Month August 2023

Real-Life Stories Challenge the Best in Fiction

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

These books proved to me that real life can be more captivating than the best fiction.

Rocket Boys, by Homer Hickam. For Homer “Sonny” Hickam, the Sputnik 1957 launch was just what he and his friends needed to transform imagination, ingenuity and hard work into a great American success story. From 1957 through 1960, Sonny and his West Virginia high school classmates, as the Big Creek Missile Agency, fired off 35 rockets, some wildly successful, some wildly disastrous. Hickam’s memoir flew off the shelves, leading to the acclaimed film October Sky.

Walden on Wheels, by Ken Ilgunas. When Ken Ilgunas graduated the University of Buffalo with $32,000 in debt, he feared a life without the freedom he valued more than anything. After an Alaskan trip filled with hardships and adventure, he asks himself, “Now what?” His answer may seem out of character for readers of Walden on Wheels. A superb book!

Henry David Thoreau: A Life, by Laura Dassow Walls. The author goes beyond the labels and reveals a sometimes insecure man who struggled to find out who he was. Walls takes readers on a journey through Thoreau’s journals and other writings. His walks, inner debates, friendships, and two years at Walden Pond come to life in a way that will enthrall and surprise even the most learned Thoreau scholar.

The Last Season, by Eric Blehm. What happened to Yosemite ranger Randy Morgenson? He had spent 28 summers as a ranger in the wilderness of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. A passionate protector of his beloved lands, he had become perhaps the most celebrated ranger in the Sierra Nevada. Then he went missing.

Destiny Republic, by Candice Millard. James Garfield came out of nowhere to win the Republican nomination and become the 20th president of the United States in 1881. If not for a bullet and questionable medical care, he could have been one of the greatest leaders in American history. This is a riveting presidential biography about a brilliant man and one of the most gifted White House residents.

A Bicycle Odyssey Across the Americas

Reg Spittle Leave a comment
Kristen and Ville next to a southern Patagonia ice field in Argentina.

What next?

When I finished Joy Ride by Kristen Jokinen, that was my question.

She met Finnish native Ville Jokinen on a scuba diving boat in Vietnam. Back home in the USA, she had to see if the spark between them would endure, so she booked a flight to Finland. They were soon married and within a few years, walked 2,653 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.

They craved more adventure. What next?

In 2016, they headed for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, for a trip south, as far as they could go, to Ushuaia, Argentina. Their first road was the Dalton Highway, a 414-mile, mostly unpaved drive that tests those in four-wheel drive vehicles. But caution was not part of their plan; they rode one-wheel-drive bicycles that they had not even broken in.

I doubt anyone would blame them if they had quit after the first day. Bikes laden with heavy gear, Kristen’s knees ached from the first mile. Her new leather seat felt like a rock. Ice-cold rain pelted her face, trickled inside her rain jacket and down her back. She was exasperated. “What the hell was I thinking when I signed up for this?”

They finally stopped at midnight when the sun was still up, but low on the horizon, when Ville asked, “Are you ready to camp? I can’t feel my toes.” Too tired to cook, their first meal was Snickers bars.

What next?

Over the next 20 months, they rode more than 18,000 miles, enduring wind so fierce they had to push their bikes. Dog attacks, injuries (she broke her tailbone, for one), bloody falls, relentless rain, punishing cold and heat. They were blown off the road by passing trucks and longed for elusive hot showers.

Quit? What’s that? They found kindness around many turns, kindness from people who took them into their homes, fed them, and peppered them with questions about their improbable choice to ride the length of the Americas. For its kind people, Mexico was their favorite country. For scenery, Peru won hands down. They lived on $800 month, the rent they received for their Bend, Oregon home.

After choosing a light-colored stone in the Beagle Channel at the tip of South America, Kristen paired it with the black stone she had pulled from the Arctic Circle, symbolizing the end of the journey. They traveled (not by bicycle) back to Bend, where they endured “a horrible adjustment,” even worse than they one after their PCT trek.

The question returned.

In 2019, they rode bikes from Helsinki, Finland to Split Croatia, 2,000 miles. Then during the 2021-22 winter, they explored the Andalucia region of Spain, again on bikes.

What next? Maybe the question will follow them for the rest of their lives. I eagerly anticipate more of Kristen Jokinen’s writing about their adventures.