American Trails Magazine #14

AN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MAGAZINE ABOUT PEOPLE, PLACES AND, PASSIONS #14 THE ROADTRIP AND HISTORY ISSUE | AMERICANTRAILSMAG.COM | €16,99

RESO

THE CAROLINAS | UTAH | KENTUCKY TENNESSEE | ALABAMA | TEXAS

want to

go for a ride?

HERE WE ARE AGAIN. MILES UPON MILES ALONG COASTLINES, RIVERS, DESERTS, AND MOUNTAINS. ALWAYS WITH THE RADIO SET TO COUNTRY AND AMERICANA. IN THIS ISSUE WE’VE BEEN DOING SOME HISTORY HOPPING. SMALL TOWNS WITH BIG SURPRISES, PIRATES, AND GOSPEL CHURCHES HAVE BEEN VISITED, AS WE TAKE A STAND FOR AMERICAN HISTORY.

Not your average sewing circle

G

etting your preconceived notions squashed is always a great thing. Ask my colleague, Fredrik. We drove from Memphis through an absolute downpour to reach Paducah — pronounce it if you can — in Western Kentucky.

Paducah is one of UNESCO:s Creative Cities, and they boast a quilt museum. Obviously, we had to explore it. I realized quickly that Freddie was moderately interested, but a few hours later, a giant smile appeared behind his beard. If you think that embroidering and quilt-sewing are things that only happen in sewing circles, you couldn't be more wrong. This was the best museum we’ve seen in some time, and the rest of Paducah wasn’t bad either. I love a small town that surprises me.

What else is new? Thanks for asking — as it happens, we were awarded the Publishing Prize’s gold medal for the sixth year in a row. Hot damn! Feels good, of course, and nice to get some recognition. Maybe we’re doing something right after all.

At the time of this writing, I am at Heathrow, having missed a connection because of a late flight in from Seattle. Portland and Seattle are my two favorite cities on the West Coast. Super creative. Seattle is such an immense music destination. Spent a week with friends, and we saw a live show every night. Brothers Comatose at legendary The Crocodile, Mapache at the less well-known, but equally relevant, Tractor Tavern in Ballard, and another hundred yards up on Ballard Avenue, I saw Smokey Brights, Night Heron, and Mega Cat at the Sunset Tavern. I’m lucky to know Seattle’s best music guide, my cousin Steven, who DJ:s the music show, “Locals Only”, on the radio station 107.7, the End. What he doesn't know about local musicians and bands isn't worth knowing. Steven will be posting his epic playlists featuring his favorites from Seattle and neighboring areas on our website soon.

So when can we read about this? you may be asking. In the next issue, replies the Editor.

If you haven’t visited Seattle before, it’s definitely time to book a ticket. If you’re curious about Portland, check out americantrailsmag.com and previous issues in our web shop.

This magazine is created organically. We’ll have a couple of assignments we’ve decided on, and then we build each issue around that to get something for everybody, with a solid mix of wacky topics, travel-inspired material, and great people. It’s a bit like cooking in that way.

Mmm, maybe a bit more pepper, we say, hmm, maybe another couple of dive bars. You get it.

To that end, this issue offers an unholy mix of pirates, men of god, foodies, and desert foxes. If you like it, send us a shout at info@americantrailsmag.com. If you have other notes, complaints, criticism, we are just as interested in hearing about those.

So sit back, pour yourself some tea, or wine, or water. Lock the cat in the bathroom, put your phone on silent, a bit of Justin Townes Earle in your ears. Now you’re ready to dive into this issue. We hope you’ll like it.

Giddy up! Jonas Larsson | Editor in Chief

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Oregon

POW WOW IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A GREAT WORD TO SAY. COME ALONG TO PENDLETON IN EASTERN OREGON. PAGE 12.

Washington

WE'RE GOING TO A DIVE BAR AGAIN. FIVE OLD TRAIN CARS FORM ONE OF THE QUIRKIEST BARS SO FAR. PAGE 44.

WASHINGTON

MONTANA

NORTH DAKOTA

OREGON IDAHO

IDAHO

SOUTH DAKOTA

WYOMING WYOMING NEBRASKA

NEVADA

UTAH

COLORADO KANSAS

KALIFORNIEN

ARIZONA

TEXAS

ALASKA

TEXAS

Utah

A ROAD TRIP YOU’LL NEVER FORGET. THE GREAT CIRCLE: JUST DO IT. PAGE 104.

New Mexico FRANCESCO AGLIERI RINELLA HAS CAPTURED SOME US HISTORY IN HIS FASCINATING PHOTOS. PAGE 60

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Texas

JOIN US IN SAN ANTONIO. A CITY GUIDE YOU CAN'T REFUSE! PAGE 88.

Illinois

Kentucky

CHICAGO IS (ONE OF) OUR FAVORITE CITIES. THE PUMP ROOM, OR WHATEVER IT’S CALLED THESE DAYS, IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE BARS IN TOWN. PAGE 16.

OH, HOW YOU’LL LOVE KENTUCKY! WE’LL BE DOLING OUT ARTICLES FROM OUR EPIC TRIP IN THE NEXT FEW ISSUES. FIRST UP IS OUR NEW LOVE — PADUCAH: THE TOWN WHERE A SEWING CIRCLE DOESN’T PRECLUDE A GREAT PARTY. PAGE 18.

NEW HAMPSHIRE VERMONT

MAINE

MASSASCHUSETTS MINNESOTA MINNESOTA

WISCONSIN

NEW YORK

MICHIGAN

RHODE ISLAND PENNSYLVANIA

IOWA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

WEST VIRGINIA

DELAWARE

MISSOURI

MARYLAND VIRGINIA

NORTH CAROLINA

OKLAHOMA ARKANSAS

MISSISSIPPI

North Carolina

GEORGIA

SHIP AHOY! MAJSAN BOSTRÖM HOLDS A MEETING IN THE MONSOON WITH CAPTAIN BLACKBEARD AND OTHER SUNDAY SAILORS. PAGE 36.

ALABAMA

MISSISSIPPI LOUISIANA LOUISIANA FLORIDA

Tennessee

ELVIS’ BREAKFAST HABITS MAY NOT HAVE BEEN YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER’S IDEAL, BUT THE MAN SURE KNEW HOW TO PICK A JOINT. HOP ON BOARD TO MEMPHIS’ OLDEST CAFE, SERVING UP HIS FRIED PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SANDWICH. PAGE 118.

Alabama

SOMEONE’S GOTTA BRING HOME THE BACON. IN THIS CASE, THAT SOMEONE IS SIMON URWIN. READ HIS MOUTHWATERING REPORT ON PAGE 46.

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South Carolina

CHURCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY. MOTHER EMANUEL AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CHARLESTON IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL. PAGE 78.

Before Anyone Did Anything SKO UNO Did Everything Lee Jeans, LEE 101, Dr. Martens, Wrangler Jeans, Levi’s Red Tab, Jofama, Solovair, Buffalo, Underground, Grinders. Sendra, Playboy, New Rock, Rock n Blue, Everyday Hero, Edwin, Nudie and more...

SINCE 1974

Gamla Brogatan 34, Stockholm

The Coolest And Nicest Stores In Stockholm!

Gamla Brogatan 32, Stockholm

Content

5. A FEW WORDS FROM OUR EDITOR IN CHIEF

46. BACON BONANZA | ALABAMA

Issue 14, the road trip and history issue. Editor in Chief Larsson contemplates handiwork, pirates, and lonesome roads.

In Alabama, no one will look twice if you pull out your guitar and sing love songs to the bacon on your plate.

60. PORTFOLIO | HUMAN REMNANTS

Our first Italian contributor, Francesco Aglieri Rinella, is in search of that which has been and records recent history.

4. MAP

The southern states are hot and comfy.

11. CONTRIBUTORS

52. MOTHER EMANUEL AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH | SOUTH CAROLINA

Say hi to the people doing the work.

There are churches with shorter names, sure, but there aren’t many churches who’ve meant so much to African American history.

12. POWWOW | PENDLETON | OREGON

Native peoples’ crafts and culture fascinate us.

We’ve been to a powwow in Oregon.

Rubrik

15. FOR THE SAKE OF SAKÉ | VANCOUVER | CANADA

Canadian saké, is that really a thing? It sure is.

Craftsmanship in every last grain of rice.

88. CITY GUIDE IN SAN ANTONIO | TEXAS

Our new contributor Jan has walk up and down the streets of one of Texas’ oldest cities.

102. THE AMERICAN | GRACE WHATLEY | UTAH

In tiny Green River, we met Grace, VAD? | VAR, STAT/STAD The Ambassador Room, aka The Pump Room, who runs a flea market in town.

TEXT OCH FOTO: JONAS LARSSON might be one of Chicago’s coolest bars.

Första gången jag träffade Den Matt Pollitz så hade han sin Volvo-verkstad i en gammal 104.

TRIPStreet THROUGH UTAH’S COWBOY plåtlada nere vid fiskebåtarna en bit nerROAD på Market i Ballard, Seattle.

Nu liggerCOUNTRY 18. SEWING CIRCLE AND CELEBRATION PADUCAH | The Great Circle is a classic road trip through the national nybyggda National Nordic Museum där, då lekte Matt med tanken på att hans verkstad kunde parks of southern Utah.

One of the greats.

KENTUCKY bli en interigerad del av museet. Det hade varit otorligt cool, men nu blev det inte så.

Paducah surprises us. Super cute little town a quilt Därför blevwith jag glad när jag såg att han omlokaliserat till en annan del av Ballard. En verkstad gamla volvobilar självklart 116. liggaGOO i denGOO genomnordiska En museum, beautiful architecture,för fantastic bars, goodska food, SHOP ANDstadsdelen, DESSERT ingen BAR |annanstans.

NASHVILLE intressant sak är att bilarna är relativt här, visserligen är det fuktigt Pacific North West and a fascinating history.

Is itrostfria a strip club?

Is it a speakeasy?

Is it a imotel? men det snöar sällan i Seattle ochNo, manit’s använder mossaname. är ett större problem än a candyinte shopvägsalt, with a så strange rost …

36. PIRATES | BEAUFORT | NORTH CAROLINA Förutom att renovera de gamla trotjänarna så har han börjat elkonvertera dem också. Det bästa Majsan Boström has scheduled a meeting with 118. THE ARCADE CAFE | MEMPHIS | TENNESSEE av två världar, även om en B18 alltid kommer att vara en B18. two pirates in a cemetery. Work is work.

