THE FEARLESS LEADER | WHAT WE LIKE

There are plenty of folks out there who know more about American music than me. Probably a lot of them are reading this magazine. There are a lot of people who long for a road trip through the deep South—me being one of them. There are a lot of people who like bourbon—and beer. One comes after the other, a chaser as it is called. At any rate, I hope you like some of these things that I like, cause then you are definitely going to like this issue—a lot.

For some reason, we have become infatuated lately with the South. There’s the epic music, the relaxed and down-tempo pace of life, and of course fried food. There’s a certain mystical element to it all, like you are suddenly cast in a film. Once rolling, some have a hard time to bare and watch, wanting to leave it all and look away, denying what is happening in front of them. But you can’t, and you shouldn’t. These parts of the country really aren’t as scary as some have made it out to be. If you keep an open mind and ask the right questions, then you might be surprised at the stories people tell. I like this about the South.

Our U.K. editor, photographer, and overall lovely guy Simon Urwin and I felt the South pulling us in a slightly different direction, ‘’Go west young men.’’ So, our contribution to this edition plays out in Sierra Vista, Arizona, where we fearlessly accompanied a group of bird watchers on an outing. Exciting right? Wait till you read about the butcher bird, then you can call me. We like denim too, and there are many out there who burn for those indigo dyed cotton threads, most notably in Japan. In this issue our faithful correspondent Mattias Lundblad along with a new friend, Charlie Bennet, seek a meeting with a true Japanese denim head in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

We have also decided that Trails can really be anywhere out there, American culture and the trails it leaves behind are what fascinate us, so why not investigate those routes all over the world? We gave you a sneak peek on how this plays out in the previous issue, when our translator and editor Erek Bell wrote about finding his version of America in Sweden’s southernmost state, Skåne. It will be exciting! Did I hear… Japan? Stay tuned and thanks as always for hanging in there with us and for reading American Trails.

Happy Trails, Jonas Larsson | Editor-in Chief | Founder

To be a birder is full on action despite what you might think otherwise. In Sierra Vista, Arizona we met this little one who was quite the socialite.