incident?). Either way, I hope you will find some interesting tales, stories, pictures, links, maps, anecdotes and more.
I finally got the entire site back from my friend Patrick Schmitz and have re-assembled it here for you to peruse. I cannot thank Patrick enough for keeping this up while I snaked my way across the country. It has been great fun to go back over all the info here while I put this back online. Some of the comments you read may not make as much sense anymore since he is no longer keeping the site up, just remember that Patrick and I had only 2 meetings before I took off. He and several co-workers put this site together while I was on the road with me simply e-mailing my daily entries to Patrick. He then had to find the time to spell-check them, find some cool links, publish the pages and, oh yeah, put in some time at work and home, too. Thanks for all your hard work, Patrick (and those others who helped).
Please Note: I have not re-tested all the links, so some may no longer work (let me know and I will try to fix them).
There were several days at the end of the trip that never got to Patrick in time to be published before the server was shut down. I have just also started work on the maps, too, so there are more accurate maps online now, too.
Also, I tried to find all the references to Patrick's e-mail address, so if you find one please don't use it, send me your comments instead. If I feel ambitious, I may post them on the Voyeur page, but can't promise anything (hey, I gotta work sometimes).
Navigating this site is easy: you can click on the words in the banner to go directly to the Journal, Maps or the Voyeurs page, where some of you knuckle-heads have passed along your comments while I was riding around the country. Those are un-solicited and un-edited, promise. And, the journal entries are also un-edited (except Patrick helped clean up my punctuation and spelling as needed). Virtually nothing is changed from when I sat in my tent in the rain somewhere typing on my little palmtop thinking about life. It seems just like yesterday . . .
This trip and site is dedicated to my dear friend Dean Baron who passed away very suddenly on November 13, 1997, just a few days shy of his 38th birthday. While I may never understand the swift ferocity with which this brain tumor invaded him, I do know that he is now at peace. Dean was a wonderful, happy soul and a great friend who was one of the reasons I started riding a motorcycle. We had many wonderful trips together all across the midwest, some I think I mention in the journals here.
Dean is sorely missed but will be with me on all my travels.