Elvis’ go-to place. The King was known to get a fried peanut butter banana sandwich for breakfast here. We did pizza and GATUADRESS | HEMSIDEADRESS 44. TO DIVE FOR | ORIENT EXPRESS | SEATTLE salad for lunch. The King won out.

The bar that never leaves the platform. A dive in Seattle.

16. PUMP IT UP! | CHICAGO | ILLINOIS

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Beer, booze & burgers www.garagebar.se

FOTO: JONAS LARSSON

American Trails EXPLORE WITH US

MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL JONAS LARSSON EDITOR IN CHIEF AND PUBLISHER LARSSON@AMTRAILSMAG.COM SIMON URWIN UK EDITOR URWIN@AMTRAILSMAG.COM FREDRIK LUNDGREN DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR LUNDGREN@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

American Trails Magazine is a quarterly publication and an online community, which focuses on people, places, and passions. We distribute the Swedish edition in the Nordic countries, and the international edition in the UK and the USA. We do not accept responsibility for the loss of unsolicited materials. Permission is granted to quote and praise us as long as the source is identified. For permission to use any of our photos or stories, please contact the editors.

BO SANDLUND ART DIRECTOR INFO@AMTRAILSMAG.COM NATHALIE WOLF DESIGNER N.WOLF@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

ISSN 2002-7842

OFFICE

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PAPER HEART PUBLISHING TUNSTAVÄGEN 18, S-793 40 INSJÖN, SWEDEN

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JOHAN LETH PROJECT MANAGER | EDITOR LETH@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

PAPER COVER: MULTI OFFSET 300 G INLAY: MULTI OFFSET 120 G

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FONTS TITLES: ACIER BAT, AW CONQUEROR DIDOT AND HEROE PRO BODY TEXT: ADOBE CASLON PRO 10/12 QUOTES: GOTHAM BOLD CAPTIONS: MUSEO SLAB 700

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TO OWN A PAIR OF GROUNDSTONE SHOES RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

Means that you, like us, think that good shoes are unique, created with an open mind and with the heart in the right place. Where small series, solid craftsmanship and top quality is just common sense.

GROUNDSTONE.SE | CONTAINER STORE | VARBERG | GROUNDSTONESHOESANDMORE

a tribe called

Contributors

An Italian, an American, a Dane, and a Swede walked into a bar...

Say hi to our new contributors.

RENEE SAUR, USA

Renee Sauer was a photojournalist for a few newspapers across the US for a couple of decades.

She now spends her time with freelance assignments, always happy to meet new people and explore new places. Renee prefers to be outside, usually near saltwater and sunshine. See her images from The Carolinas on page 36 and 52. @sauerpower14 | @nomadtheboat CAJSA LANDIN, N.Y.C., USA

Cajsa Landin is a freelance writer and translator, based in New York but with one foot perpetually on the road in search of Americana. When she isn't off on assignments that involve drinking bourbon, she translates crime novels and psychology nonfiction, writes articles about child development and parenting, and is editor in chief of SWEA NY Magazine. cajsalandin.com FRANCESCO AGLIERI RINELLA, ITALY

Francesco is a 30-year-old photographer based in Italy. His photographs study reality as an unrepeatable instant frozen in time, including emotional reflections and mental expansions. In this issue of American Trails Magazine, you can see Francesco's beautiful photos on page 60. @takeuchi.film | francescoaglieri.com JAN AAGAARD, DENMARK

Jan is a Danish journalist and editor with more than 20 years of experience in travel and tourism reporting. He regularly contributes to leading newspapers, magazines, and various travel trade publications. His favorite subjects are outdoor adventures, food, and wine. See his city guide on San Antonio on page 88. @ janaagaard3131

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How to Pow Wow PENDLETON ROUND UP | PENDLETON | OREGON WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON | PHOTO BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

A Pow Wow can be a party or a meeting to discuss important things - or both. We visited the rodeo Pendleton Round Up in - er, Pendleton a few years ago and got lost in the three hundred teepees set up on a large grassy field. Here, members of the local Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla tribes had gathered to dance, sing, party, and compete. These include beauty contests and dance competitions. We followed the sound of drums, and there in an opening between the tents, several people in beautiful costumes were dancing.

It was a fascinating experience, mixing old traditions with contemporary ones.

PEOPLE, PLACES AND PASSIONS

PENDLETONROUNDUP.COM

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Rubrik

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Before Anyone Did Anything SKO UNO Did Everything

The Coolest And Nicest Stores In Stockholm!

SINCE 1974

Gamla Brogatan 34, Stockhol

Gamla Brogatan 32, Stockholm

PEOPLE, PLACES AND PASSIONS

Innovative sake master

OSAKE CRAFT SAKE | VANCOUVER | BRITISH COLUMBIA WORDS AND PHOTO BY SIMON URWIN

"Some people think I'm playing with an old tradition, but I think I'm giving it new life," says Masa Shiroki from Vancouver. Masa distills sake with grain from his rice fields, the first to be grown in Canada. "I have adjusted the ancient recipe so that it can now be combined with pasta and pizza, not just sushi and sashimi." For Shiroki, who moved to Canada from Japan 50 years ago, there is a higher purpose to his sake-making. "I wanted to plant the seeds of my 'Japaneseness' in Canadian soil and leave a legacy. I have done that by proving that rice can be grown here. In Japan, sake is considered very sacred and is still offered to the gods in ceremonies, so turning my rice into sake is my way of giving thanks for the good life and opportunities my adopted country has given me."

ARTISANSAKEMAKER.COMARTISANSAKEMAKER.COM

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P E O PRLUEB, RPILKARCUEB S RAI K ND R UPBARSISKI O N S

Pump it up!

THE AMBASSADOR ROOM A.K.A. THE PUMP ROOM | AMBASSADOR HOTEL | CHICAGO WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

If you can't beat them, confuse them, a friend used to say. And it isn't very clear when you try to google one of Chicago's most legendary and coolest bars. The Pump Room in the Hotel Ambassador Chicago in the Gold Coast area is now called the Ambassador Room. It's not essential but tricky, so Google it if you are interested in bar name changes. Back in the day, in the 50s and 60s, this was the hottest bar in town. Celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Paul Newman, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Salvador Dalí well, you get the picture, cool cats that is, often sat at the bar.

The Pump Room was designed by modernist and architect Samuel Abraham Marx, and the first martini was shaken or stirred here in 1938. The interior with the strange curved ceiling is totally awesome, and that alone is an excellent reason to go here, but yes, they can still make drinks out of rocket fuel.

1301 NORTH STATE PARKWAY, CHICAGO

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PADUCAH | KENTUCKY

How to pronounce

Puh-duh-kaa

Hidden among the majestic cornfields of western Kentucky is a gem known for its quilts. Digging through the blankets, you’ll find Paducah, a town with a rich history, lots of good food, and great people.

WORDS BY FREDRIK LUNDGREN | PHOTOS BY JONAS LARSSON

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Dog and owner both think it smells good at the barbecue festival.

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T

he city spreads out along the Ohio River, where every street and every corner tell a story and where culture flourishes like flowers in the spring. American small towns have a remarkable ability to bring one’s imagination to life, especially in the South. The oppressive heat that refuses to give up until evening, the smoky smell of barbecues, and the picturesque buildings all contribute to my imagination and make me want to discover more. All I have to do is close my eyes and listen, and I can hear the sound of horses’ hooves on the dry ground and the steam whistles of locomotives and ships. Like so many other cities, this city has a varied history. It was in the 19th century, in the middle of the American wilderness, that the town took shape, and we don’t have time to see much of the city before my historical zoom-out is overwhelmed by the hunger that sets in like a bulldozer.

We are guided to the legendary restaurant Kirchhoff ’s; like everything else in Paducah, it is not far to walk. Kirchhoff ’s Bakery’s history spans five generations.

It combines classic quality with a modern vision. In 1873, Franz Kirchhoff and his wife Hannah Baumer started their bakery in Paducah. They used old methods, family recipes, and a wood-fired oven to serve locals and riverboat travelers. The business thrived and provided bread to Paducah residents until the mid-20th century, when they were forced to sell the building. In 1997, the bakery was reopened by Ginny Kirchhoff-Elmore, a fifth-generation Kirchhoff, who managed to buy back the premises. The shop still makes bread, pastries, sandwiches, soups, and salads according to old recipes and always with high-quality ingredients. But best of all, they have a reputation for serving large portions.

With confident strides, wearing my best cowboy boots, I boldly order a po’boy sandwich, trying to hide my uncertainty about the pronunciation. Patrick, the on-site chef, 21

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PADUCAH | KENTUCKY

Paducah has suffered several catastrophic floods. The Ohio River can rise several meters.

Inside the levee you can follow the history of the city through a number of very beautiful murals.

PADUCAH | KENTUCKY

Kirchhoffs Bakery takes its sandwiches seriously.

smiles broadly and whispers a warning: “You know the sandwiches are gigantic, right?” The sandwich placed in front of me is indeed huge. It’s like a small submarine landing right in front of me. It is so big that it barely fits on the table. I suddenly make eye contact with Patrick, and he laughs when he sees my expression — a mixture of horror and delight. I try to figure out how to take my first bite. The po’boy is packed with fried shrimp, vegetables, and sauce that flows like the Ohio River. Offense is the best defense, and I attack my po’boy. In a fit of rage, I eat the entire sandwich. Now, the only thing that will cure the food coma is a brisk walk.

against the many floods that have hit Paducah. The worst was in 1937, when the water rose 18 meters, and 27,000 people were forced to flee. The painting on the levee creates a beautiful and vibrant image of the city, and the first painting is of the indigenous people who lived here. Paducah is the only major city in Kentucky with a name that can be traced back to the indigenous people. The Chickasaw tribe lived and hunted in the area long before anyone else. Settlers began to be attracted to the site in the 19th century because of its strategic location at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, which served as trade routes.

Paducah was traditionally named in 1827 in honor of the legendary Chickasaw chief Paduke. It was Second Lieutenant William Clark who gave the town its name.

Clark is best known for mapping the West with his colleague Meriwether Lewis in 1804-1806.

Today, Paducah has a rich history, from the indigenous people who lived here to the Civil War and floods. It is

MURAL HISTORY

We waddle down to the river and are greeted by Paducah’s most famous — and very long — mural, a beautiful and significant art installation celebrating the city’s history and heritage. The painting spans a 25-meter-long levee to ­protect 22

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Down town Classic Tattoo in Paducah transforms you into a work of art.

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Perhaps a river trip on the ancient highways?

As in so many other places in the world, rivers have been extremely important.

