Each time I veer off the interstate onto the backroads of America, I rediscover it ... a sense of stepping back in time.  As the speed limit reduces and I enter into another small town, it's as though I'm stepping through a window in time.  There’s this unmistakable feeling you won’t find anywhere else, a feeling that I carry home with me ...

You’ll notice it throughout the day as you go from store to store, strolling along brick streets, past warmly lit shoppes where friendly store owners still smile and nod as you pass by ...

The cares of the big city are far away. There’s just you and a beautiful kaleidoscope of discoveries waiting to be explored ...

As dusk approaches, the scent of pinion wood fills the evening air.

Neighbors are gathering in the cul-de-sac to visit, while the carefree laughter of children flutters about like colorful butterflies, zooming in and out, up and down. The children are playing in the winter snow, throwing snowballs and building snowmen. The minute hand seems almost frozen in time ...


This is ... the small town America, I know and love.

Join me, Michael Traveler, and my friends as we rediscover the backroads of America.  Each week, read about our discoveries in this guidebook.  Meet interesting characters, talented artists and craftspeople, learn about off-the-beaten-path places untouched by time. 

So, kick your shoes off and sit for awhile.  Have a warm cup of cider  with us, let the scent of pinion wood and the laughter of small town livin' wash over you.  Forget about the cares of the world.  The troubles you left behind can wait.  Right here, right now, there's more important things to worry about ...

Down at the local barbershop, there's talk about the upcoming sled race and sleigh ride at the annual winter fair.  And just north of town on an obscure forgotten dirt road overlooking an almost magical place that time has passed by stands the largest barn in Kansas.  A few miles to the east rising up out of the earth are metal sculptures, giant insects, knights picking fights with windmills, deer leaping over fences.

 Some of our articles will change weekly, some monthly, some quarterly, some will be around a mite longer.  Some of our articles will invite you to join a Hot Topic discussion with other readers where you can speak your mind and hear what other folks have to say.  Some articles will invite you to meet an artist or musician or craftsperson we wrote about.  You can meet them over in our virtual diner (called My Roadside Cafe) for a warm cup of coffee where you can ask questions or just visit.

Life moves a bit slower here.  The sun shines just a bit brighter.  The breeze is just a degree or two cooler in the summer.  The flowers bloom a little longer and the birds sing just a little sweeter in the spring.  And it's like stepping back in time to a forgotten era in the autumn and winter.  Perhaps, we're just imagining it but what does it matter?

After all, small town America is really just a state of mind, isn't it? 

It's how we treat one another.  It's how we look at the world and our neighborhoods and our families.  It's about appreciating the simple things in life and slowing down long enough to take time out for a friend or neighbor in need.  It's about respecting one another and doing the right thing without expecting anything in return or caring whether anyone ever notices, just doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do.

It's our deepest hope and wish that you join us each week and take a little piece of small town America and the river valley home with you and pass its spirit and beauty along to someone you know that might like to join us for a cup of hot cider while we listen for the magical sound of sleigh bells.  They're certainly welcome ... 

Many times finances are a topic parents do not broach until it is much too late.

My own mother never really discussed it with me and now, (after years of hard lessons, and after becoming a single parent myself), I’ve learned some facts and truths.

It begins with something as simple as an allowance.  No more herds of elephants thundering through the house at the first notes of the summer ice cream truck route, no more tantrums in the store.  No you have not stepped into the twilight zone; you have entered the road to financial independence with your children.

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Here are some refreshingly wonderful ideas on how to recapture that innocent wonder in your life ...

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He's the one in the chair in curlers, wearing dark eye shadow and hot pink lipstick.  (His middle grand-daughter is almost eight and she’s teaching the youngest, almost five, all about make-up and hair styling.)  Don’t laugh, grandpa has to look good for when grandma gets home from work.  

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