Ready to Start
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – If you're not excited about where you're going, you're going the wrong way.
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Friends of a Long Year is a weekly, private mailing list bringing stories to your inbox like the olden days. It's written in the spirit of Mary Austin. It was once called Place Without a Postcard, which neatly summarizes what I like to write about.
Archive
Everyday It’s 1984
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – I want my kids to grow up the way we did in 1984. When no one had phones, playgrounds were made of metal, and kids could spend all day on their own.
Little Girl’s Point
Little Girl Point, Michigan, U.S. – Tent camping, mud bathing, and agate hunting on the bluffs of Lake Superior
Build
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Building shelves, making coffee on the beach, and picking cherries
Second Spring
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Heading north rewinds the seasons, giving us a second round of wildflowers and warblers.
Notes From The Road
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Eight days of travel covering 1508 miles, compressed to a few minutes of film.
Going Up North
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Eight days of travel. 1508 miles from the shores of St George Island to the shores of Lake Superior.
Jeep Brake Repairs
St George Island State Park, Florida, U.S. – Sometimes repair is work, but at least the ocean is nearby.
Goodbye Florida
St George Island State Park, Florida, U.S. – Wrapping up our time on Florida with a few more days on St. George Island.
Bus and Repair Q & A
Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Another short film, this one trying to answer the deluge of questions I got after publishing my Wired feature.
Bus Work and Baseball
Big Lagoon State Park, Florida, U.S. – The birds are already on their way, It's nearly time for us to do the same, but there's still a lot of work to do.
Before The Storm
St George Island State Park, Florida, U.S. – An experimental little movie about paddleboarding on the backside of St. George Island
Water Under The Bridge
Apalachicola, Florida, U.S. – The world never stops changing, but it changes unevenly, in fits and spurts, here and there, even, it seems, on the lost coast.
The Lost Coast
St George Island State Park, Florida, U.S. – Empty beaches, stinging marine life, and plenty of paddleboarding out at the edge of the continent.
St. Andrews
St. Andrews State Park, Florida, U.S. – Civilization has never been my strong suit, but it does have groceries, barbers, and laundry, and sometimes those are good to have.
Gone Fishin’
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida, U.S. – The osprey is a consummate fisherman, always ready, always hovering, always fishing.
Renaissance Fair
Big Lagoon State Park, Florida, U.S. – Spending some time in the past at the Gulf Coast Renaissance Fair, Pirate Festival, Wild West Roundup, and Historical Festival.
Wagoneer
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida, U.S. – I used to have a t-shirt that read "life's too short to drive boring cars". The shirt died a greasy, oily mess, but I still support the sentiment.
Photo Shoot
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida, U.S. – The long strange story of how the bus ended up being photographed for Wired magazine.
Family
Rocky Bayou State Park, Florida, U.S. – Catching up with family around the fire in Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park.
Pensacola History
Big Lagoon State Park, Florida, U.S. – Exploring the history of one of America's very first settlements.
Fort Pickens
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida, U.S. – Fort Pickens is one of our favorite places on the Gulf Coast.
Christmas Cold
St George Island State Park, Florida, U.S. – We spent the holidays on St George Island as a cold front swept across the United States, even Florida alas, for the holidays.
Eight
Grayton State Park, Florida, U.S. – In which we make it to the sunny, white sand beaches of Florida for Elliott's eighth birthday.