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RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK Outside the old market hall you can see the strangest things. Did we mention that Paucah is creative?

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PADUCAH WAS TRADITIONALLY NAMED IN 1827 IN HONOR OF THE LEGENDARY CHICKASAW CHIEF PADUKE. IT WAS SECOND LIEUTENANT WILLIAM CLARK WHO GAVE THE TOWN ITS NAME. CLARK IS BEST KNOWN FOR MAPPING THE

PADUCAH | KENTUCKY

WEST WITH HIS COLLEAGUE MERIWETHER LEWIS IN 1804-1806.

highlighted through many historic sites and events. We are advised by some “Paducians” to explore places like the River Discovery Center, which tells the area’s river history, or the National Quilt Museum, which highlights the city’s creative and artistic heritage. Being the history nerds that we are, we’ll obviously do both.

Founders Bill and Meredith Schroeder had a vision to create a place to showcase this fantastic art form. The museum opened in 1991 and has been a gathering place for textile and art geeks ever since. The over 600 quilts are selected for their artistic beauty, technical skill, and historical significance. The museum also hosts workshops and temporary exhibitions, where artists worldwide are invited to showcase their work.

What to do? My prejudices are crushed into little bits of color and pattern with every passing minute. I admit that I have become a quilt fanatic. Grandma and her sewing friends would be proud of me. It is not a boring museum — it’s a place full of life. I leave with a newfound respect for the art of quilting and a reminder to never, ever judge something again before giving it a chance.

NATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM

Paducah is one of nine UNESCO Creative Cities in the US, and it would be foolish to miss out on their pride and joy, the National Quilt Museum. Or would it? I will readily admit that before visiting the museum, my prejudices were so strong that they could crack a walnut. I had heard about the museum before, but my prejudices told me it would be as exciting as watching grass grow.

With a slight sigh of dissatisfaction, I walk through the museum doors and prepare myself for the apparent boredom that would take over my day, which had started so well with that giant sandwich. I step into the first exhibition hall, and I’m hooked! There, in front of me, are lots of colorful and creative works of art. Quilts of all sizes, motifs, and patterns remind me of massive paintings. One quilt represents a farmhouse, a rural idyll. The small details woven and embroidered into the fabric turn the quilt into a world of its own. I can almost hear cows mooing and chickens clucking. Another quilt is so colorful and lively that I almost think it will jump out of the wall and start dancing with me. It’s not just the quilts themselves that are amazing, but also the stories behind them. Each quilt has its own story to tell, a story of creativity and dedication. My guide, Becky, sees my amazement. “Yes, it’s fascinating how each quilt carries a unique story,” Becky says with a smile. “For many people, quilting is so much more than just a craft. It’s a form of self-expression and a way to pass on traditions and memories.”

THE TASTE OF THE SOUTH

The air is thick with the smell of the grills down by the river. Even though there’s a BBQ party during our days in town, we skip it and head for a restaurant and a name we’ve heard about: Freight House. We walk along the river and enjoy the beautiful view of the boats slowly gliding by. It is a peaceful feeling to be surrounded by nature and a calm atmosphere. We pass old art deco houses with their elegant facades and detailed decorations. Outside a picturesque building, a lady sells handmade jewelry. She says she used to work as an architect and shares her know­ ledge of the city’s architecture. It’s easy to walk through the town, and it doesn’t take long before we arrive at the Freight House. The restaurant hasn’t opened yet but is already buzzing with life as staff prepare for the evening.

Freight House is a famous culinary destination that attracts foodies from all over the world. We sit at the bar and chat with the pride of Paducah and the restaurant’s 28

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Chef Sarah Bradley at Freight House cooks with local flavor. With her friendly staff and the charm of the old railroad warehouse, she's got it spot on.

In addition to being a super-professional waitress, Sidney is also a master at folding napkins.

The Quilt Museum in Paducah is transformative.

Modern, innovative and fascinating. The detail work on the quilts is incredibly skillful.

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After a day of amazing crafts, culture and way too much food, a beer, a chaser and a karaoke performance feels like the right thing to do.

Silent Brigade is an urban distillery, with excellent bourbon tastings.

founder, Chef Sarah Bradley. She is a culinary wizard who combines tradition with innovation.

“Would you like some wine?” Sarah asks. “Of course,” we reply happily, sweat dripping from our foreheads. The walk here in the hot Kentucky sun has made us thirsty, and soon, a glass of foggy white wine is in front of us.

Sarah orders a couple of cocktails on the fly. Suddenly, a New York Sour is in front of me — classy!

Sarah is easy to talk to, telling me that her food journey began at a young age when her passion for cooking was ignited in the family kitchen. Driven by her curiosity and an unquenchable desire to experiment with flavors, she followed her dreams through culinary school at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, where she graduated top of her class. Working at various Michelin-starred restaurants in New York and Chicago, Bradley sharpened her skills. Eventually, the homesickness got too intense, so she moved back to Paducah and started the Freight

House. In a renovated 100-year-old freight house with a unique charm, she and her team create a dining experience that makes the galley sail. Her passion lies in using local, seasonal ingredients. The menu changes regularly so that her guests can experience the best the region has to offer throughout the year. Sarah actively seeks out the best producers in the area to source the freshest ingredients for her kitchen. She does this not only for herself but also to support local businesses.

“Why don’t you come back in a couple of hours and eat?” says Sarah. I’m on the verge of declining the offer, the po’boy is still an anchor in my stomach. But before I can say anything, my colleague says: “Yes, of course we’ll eat here tonight!” The matter is settled.

The sun has time to set. We step through the restaurant’s doors. The former warehouse is full of guests and the atmosphere is vibrant. We don’t order. Instead, Sarah surprises us with different dishes. The first thing that comes 32

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Paducah's Finest made our night.

Thanks buddies.

THE SILVER BULLET LOOKS PROMISING; IT’S A REAL DIVE BAR. WE ARE GREETED BY HEAVY CIGAR SMOKE, KARAOKE, AND AN ATMOSPHERE THAT WOULD MAKE A SWEDISH HOCKEY GAME SEEM LIKE A PICNIC. OUR COLLEAGUE FROM PADUCAH LAUGHS AND SAYS, “YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A SHOWER WHEN YOU GET OUT OF HERE.”

PADUCAH | KENTUCKY

in is beets with goat cheese; our colleague from Paducah, who joins us for the evening, exclaims, “I haven’t had beets since my mama made me.” We laugh and pounce like hungry wolves on each new exciting dish.

before laughing as we stumble out onto Broadway, which we appreciate for being - broad.

For a relatively small town, the nightlife is both varied and good. We are pretty much done now and are on our way back to the hotel, but my God, how often are you in Paducah? We deliberate for a short while - a Polish parliament - and set our sights on the Silent Brigade Distillery. What could be better than ending the evening at a distillery? What could possibly go wrong? One bourbon tasting later, we know the answer. Agreeing that fieldwork is not to be underestimated, we continue our round at The Bully Gorilla Bar and finish at Johnson Bar. After that, we have a sound statistical basis for assessing Paducah’s nightlife. We walk home towards the hotel, which, after a short while, rises like a mirage next to the river. Like thirsty desert hikers, although we are not thirsty anymore, we look forward to arriving, and soon, sheets and blankets will embrace our work-worn bodies. The only thing missing is a colorful quilt.

BAR HOPPIN'

We wouldn’t be Trails Finest if we didn’t take stock of each small town’s selection of bars. Like the mosquitoes, our attention is drawn to the neon signs outside the local watering holes. The Silver Bullet looks promising; it’s a real dive bar. We are greeted by heavy cigar smoke, karaoke, and an atmosphere that would make a Swedish hockey game seem like a picnic. Our colleague from Paducah laughs and says, “You’re going to need a shower when you get out of here.” We walk with firm steps towards the bar, the music thumping and people talking loudly; it’s like stepping into another world, where time stands still, and all worries disappear. It’s a typical American saloon with wood panels on the walls and a glittering bar counter in the center of the room. We take a seat at an empty table and order a beer. The bar has a mixed clientele, to say the least; people from all sorts of backgrounds seem to enjoy themselves here. It’s a perfect place to get a glimpse of the local culture.

Our glasses are soon empty, and, as you know, no moss grows on a rolling stone. We step out onto 3rd Street and on to Broadway again; this is where it all happens.

Here are several good places, and we step into Fox and Briar. There is a laidback cocktail atmosphere in the room, but we are saved by two elegant ladies and their friends.

Our cup of tea. The party soon gets going with loud singalongs to classic disco hits and frequent cocktail drinking.

It’s a fun and relaxed atmosphere. After many toasts and promises to keep in touch, we hug our newfound friends

Here's the thing: We fell in love with Paducah and it hurts a little to not be able to show all the great photos in the ­magazine. Go to americantrailsmag.com and see the rest of the photos. We will return to Paducah in the future.

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The princess factory in Paducha delivers. The city is a great place for families with children.

RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

BEAUFORT | NORTH CAROLINA

Shiver me timbers!

The pirates are here North Carolina, near the end of the 17th century. This is the scene of pirate rampages, with troubled men around every corner.

The rum is abundant, the cutlasses are drawn, muskets are fired — arms and legs flying through the air like confetti — at least if you believe the storytellers. We have a date with two contemporary pirates in Beaufort; weigh the anchor and come along.

WORDS BY MAJSAN BOSTRÖM | PHOTOS BY RENEE SAUER

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BEAUFORT | NORTH CAROLINA

I

t’s golden hour, and the live oaks sprawl their twisted shadows over the Old Burial Ground in Beaufort, North Carolina, as Davy Jones takes a knee in front of a grave. He draws his sword and clutches his plumed hat to the chest, honoring a fallen sailor of yesteryear. The marker is a large cannon ball resting on a piece of weathered wood. “According to old sailing tradition, they usually disposed of bodies in a ceremony at sea. Bringing the dead back with them was rare,” he says. “But when they did, they used a piece of the ship as a marker. This also has a large cannonball, which suggests that some kind of naval hero rests here.”

“It’s strange, but I’ve never noticed this one before. I’ll have to do some research,” adds Davy Jones, who is actually Jonathan Edwards, owner of Port City Tour Company.

“The rich folk and people with names went to Virginia or South Carolina,” Jonathan says.

OH HOY, GOVERNOR!

He is explaining Davy Jones’s character, also known as death, when a recognizable figure comes walking up between the trees. It’s like being beamed back 300 years.

Carl Cannon is so much in character that he even walks like I imagine Captain Blackbeard would: slowly, self-assured, holding a brown cigarillo between his teeth and a cup of rum in his hand. He has a small grin on his face, as if he knows the party won’t start until he arrives.

Carl is in charge of the Beaufort Pirate Invasion (held annually on the last weekend in September) and re-enacts Blackbeard in 20 events per year, including sea battles and Christmas parades. He’s late because he had to touch up the color of his hair and beard (to cover the grays) for the photos. “Oh hoy, Governor!” he hollers.

Because of Jonathan’s crisp clothes and neat beard, Blackbeard misses the Davy Jones reference completely and thinks he’s dealing with Charles Eden (the then-governor who colluded with pirates). There’s tension. A small dispute ensues. Swords and pistols are drawn.

“Wait!” Blackbeard roars. “We’re friends, it’s the governors to the north and south of us that are the problem!”

They laugh, shake hands and weapons go back into baldric and sash.

There are several theories about Blackbeard’s origins.

One says he was English and part of the Royal Navy before he went on his wicked ways.

“I am more of the theory that he was from North ­Carolina and turned pirate to help his colony survive,”

NORTH CAROLINA’S RICH PIRATE HISTORY

Jonathan is part of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild.

He has read every book and article he could find on local lore and has pieced together his ghost tours like a homicide detective approaches a crime scene, one clue at a time.

“People come mostly for the pirates, but we do other historical tours and adventure games too,” he says.

North Carolina’s pirate history is rich. First of all, the pirate ships of all pirate ships – the Queen Anne’s Revenge – was run aground on a sandbar two miles outside of Beaufort in June 1718 by Captain Blackbeard himself. He was captured and killed six months later, a few inlets away.

Back then, North Carolina was full of thieves and cutthroats. Sparsely populated, it was a popular hideout for people of dubious character.

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Even in the 17th century, Captain Blackbeard realized that beauty comes from within.

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BEAUFORT | NORTH CAROLINA

A sailor's last resting place Davy Jones A.K.A. Jonathan Edwards mourns his ancestor.

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BLACKBEARD ADMITS THAT HE HAS A BIGGER CLOSET THAN CARL. HE GETS MOST OF HIS GARMENTS FROM A TAILOR IN FLORIDA WHO SPECIALIZES IN PIRATE GARB. HE’S SEWN SOME OF HIS PIECES TOO, LIKE THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN COAT WITH BLACK VELVET DETAIL THAT HE BROUGHT ALONG. “YOU KNOW THEY SAY THE CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN,” HE SAYS AND RATTLES OFF DIFFERENT

BEAUFORT | NORTH CAROLINA

FAVORITE OUTFITS, INCLUDING BOOTS, SHOES AND… SANDALS.

Carl says. “You’ve just got to choose what makes the most sense to you.”

When Carl became Blackbeard in 2016, it came naturally to him. “I portray him a little differently than the movies, a little more scaled back,” he says. “I do wear jewelry, a ring in each ear, and nine or ten rings on my fingers.

You never know when you need to get a room, and they come in handy when you have to strike a deal with an innkeeper. But I don’t have all that stuff in my beard and hair.”

Blackbeard admits that he has a bigger closet than Carl.

He gets most of his garments from a tailor in Florida who specializes in pirate garb. He’s sewn some of his pieces too, like the beautiful green coat with black velvet detail that he brought along. “You know they say the clothes make the man,” he says and rattles off different favorite outfits, including boots, shoes and… sandals.

Pirates wore sandals? “Of course they did. People have worn sandals for thousands of years. They are easy to make and comfortable to wear, especially when it’s hot. You don’t wear boots on the beach in the middle of summer around here.”

Jefferson and John Adams, they did a lot of things that would be considered piracy today,” Carl chuckles. “Any time you can tell a story where one person defies the government and they hold their own for a little while, bringing the world to its knees, then you’ve got a legend,” Jonathan says. “And that’s what Blackbeard did.”

It’s also why Jonathan never guides groups as Blackbeard. “The third person narrative keeps the mystery alive and growing,” he says. “I enjoy the intricacies of taking on different roles. It helps keep it fresh and fun.”

I nod to Blackbeard’s tote bag that lies on the ground next to the green coat a couple of graves away.

“Oh, that’s my head,” Carl says and pulls it out. “We use it on the last days of Blackbeard reenactment.”

We try to create a scene where Jonathan, now Governor Charles Eden (they are actors after all) has defeated Blackbeard in a swordfight and is holding up his head, while we see the legs of the pirate sticking out from behind a gravestone. “I’ll drink damnation to your souls, you sniffling puppies,” Carl rumbles as he drops to the ground.

Unfortunately, it’s too dark and the photo doesn’t turn out. We bid our farewells.

The plume of Davy Jones’s hat flutters in the slight breeze as he walks off to meet his tour group. Blackbeard hops into an old pickup truck full of tools and drives off, possibly stopping by the department store to stock up on black hair (and beard) color for the Beaufort Pirate Invasion in September.

PIRATES IN PICKUPS

Despite their different approaches, the storyteller and the reenactor agree on the remarkable lives of pirates, who often sailed with people of all lands and religions, had intricate systems of commissions and compensations, and a code that looked a lot like democracy.

“If pirates would have ‘won’, we would be calling them the founding fathers,” Jonathan says. “Oh yeah, Thomas 42

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Flintlock pistols among pirates were as hot in the 17th century as belly rims on Amazons among 1970s Rasboragars.

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All aboard!

TO DIVE FOR | ORIENT EXPRESS | SODO | SEATTLE

T O D I V E F O R | ROURBI R EIN P IRKERSUSB|R ISKO D O | S E A T T L E K TR E UX BR

WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

Is there anything better than a ludicrous bar? The Orient Express in Seattle’s SoDo is ludicrous, absolutely bonkers. It is a mix of a Chinese restaurant, karaoke bar, and disco, and brings tears to a grown man.

Unceremoniously deposited in an industrial neighborhood (which, by the way, hosts several hidden treasures like this one) are four or five — actually it’s hard to know how many — old train cars, lined up next to each other.

I pay them a visit on an overcast afternoon. Train cars one and two: Chinese restaurant. The waitress assumes I’m there for a stiff drink and points me further into the strange space. Train cars three and four: bingo! Together they create the perfect kind of dive. Two regulars are parked at the bar, and the super friendly bartender Amber mans the taps. “Have you seen the presidential car?” she asks. I hadn’t, but soon I’m standing in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s private car, which he used in the 1944 presidential campaign. An old Art Deco dream. “We use this car for events, and sometimes for disco dancing,” she reveals. Fantastic is all I can think of in return.

While day drinking is one of my better talents, a super important meeting awaits me in 20 minutes, so I must refrain. I’ll no doubt be back soon, and then it's dive bar bonanza wtill the cows come home — choo, choo!

ORIENTEXPRESSWA.COM

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ALABAMA

BACON, BISCUITS, AND

CIVIL RIGHTS Simon Urwin continues his epic 600-mile road trip from Alabama’s Gulf Coast all the way to its northern border with Tennessee. It’s a journey of belt-loosening feasts and soulful sounds across a state whose warm hospitality can be felt as keenly as the ghosts of its past.

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SIMON URWIN

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ALABAMA

Chocolate belly, anyone? Salty, sweet, and fatty, what can go wrong?

P

erched on a barstool, a man in a cowboy hat is singing love songs to four slices of bacon. “Tell me you love me, make me believe it’s true,” he croons sweetly to the freshly cured pork belly. “If I’m honest, honey, I don’t want anyone but you.”

I’m watching this recital in the backyard of Bill E’s in Fairhope, Alabama, a small-batch bacon-maker whose motto is: ‘Serenaded by songwriters; savored by carnivores’. “Singing to bacon doesn’t feel weird to me at all,” says musician Stephen Sylvester as he packs away his guitar after the acoustic set has concluded. “It’s just part of the beautiful, crazy Americana you find in Alabama.

Here, it comes with an extra twist though: we embrace that crazy whole-heartedly.”

The eponymous owner of Bill E’s, Bill E Stitt, arrives at my table with one of his signature dishes: ‘chocolate belly’, featuring rib-sticking squares of salted caramel brownie served with fried bacon bites and drizzled with

a bourbon-sugar glaze. “It took three years to get the bacon-making recipe just right,” he tells me as I tuck into the dish — a surprisingly delicious blend of sweet and savory, the cured pork amongst the most flavorsome I’ve ever tasted.

“The most important thing is the quality of the meat,” he says. “The hogs need to be raised organically. I want to know there’s no growth hormone. I want to know they could have played in clover pastures outdoors, or gone inside to color in coloring books if they really wanted to!

A good life makes for great bacon.”

Stitt cures the pork for eight days in pink curing salt and dark brown sugar. The pig bellies are turned over in the marinade every other day, cold-smoked over hickory, then rested and hand-sliced — all to a soundtrack of folk, country, and blues, courtesy of local musicians. “Music is about community and happiness in Alabama,” he explains.

“It’s good for the heart and soul, and it takes any stress out of the process. It might sound nuts, but I think it’s a key part of the 4 S’s that make the bacon taste so darn good: sweet, salt, smoke, and serenade.”

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Bill E. Stitt of Fairhope, Alabama, is a guy who knows his bacon.

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Selma may seem like an insignificant little town. Still, it was here that Martin Luther King Jr. led an African-American voter registration drive that resulted in terrible police violence but culminated in a 50-mile protest march to Montgomery.

National Memorial for Peace and Justice. No place in Montgomery or in the rest of the United States, for that matter - is as powerful a reminder of the dark history that African Americans have endured.

NEXT MORNING, I STRIKE OUT NORTHEAST ON I-65 FROM MONTGOMERY, WHERE THE FIELDS OF CORN AND SOYBEANS ARE SUDDENLY INTERRUPTED

BY A ROAD SIGN SCREAMING: ‘GO TO CHURCH, OR THE DEVIL WILL GET YOU.’ IT’S ONE OF MANY BIBLE-THUMPING THREATS OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE I PASS

Fit to burst, I leave Fairhope and head west on I-10, crossing the Mobile Bay delta close to the resting place of the schooner Clotilda, the last slave ship known to have arrived in the United States. The sinking of the Clotilda (which arrived illegally in 1860, fifty-two years after the US banned the importing of enslaved people), was just one ignominious chapter in a story lasting more than 200 years, a story of unimaginable brutality, which saw 12 million African people kidnapped, chained and brought to the Americas after a tortuous journey across the Atlantic (nearly two million died during the voyage alone), to be bartered, sold, exploited, abused, and confined in involuntary servitude.

customers of difference races were prohibited from social interaction and assigned separate bathrooms and changing rooms. Inside the 1930s building, and preserved for posterity, are the original marble backsplash for the store’s water fountains, simply but shockingly engraved with the words ‘white’ and ‘colored’.

No site in Montgomery though, nor indeed the rest of America, has an impact as comparable as the city’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Inspired by the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, the harrowing six-acre site is dedicated to the many thousands of victims of lynching. At the centre of the memorial is a sinister cloister where 800 weathered steel monuments hang overhead; they bring to mind the haunting Billie Holiday song Strange Fruit, a euphemism for lynched bodies seen hanging from trees.

Etched on each one is the name of a US county and the people who were known to have been lynched there, some listed by name, some as ‘unknown’, with graphic detail of the atrocities they suffered: hanging, burning, shooting, drowning, stabbing, beating, and disembowelment. The magnitude of the killing is overwhelming; the crimes against them were all carried out with impunity.

SOLD DOWN THE RIVER

At the time, Mobile was one of the busiest slave ports in the country, where ‘human cargo’ was regularly sent by steamboat for sale upriver in the cotton south. Many enslaved people were transferred to the present-day state capital Montgomery, where they were landed on the Alabama River dock before being led in chains through the streets to be auctioned along with land and livestock in the main square. (The common expression ‘sold down the river’ has its roots in the slaves who were transported in this way.)

The enslaved labor force helped fuel vast economic growth across the United States, particularly in the agricultural plantations of the Deep South. To justify slavery as morally acceptable, the ideology of white supremacy reared its ugly head, and black people were soon ‘othered’ as racially different beings who should be kept apart from their white superiors.

A stark reminder of that segregation can be found at the old Kress department store on Dexter Avenue, where

THE PROTEST MARCH TO MONTGOMERY

Next morning, I strike out northeast on I-65 from Montgomery, where the fields of corn and soybeans are suddenly interrupted by a road sign screaming: ‘Go to church, or the Devil will get you.’ It’s one of many bible-thumping threats of fire and brimstone I pass on my way to Selma, half an hour’s drive away, a rather forlorn city where the taxidermy-decorated diners, bail bonders and burntout shopfronts belie Selma’s pivotal role in the course of ­modern history.

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ALABAMA

ON MY WAY TO SELMA, HALF AN HOUR’S DRIVE AWAY.

SHE TELLS ME THAT BEFORE THE MARCH BEGAN, SHE AND HER FELLOW PROTESTORS WERE TAUGHT HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM POLICE BATONS. “WE KNEW THE FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE WOULD END QUICKLY IF WE RETALIATED WITH VIOLENCE,” SHE SAYS. “SO, WE LEARNED HOW TO CROUCH AND COVER OURSELVES WHEN

ALABAMA

ATTACKED SO WE COULD CONTINUE TO PROTEST PEACEFULLY.”

In March 1965, Selma became the focus of an African-American voters’ registration drive led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Weeks of police violence against the activists, including the infamous ‘Bloody Sunday’ attack against demonstrators on Edmund Pettus Bridge, culminated in a 50-mile protest march to Montgomery. As many as 25,000 people participated in what would become a landmark of the American civil rights movement, leading directly to the passing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which allowed African Americans to overcome the many legal obstacles to their right to vote following emancipation.

On a mansion porch, I meet Joyce O’Neil, one of the last surviving ‘foot soldiers’. She tells me that before the march began, she and her fellow protestors were taught how to protect themselves from police batons. “We knew the fight against injustice would end quickly if we retaliated with violence,” she says. “So, we learned how to crouch and cover ourselves when attacked so we could continue to protest peacefully.”

After the three-day walk, the marchers arrived at the steps of Montgomery’s State Capitol, where they were greeted by Martin Luther King’s legendary ‘How long?

Not long’ speech. “To hear him talk was electric,” says O’Neil. “It was a moment of great hope. But look where we’re headed nowadays. The fact that we need the Black Lives Matter movement at all does not fill me with confidence for what’s happening in America. It’s why it's important for folks to come here, to learn, and to have what are sometimes difficult conversations about the country’s past, present and future.”

Martin Luther King’s wife Coretta, it was where the first Confederate flag was sewn. Marion also played host to the Union headquarters during the final weeks of the Civil War in an antebellum mansion named Reverie — where Scott Peacock now pays homage to a much-loved staple of the Deep South: the buttermilk biscuit.

In Reverie’s kitchen, Peacock, a James Beard Award-winning chef, runs biscuit-making classes that attract enthusiastic home cooks (or ‘biscuiteers’) from across the world. “The origins of the biscuit lie in England, and it came over to America with the settlers,” he says. “Since then, the South has become renowned for making the very best biscuits; they are baked deep into our culture and conscience.”

As we chat, Peacock begins a fresh batch by mixing flour, buttermilk, butter, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. On a slab of white Alabama marble (the state is famous for its marble; it forms a large part of the Lincoln Memorial), he begins gently kneading the ingredients into a wet dough. “Compress it too much and you are effectively burping it,” he says. “Get rid of that levity and it’s not coming back.” He lays pieces of dough on a baking sheet (“they should be just kissing each other”), before placing them in the oven on high heat. “I never look at the clock; I judge by smell alone when they are ready to come out to cool.”

Traditionally served with gravy and grits at breakfast, or as a side to crispy fried chicken, Peacock prepares me a plate with fresh raspberry jam and country ham. He presents it with his own handmade napkins, dyed blue with natural indigo, one of the South’s original cash crops.

The biscuits are delicious, with a buttery crust encasing a fluffy interior, the sugary tartness of the raspberries perfectly matching the sweetness of the ham. “Whichever

THE BISCUITEER

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Joyce O'Neil was involved in the civil rights movement protests.

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ALABAMA

Scott Peacock promotes the much-loved southern bun, the buttermilk biscuit.

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Anyone who overindulges gets at least 18 slices of bacon in their mouth.

From military boots to limitless creativity.

Peace!

Biscuits are what the South is built on.

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“CIGAR-BOX GUITARS ORIGINATED HERE IN THE SOUTH,” SAYS OWNER AND CIGARBOX LUTHIER JEFF MELLO, WHILE HE RIFFS SOULFULLY ON A RECENTLY COMPLETED INSTRUMENT. “PEOPLE OF LITTLE MEANS WOULD TAKE A BROOM HANDLE, BALING WIRE AND A CIGAR BOX, GET SOME TENSION ON THE STRING AND START PLUCKING;

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SOME OF THE EARLIEST BLUES MUSIC WAS CREATED THAT WAY.”

way they’re served, a biscuit is a way of connecting to the thousands of biscuits made before us, to those home cooks that made them, and the people they learned from,” he says. “In the South, we cherish that kind of history and tradition.”

POOR MAN’S GUITAR

I reach journey’s end in Huntsville the following day.

Once a sleepy farming town, it’s now one of the state’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas, home to the largest privately owned arts and entertainment facility in the USA: Lowe Mill. This former textile manufacturing plant, which once produced the majority of the combat boots for soldiers in the Vietnam War, is now a thriving cultural complex, home to creatives and artisanal workshops as varied as the Ravenwood Meadery (where Roo Kline distills botanical-infused honey wine), and the Cigar Box Guitar Store, the only store of its kind in the world, which sells so-called ‘poor man’s guitars’.

“Cigar-box guitars originated here in the South,” says owner and cigar-box luthier Jeff Mello, while he riffs soulfully on a recently completed instrument. “People of little means would take a broom handle, baling wire and a cigar box, get some tension on the string and start plucking; some of the earliest blues music was created that way.”

Mello says that one of the greatest appeals of the cigar-box guitar is that each instrument produces its own unique sound from just three strings. “They’re a great entry point into music, especially if folks are intimidated by a six-string guitar,” he says. “I’ve sat down with people for just one hour-long lesson, and they’ve left in happy tears because, all of a sudden, they can play a tune. Spreading joy through music; well, I think that’s about as special as life can get.”

18 STRIPS OF BACON

I continue north to Tuscaloosa, where the weekend traffic slows to a stop as 150,000 fans descend to watch one of the two local college football teams play. “Folks here do not die on football Saturday; they don’t get married on football Saturday either,” says Gary Lewis, founder of Rama Jama’s, a sports-themed diner located opposite the football stadium. “Why? Because we’re consumed by our love of it. College football is like a religion. And Rama Jama’s is the shrine.”

Lewis explains the intense rivalry between the state’s two major teams: Tuscaloosa’s Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn’s Tigers. “It’s one of the greatest in the sport,” he says. “On match day, when the home crowd starts chanting ‘Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer! Give ‘em hell Alabama!’ it’s so loud that it almost shakes the glass out of my windows.”

Alabama Crimson Tide is widely considered the best college team in the US, and Lewis celebrates their national championship titles on his menu. “They’ve won 18 times, so the BLT has got 18 strips of bacon on it. Win again, we’ll go up one more strip. We have a championship burger, too, that’s made with 18 ounces of meat; another trophy, another ounce. Hopefully one day it’ll be so big, it won’t even fit in your mouth.”

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An empty cigar box may also be a concert.

The question is whether it is a threat or a promise?

Honey wine feels like something you have to try.

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PORTFOLIO WEST SAFARI

FRANCESCO AGLIERI RINELLA

RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

WEB: FRANCESCOAGLIERI.COM | INSTAGRAM: @TAKEUCHI.FILM

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PORTFOLIO | ANOUK MASSON KRANTZ B R IAKNRCUEBSRCI K BL R II E KR I R I N E L L A P O R T F O L I O R|U F O RAUG

The importance of traveling physically, but above all with the mind, is what leads Francesco to express himself through photography.

This desire to create has fueled his desire to travel. In November 2021, he found a giant topographical map of the United States and laid out the route that came to be called "West Safari," a timeless adventure. It also became a book, which sold out in no time.

For 33 days and in two trips in 2022, Francesco visited the United States. In May, he was in California and the surrounding areas; in November, he traveled through six states in the Southwest.

Across the endless expanses of sun-baked nature and countless ghost towns, it became a challenge to document, mile by mile, the small towns and historical details that might be lost, absorbed by the constant presence of nature or some irrevocable human action.

Cars of different makes, years, and colors stood abandoned along the roads, firmly anchored in a time capsule. Motels become havens, and their neon lights illuminate the streets at night.

The book, West Safari, emphasizes the importance of remembering and preserving what have become historical monuments. The American West is often underestimated, not valued for what it was nor what it will become in time. Private property dominates over historical value, which is unclaimed and insurmountable.

Route 66, as touristy and pleasant as it is at first glance, hides forgotten, uninhabited, and inaccessible gems. The places photographed by Francesco are monuments that, despite the passage of time, must be preserved and loved in their aesthetic design in a country dominated by the contrast between man and nature.

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Rubrik

VAD? | VAR, STAT/STAD

TEXT OCH FOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Första gången jag träffade Den Matt Pollitz så hade han sin Volvo-verkstad i en gammal plåtlada nere vid fiskebåtarna en bit ner på Market Street i Ballard, Seattle. Nu ligger nybyggda National Nordic Museum där, då lekte Matt med tanken på att hans verkstad kunde bli en interigerad del av museet. Det hade varit otorligt cool, men nu blev det inte så.

Därför blev jag glad när jag såg att han omlokaliserat till en annan del av Ballard. En verkstad för gamla volvobilar ska självklart ligga i den genomnordiska stadsdelen, ingen annanstans. En intressant sak är att bilarna är relativt rostfria här, visserligen är det fuktigt i Pacific North West men det snöar sällan i Seattle och man använder inte vägsalt, så mossa är ett större problem än rost …

Förutom att renovera de gamla trotjänarna så har han börjat elkonvertera dem också. Det bästa av två världar, även om en B18 alltid kommer att vara en B18.

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CHARLESTON | SOUTH CAROLINA

The Mother Church of Black history

Black culture and history in America are deeply rooted in the church.

The history is not always easy to find, but it’s there. You just have to look. And ask. When Majsan Boström and Renee Sauer got assigned to do stories about South Carolina, visiting a church with a gospel choir was high on the list. A tip led them to one of America’s oldest African Methodist Episcopal churches in Historic Charleston.

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WORDS BY MAJSAN BOSTRÖM | PHOTOS BY RENEE SAUER

t’s a little bit after 8 a.m. on an asphalt-meltingly hot August morning when we approach Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The steeple is so white against the blue sky that it almost looks like something out of the Greek Isles instead of South Carolina. Old Charleston is about 3.5 miles across, and there is a church on every street corner, though none quite like Mother Emanuel. And it’s not just the Gothic Revival architecture, not the enormous stained-glass window from the 1800s or the massive pipe organ that makes it so special. It’s the people.

Clusters of churchgoers walk up the stairs dressed in their Sunday best. Warm smiles, hugs, and “Good mornings” are exchanged. Nobody is a stranger.

In the vestibule, two friends, one donning a seersucker suit and a blue bowtie and the other high-waisted slacks and a striped shirt with monogrammed cuffs, gladly pose

for a photo as if they were 17 and not well over 70. Service doesn’t start for another hour, but there are already people waiting in the 200-year-old wooden pews. Lillian and Lillian sit up front.

I ask how long they’ve been coming here.

“Since I was in my mama’s womb,” says Lillian Coakley, who’s wearing a pink dress and jacket, and a matching ribbon in her hat. “And, I’m 80 years old.”

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” the other Lillian says, when she catches me looking around the large fellowship hall.

Despite the warm welcome, stepping into Mother Emanuel isn’t without anxious flutters for two white magazine people like us. It was here a white supremacist killed nine people in 2015. He joined the bible study, sat through the whole session and when they all stood up and bowed their heads to pray, he pulled out a Glock and started shooting. “I was supposed to be there, but I had a meeting, so I left early that day,” says the man with the 79

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The church hall is beautiful and over 200 years old.

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You dress up for church. Stylish Harold (in yellow) and his friend have been going here since the 1960s.

monogrammed cuffs, Harold Washington, who’s been a member since 1967. “My daughter called me frantically.

I had no idea what was going on.”

News of the hate crime, an unfathomable act of calculated cruelty, shocked the whole world. Somehow, the congregation managed to pull together and were worshipping that following Sunday. “There was a lot of pain, but we were together,” Harold says. “This is a resilient church,” he adds. “We’ve been put to the test for a long time.”

the founders, Denmark Vesey. Denmark was a 32-yearold former slave who had been able to purchase his freedom from his master in 1799. He had traveled extensively, could read and write, and spoke several languages. In 1822, he masterminded a complex but unsuccessful slave insurrection. Someone told on them and as a result, 131 men were arrested. Denmark and five of his co-conspirators were hanged on July 2, and by the year's end, thirty more were hanged and another thirty-five banished from state and country.

The church was destroyed, and even stricter regulations were imposed on the community, shutting down all African churches. Many members went back to white churches, where they were often confined to the basement, while others kept worshipping in secret. For more than 40 years, the tradition of AME kept on, which enabled the congregation to resurface with some 3,000 members when the Civil War ended in 1865.

“When I grew up, we had the whisper of people like Denmark Vesey, but then we were taught that he was a

A HISTORY OF HARDSHIP AND JOY

Founded in 1817, Mother Emanuel is one of the oldest AME churches in America and has a long history rooted in civil rights and overcoming hardship. Dating back to a time when whites controlled their lives, even of those who were free, with ordinances that limited when Black people could worship and prohibited literacy.

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Lillian and Lillian have been coming to the church their whole lives.

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terrorist,” says Lee J. Bennett Jr, who grew up in Charleston in the 1950s and 60s. “But he was not, Denmark was a liberator and a visionary.”

Lee returned to his hometown in recent years and has many roles within the church, including as a historian and guide. He lists a string of internationally known luminaries who have visited and worshipped at Mother Emanuel: Booker T. Washington in 1909, W.E.B. DuBois (1921), MLK, Jr. (1962), and his widow Coretta Scott King, when she led a nurse strike in 1969.

One woman in the tour bus group, who is from North Carolina, says, “I never knew of this history until just a few years ago, and I’ve been wanting to come here ever since.”

She touches the dark wood paneling on the wall. “This is a very special place to us.”

If you’re an Outer Banks fan and the name Denmark rings a bell, you are right. Denmark Vesey is the inspiration for the character Denmark Tanny, who is Pope’s ancestor and whose treasure they are all searching for in the immensely popular Netflix series of three seasons.

A SOULFUL CERMONI

Then the service starts, and like in most Black churches, it’s long and soulful and full of animated ceremonies, including call and response, singing and dancing. The choir belts out gospel after gospel, hymn after hymn, and even if you don’t know the words, somehow you do. You’re humming along, you’re tapping your feet, clapping your hands. And just when you think it can’t get any better, Patrick Marzett, who’s in charge of live-streaming the sermon, picks up his instrument and goes out on the balcony.

And there, looking like an angel holding his flugelhorn, he improvises with the choir from above and across the fellowship hall.

It’s a musical experience that could easily be earmarked for the finest concert halls in the world — and you are part of it. It's unavoidable.

Toward the end, the congregation stands up and turns around, holding their arms out toward each other as they sing, “I pray for you! You pray for me!” And there you are singing the same even if you never pray.

Because that’s what you do at Mother Emanuel, you sing and worship in a togetherness you may never have experienced before or since, but like they have been doing for more than 200 years.

Everyone is welcome to worship at Mother Emanuel AME Church, Sunday service begins at 10 am. The sermon is also streamed on Zoom. Tours can be booked at motheremanuel.com.

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Patrick Marzett plays his flugelhorn from the balcony in the church.

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TEXAS | CITYGUIDE

SAN ANTONIO

San Antonio is the cradle of Texas. It was here that Spanish missionaries founded some of the first European settlements and where Texas' independence was fought for at the Battle of the Alamo. Today, San Antonio is a modern metropolis, the 7th largest in the US. The city has an unmistakable Mexican feel and offers a variety of experiences — from modern art and gastronomy to history and Western culture.

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River Walk, the lifeblood of the city

The River Walk is — after The Alamo — San Antonio's biggest tourist attraction.

The River Walk consists of landscaped walkways that wind through the city like a green oasis on both sides of the San Antonio River for a total of 15 miles. The park is adorned with flowerbeds, rock gardens, small waterfalls, and large shady trees that light up at night with colorful lights. The idea for the River Walk was conceived way back in 1929 by a local architect who wanted the city's residents to enjoy life in a beautiful riverside setting, similar to that of southern European cities.

The vision was realized in 1941, and since then the River Walk has continued to expand and develop, becoming increasingly important to the city's residents and tourists alike. In the central part of the park, restaurants and bars line both sides of the river, bustling with tourists from morning to night. Head north or south to experience a different side of the River Walk with residential neighborhoods, local beer gardens and public art in the urban space. For example, walk two or three miles up to the part of the River Walk known as Museum Reach, where several of the city's major museums are located close to the river.

THESANANTONONIORIVERWALK.COM

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Pearl District, good food and local vibe

If you want to get away from the tourist crowds around downtown and experience culinary San Antonio with the locals, head to the Pearl, a beautiful old industrial complex that used to house the Pearl Brewery from 1883. Now the area has been restored and transformed into modern eateries and designer shops. Pearl is home to restaurants at all price points, but especially on the higher end, such as Peruvian-Asian fusion at Botika or a modern take on a Texas steakhouse at Boiler House, which is housed in the brewery's original boiler house. The area is also a great place to hang out over a coffee or beer in good weather at one of the many outdoor seating areas. You can walk all the way from downtown to the Pearl along 90 the River Walk.

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100 years of cowboy hats

craft beer and cool vibes

Paris Hatters is a time warp of an institution in downtown San Antonio. The store has been in the same downtown location since 1917 and is the oldest surviving store in the city. Paris Hatters specializes in Stetson hats, but also carries other brands and has over 3,000 hats in stock. In addition, the store also has a large selection of cowboy boots. "We're a family business, and the store is now run by the third generation of the Cortez family," says Garrett, one of the store's friendly clerks, who looks like a real cowboy in his Stetson hat. The store sells over 11,000 hats a year, and they come in all price ranges — from around $100 for a straw hat to over $6,000 for the most expensive Stetson felt hat on display in a locked case. It's made from a mix of mink and beaver hair and has a gold buckle set with 26 diamonds.

In a somewhat neglected former industrial area just north of downtown, hip new craft breweries and beer gardens are popping up. I drop in at Roadmap Brewing Co. which is housed in a large open warehouse where the tables and bar have a direct view of the brewery itself. There are 12-14 different beers on tap at the bar with names like "Long Lost Dinosaur", "Minivan Dad”, and "Wthef ".

At the bar, I strike up a conversation with Paul, a regular who tells me about the development in the area, which has taken off in recent years. Roadmap Brewing Co was established just five years ago, and just across the street, Bentley's Beer Garden and The Lucky Duck bar are also new to the area.

ROADMAPBREWING.COM | 723 N ALAMO ST

PARISHATTERS.COM|119 BROADWAY

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Beer, museums, and taxidermy

It's hard to miss the Buckhorn Saloon downtown, straight out of a Western movie. The building on a central street corner is adorned with artificial heads of Texas Longhorn cows, deer, and bison, and inside the classic high-ceilinged saloon, the walls are lined with real trophies of all sorts of animals. The saloon has been here since 1881, and the original owners traded horns for beer to create an extensive collection. The two associated museums look like tourist traps, but in addition to lots of taxidermy, they also house a large collection of Wild West artifacts that Texas ranchers have accumulated over the decades.

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Art Everywhere,

Art is a big part of San Antonio, and when walking around downtown, you can't help but come across art in the cityscape — from colorful murals to eye-catching sculptures. The River Walk Public Art Garden is home to the 16-foot-tall sculpture "Stargazer (Citlali)" by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. The sculpture of a seated woman holding a star between her fingers is made from over 80 different pieces of volcanic stone and marble from Mexico. Another example of publicly accessible art in urban space is the "Art Everywhere" project, which so far includes 45 large murals on gables and walls in the city center.

Texas' longest bar

The Esquire Tavern is the oldest bar on the River Walk. It opened back in 1933 to celebrate the end of Prohibition. It also has the longest bar in Texas! A total of 98 feet long. Small booths have been squeezed into the middle of the bar in the narrow room. The jukebox plays rock'n'roll, and the atmosphere is always on top. If you are hungry, there are cheap homemade tacos. Doesn't that sound great!

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The Spanish Missions

The biggest tourist attraction in San Antonio — and indeed in the state of Texas — is The Alamo, a 300-year-old fort closely associated with the Texas Revolution in the 1800s. However, the fort in the center of town is just one of five original missions founded by Spanish Franciscan monks along the San Antonio River in the 1700s. The other four missions are still located along the river in the southern part of the city, about three miles apart. It's both fascinating and peaceful to wander around the historic buildings, getting an insight into how the first European settlers established themselves in the area and laid the foundation for modern San Antonio. The missions are a National Park Service certified site.

Since 2015, as the only site in Texas, they are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

NPS.GOV/SAAN |6701 SAN JOSE DRIVE (SAN JOSE STATION)

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Butiken Frock har en knäppskön stil.

a slice of Mexico

The Mexican influence is strong in San Antonio, which is evident in the language, culture, art and gastronomy. Although Texas gained its independence from Mexico, the past few centuries have seen a large influx of immigration across the Mexican border, and San Antonio today has one of the largest Mexican populations of any major city in the US. The 1890 Historic Market Square houses the largest Mexican market in the US with over 100 stalls. The narrow aisles of the covered market are filled with colorful Mexican crafts and souvenirs — rugs, pottery, straw hats, jewelry and painted figures of parrots and toucans. Most of the goods are mass-produced, but there are also a few stalls with more original items. Outside the market hall we visit the food stalls selling gorditas — Mexican sandwiches with different fillings — and fresh fruit juice, while the popular Mi Tierra restaurant, which has been here for more than 80 years, offers a riot of colorful decorations and a wide selection of Tex-Mex dishes.

MARKETSQUARESA.COM | 514 W COMMERCE

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It can be hard to choose among the many museums in San Antonio. But don't miss the private McNay Art Museum.

Established by art collector Marion McNay in the 1920s, the museum is housed in a magnificent Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion in the northern part of the city. The museum has 24 galleries and a courtyard with pools, fountains and sculptures that take you back to a bygone era in Spain or Mexico. The McNay has over 22,000 works of art — including paintings by major European artists such as Picasso, Gauguin, and Matisse, Mexican Diego Rivera and American Edward Hopper, as well as modern, experimental and colorful art from around the world.

MCNAYART.ORG| 6000 N NEW BRAUNFELS AVE.

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McNay Art Museum

The Alamo was the site of a famous battle between Americans and Mexicans.

Ken Maverick has taken up the tradition of making whiskey that his ancestor Samuel started in the 19th century.

A creative approach to art

Hopscotch is a modern and experimental gallery that brings artists together to create unique, influential, and distinctive shared experiences. Artists are given the opportunity to showcase their work in sustainable and creative ways, encoura­ ging them to be inspired by new media and allowing them to reach new audiences. There is always something fun and exciting happening at Hopscotch.letshopscotch.com.

LETSHOPSCOTCH.COM

whiskey and stories The word "maverick" describes a person who thinks and acts independently and differently from others. The man who gave his name to the word was Samuel Maverick, who in the 1800s was a well-known in San Antonio as a lawyer, politician, landowner and cattle rancher. Among other things, Maverick helped sign the Texas Declaration of Independence, and was twice mayor of San Antonio. He also made highly praised whiskey. Today, his great-great-great grandson Ken Maverick has taken up that tradition with Maverick Distillery, which is housed in a former bank building downtown on land originally owned by the Maverick family. The distillery offers guided tours and tastings of various whiskeys, gin, and other 100 spirits in the cozy bar and tasting room on the first floor.

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CITY GUIDE | SAN ANTONIO | TEXAS

There are plenty of shady spots in hot San Antonio to rest your feet.

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“I think the isolation is really good for the creative practice. I feel I’ve created my own art residency out here.”

WORDS AND PHOTO BY MATTIAS LUNDBLAD

G

race Whatley from Ashby, Mas- we meet, she will be part of a group show in Salt Lake City. sachusetts, runs the thrift store on She finds her new environment helpful in her artistic work.

Main Street in Green River, Utah. She lives in a house ten minutes north of Green River.

She ended “I think the isolation is really good up there by for the creative practice. I feel I’ve crechance in the ated my own art residency out here.”

THE AMERICAN The thrift store helps keep that fall of 2017, Grace Whatley isolation at a moderate level. Grace serving with local non-profits through the governworks full time between the commuGREEN RIVER ment-supported civil society program nity center and the store.

UTAH AmeriCorps.

“There’s never a dull moment. It’s JUNE 7TH really great for connecting with the “I chose to move out here because 13.25 community. If I didn’t have that, I it was only a yearlong commitment, and AmeriCorps fund your travel, so I would feel a little more of a discondidn’t really have a lot to lose if I didn’t nect. But the interactions make me like it. But I actually like it a lot. I grew up in a very small feel like I’m more a part of the community.” town, so I’m not really missing the city hustle and bustle The differences between Massachusetts and Utah are too much. I hadn’t been west of New York before I came huge, and it goes not only for the landscape and the popout here. I knew I wanted that vastness and space. The ulation density. There have been a few culture shocks.

Northeast is very crowded,” says Grace, who enjoys the “Open carry is a thing here. The first time someone hiking and backpacking opportunities in the area. walked into the store with a pistol on their hip was a The thrift store offers the clothes, furniture, kitchenware, little shocking. Being in the political minority is a little and low prices you would expect, but also screen-printed challenging in some ways. But in other ways it’s nice T-shirts with images from the surrounding landscape. to be surrounded by people whose opinions differ from Grace is an artist, classically trained in painting at the yours, and they remind you that your opinion isn’t always Lyme Art Academy in Connecticut. Some of her wood the center of things,” says Grace, while folding a load of cuts are on display at the local museum, and the day after sweaters.

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“Hurry up, Mr. Larsson!” Damn, cowboy life is more challenging than I thought.

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NEVADA | ARIZONA | UTAH

THE PERFECT CIRCLE A three-state road trip

Have you long yearned for wide open spaces, classic cowboy landscapes, and dramatic national parks? Then this is the trip for you.

It begins and ends in Las Vegas, but there’s no gambling involved: the odds that you’ll love this trip are too low.

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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JONAS LARSSON

circle: the perfect shape.

I’m sitting at home, googling and researching for the trip. The plan is to rent a car in Las Vegas and drive around three states Nevada, Arizona, and Utah - in one big circle. The focus is on experiencing nature and on the drive itself. I want to drive endless highways through John Wayne country, see the Grand Canyon and the red rocks of Moab, sit on horseback at sunset and eat amazing barbecue at a hole-in-the-wall. A childhood dream is about to come true.

ask a staff member at the nearest casino. Sure enough, I was heading to Flagstaff, Colorado, not Arizona. One is about 775 miles to the north, the other 250 miles to the south. GPS rookie 0 - common sense, 1!

BASE CAMP IN FLAG

Flagstaff is a typical American small town. Among other things, it is known as a town through which the legendary Route 66 passes. The way there climbs an unnoticeably slight incline. The only thing that reveals our ascent onto the plateau is that the desert gives way to pine forest. It’s green and beautiful.

The little town is the perfect basecamp for day trips.

Countless intriguing destinations surround it, such as Sedona Valley, the Grand Canyon, Barringer Crater, and much more. In the evening, it offers cozy little restaurants and a quaint downtown area.

I take the back roads to Sedona, on Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive, route 89A. It snakes down through dense pine forest and arrives in a magical valley, surrounded by surreal rock formations. The color scheme is orange and red, with long streaks of color across the oddest shaped

GPS AND COMMON SENSE

I spend a day in Vegas, paying my dues by playing a few slot machines, losing some money. Not really my thing. I do manage to get to the neon sign museum, which turns out to be the highlight of my Las Vegas stay.

I put in Flagstaff into the GPS and set the rental car on its course. After about a half hour, I start to have my doubts. This isn’t south, but north. I turn back around and 105

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Sedona is located a bit south of Flagstaff in Arizona. It's a nice little winding road and a must if you're in the area.

Best lunch ever.

A barbeque cart at an intersection in the middle of nowhere.

Magda works at Red Cliff Lodge just outside Moab, Utah.

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Legendary Hotel

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One of the most photographed views on the road trip.

DON’T MIND IF I DO, THOUGH IT’S NOT SO MUCH A HOLE-IN-THE-WALL AS IT IS A HOLE-IN-THE-ROAD. I BUY BRISKET THAT’S BEEN ON THE SMOKER FOR HOURS AND A SIDE OF BEANS. SIT DOWN TO SHARE IT WITH A DOG WHO LOOKS AT ME WITH ONE BLUE EYE AND ONE BROWN. THE STORM ROLLS IN AND THE RAIN POURS DOWN, WHILE I’M BLISSFULLY LIVING MY DREAM.

cliffs. I begin to suspect what’s around the bend. Out of the cliffside, a little church appears. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a modernist treat, well worth a visit no matter your denomination.

MOAB, AHOY!

The highway from the Grand Canyon to Moab runs through Monument Valley, infamous backdrop to numerous Western films. It’s a strange sense of recognition, even though I have never been here before.

Moab is a haven for outdoors activities. In this little town, you can hike, mountainbike, go four-wheeling, and paddle on the calm waters of the Colorado River. I check in at the Red Cliff Lodge, a ways up the river, and I instantly feel right at home. It is comfortable, with an excellent restaurant, in the middle of nowhere. I go horseback riding, look at the stars in the pitch-black night, and eat delicious meals on the back porch, looking out over the river. The service is impeccable. The little Western movie museum in the basement alone is worth the visit. The next day, I visit Arches National Park with the Moab Adventure Center, an organized tour that takes visitors through a natural maze of wind-blown rock monuments. It’s not difficult, but tight in places.

Moab has tons to offer, but I want to keep moving.

Both Bryce Canyon and Zion are on my list of places to go before returning to Vegas and getting back on a plane. I got the tip to first take highway 191 to I-70 and then take route 24 to the 12, instead of staying on I-70’s main route. It turns out to be less complicated than it sounds — and definitely the right choice. I stay the night at the Rim Rock Inn and Restaurants. Another round of solitude, starry nights, and major blues vibes, but it is absolutely wonderful. There is something so freeing about traveling light with just a car and some vague destinations in mind. I eat dinner in the motel restaurant. It is relatively empty, and I enjoy the sunset with a red wine that’s not too bad. Utah is largely a dry state, meaning alcohol can be hard to come by in places, but here they are more relaxed. I sit on the porch with some whiskey I brought myself, and it is truly pitch black. The stars shine so bright they’re nearly blinding; the Universe feels immense.

NEVADA | ARIZONA | UTAH

THE GRAND CANYON

The next day, I reach the Grand Canyon by lunchtime. I’m on the south side, where logistics are easy and convenient, but at this time also crowded. To top it off, the haze and bright light straight from above take some of the marvel out of the view. It’s still fascinating, but it’s hard to take in the scale. It is immensely beautiful, majestic, and, well, grand. Another option, perhaps especially for those with no fear of heights, is to leave the main road south of Las Vegas and visit the western edge of the Grand Canyon.

There, the Hualapai peoples have built a visitor center and a horseshoe-shaped bridge of glass over the ravine. Visitors also support the financially strained tribe by paying their entrance fee.

HOLE-IN-THE-ROAD BBQ

Back in the car, I type in Moab in the GPS and head north. Now the trip truly begins. Soon after, I am in the middle of the desert. Few cars, long stretches of straight highway, mountains on the horizon. It’s a special feeling to see so many miles in every direction. I spot a storm in the distance, and everything feels just like I had imagined it would. It’s just me, the car, and the road. I play exclusively country music; it just feels right. I feel like Kris Kristofferson in the legendary movie Convoy, just in a smaller car. At the only intersection for miles stands a truck with a barbecue smoker on its trailer. Time for lunch, don’t mind if I do, though it’s not so much a hole-in-the-wall as it is a hole-in-the-road. I buy brisket that’s been on the smoker for hours and a side of beans. Sit down to share it with a dog who looks at me with one blue eye and one brown. The storm rolls in and the rain pours down, while I’m blissfully living my dream.

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Arches National Park, just outside Moab, is a spectacular maze.

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N ERVUABD RA I K| RAURBI R ZO I KN R AU|BU RT IK AH

Zion is one of many great national parks in southern Utah.

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People and Corgies both love a great national park.

Bluff in Utah is a nice stop on the road trip, including cool signs and magnificent cliffs.

IT’S A STEEP CLIMB. IN PLACES, A CHAIN WORN SMOOTH BY GENERATIONS OF SWEATY HANDS IS THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME FROM FREE FALLING A THOUSAND FEET TO MY DEATH. I HAVEN’T BEEN THIS SCARED SINCE I, AGAINST MY BETTER

“Hi, how are you doing?” a voice says in the darkness.

It turns out I’ve had a neighbor a few feet away this entire time. I answer that I’m good, and we spend a long time talking about the grandeur of nature. Say what you will about Americans, but they sure are easy to talk to.

I check into the cozy Flanigan’s Inn in the late afternoon. The sun starts to dip below the mountain ridge as I cross the street to the old gas station-turned-terrific restaurant. I sit down and order excellent Tex-Mex food.

The outside seating isn’t too crowded, and I quickly make new friends to spend a few hours with. We are in complete agreement that driving around the national parks beats any other vacation.

BRYCE CANYON

I arrive at Bryce Canyon around eleven, and it is yet another awe-inspiring experience in nature. Bryce Canyon has the same coloring as Moab, but the rock formations take different shapes. They are like something out of Star Wars, of another planet in a galaxy far, far away. They resemble rauks, the sea stacks of my native Sweden, but are much higher. There are proper hiking paths, but the incline is challenging. It’s still easier to move around than in Moab’s Arches. I choose the Navajo loop, a hike of just over an hour. After lunch at a nice lodge, I set my sights on Zion. Its beautiful name alone give me high expectations.

FEAR OF HEIGHTS AND DEATH-DEFYING HIKES

The next day, I take the free shuttle bus to Zion Lodge. It is nestled deep in the valley, guarded by towering hillsides.

I have my sights on Angel’s Landing, but I learn at the visitor center that it is not for the faint of heart — or those afraid of heights. Hi, terrified of heights, party of one. I choose a different route, which turns out to be a good call. It’s a steep climb. In places, a chain worn smooth by generations of sweaty hands is the only thing keeping me from free falling a thousand feet to my death. I haven’t been this scared since I, against my better judgment, went on a roller coaster ride a few years ago.

But it’s all worth it. It is terrifying and magical to gaze down into the valley. I return safe and very happy. It may be worth noting that there are varied activities in Zion, and not all of them require defying death or a fear of heights.

By the time I reach my hotel again, I am exhausted from both hunger and impressions. After a quick shower, I make my way back to the old gas station for dinner, only to find my friends from the night before. I’m starting to feel like a local. “Hey, how was your day?” they call to me.

This feels good. I’ve driven many miles, experienced the melancholy beauty of solitude and encountered great people and magnificent nature. When I get back in the car the next day and reluctantly make my way to the Las Vegas airport, I’m a very satisfied Urban Cowboy. I’ve completed the circle, and it was perfect.

ZION

Once again, the landscape goes through a major transformation. It’s like being in the fjord lands of Norway, but without water (and with fewer Norwegians). Sweeping roads twist between mighty mountains. For the first time, I wish I had company: someone with a fairly new driver’s license and an eager willingness to drive. I keep having to stop to take pictures.

I drive up to the Zion Lodge even though cars aren’t allowed. After a few hundred miles at the wheel, I feel brazenly John Wayne-esque and take my chances. Fully booked, they practically laugh at me when I ask about any available rooms. I drive into town, by which I mean a few houses along the main road. It’s a little more chic than the extreme sports Mecca of Moab. Shuttle buses run in every direction to keep passenger cars from clogging up the only road through the valley. Environmentally friendly, and just plain nice.

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NEVADA | ARIZONA | UTAH

JUDGMENT, WENT ON A ROLLER COASTER RIDE A FEW YEARS AGO.

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Sweets with a Legacy GOO GOO SHOP | NASHVILLE | TENNESSEE WORDS AND PHOTO: JONAS LARSSON

I have to admit that I don't remember taking this picture. Now that I have seen it, I am convinced this place is a strip club. I mean - the name! Ok, I'm not going to dig this hole any deeper. I like the picture, and after a quick search, I know it's an old sweet shop. Oh my.

Turns out they are none other than the inventors of the combined candy bar, which I stumbled upon on my way home from a honky-tonk joint on Lower Broadway.

Back in 1912, they whipped up the very first concoction. A caramel base topped with marshmallow nougat (!), roasted peanuts and milk chocolate. Oh dear! I don't know what marshmallow nougat is - but I know I want to eat it.

116 3RD AVE S, NASHVILLE | GOOGOO.COM

P E O PRLUEB, RPILKARCUEB S RAI K ND R UPBARSISKI O N S

What would Elvis order?

THE ARCADE RESTAURANT | MEMPHIS | TENNESSEE WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

Speros Zepatos of Kefalonia opened The Arcade in 1919. After six years, he demolished the old wooden building and built what we see today. He also ran a shop in the same building, hence the rather grandiose name, The Arcade.

Now, the third generation is running the place. This is the type of diner you see in movies and want to go to. It has actually been featured in quite a few movies, including Walk the Line, The Client, and The Firm, to name just a few.

Elvis was a regular and used to order the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, a perfect diet. Today, you can grab your lunch at Memphis' oldest still-operating joint. Make like the King and shock your body with an ungodly amount of calories — or not. The pizzas are great.

540 SOUTH MAIN STREET, MEMPHIS | ARCADERESTAURANT.COM

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In suspense

ST. JOHNS BRIDGE| PORTLAND | OREGON WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

Clocking in at 2,067 feet isn’t bad for a suspension bridge. The Gothic towers which hold up the construction rise 400 feet above sea level, although the bridge doesn’t span the sea, but the Willamette River. The river runs through Portland, which is where St. John’s sits. The bridge’s designers, David B. Steinman and Holton D. Robinson, were on a roll. They got plans approved and construction going a month before the stock market crashed in 1929. The bridge was appreciated, as the construction secured work during the Great Depression.

It was completed in only 21 months.

These days, it’s absolutely worth going up to northern Portland to see this magnificent build. Make sure to grab a coffee at one of the little local cafés in St. Johns or walk through beautiful Forest Park on the west side of the bridge.

PEOPLE, PLACES AND PASSIONS

TRAVELPORTLAND.COM | FORESTPARKCONSERVANCY.ORG | CATHEDRALCOFFEE.COM

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! e b i r c Subs RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

o t y l t c e ir d s il a r t n a ic Amer . r a e y a s e im t r u o f your mailbox

THE PHOTO IS FROM THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN IN WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY. PLEASE READ ALL ABOUT IT IN AMERICAN TRAILS 12. THE PHOTOGRAPHER IS JOHANNES HUWE. @JOHANNESHUWE

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, r a e y a 9 6 € y l n o For f Americana,

o d l r o w e l o h w a t e g l you'l . s n io s s a p d n a , s e c a l p travel, people,

ICANA, AR. FILLED WITH AMER YE R PE ES IN AZ OK BO NING GET FOUR AWARD-WIN TIONAL WNS, BACK ROADS, NA TO L AL SM , LE OP PE , TRAVEL, MUSIC, FOOD E. GUIDES, AND MUCH MOR EL AV TR UE IQ UN , DS RO PARKS, ART, HOT OW FOR "AN OFFER YOU SCAN THE QR CODE BEL

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CAN'T REFUSE."

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