American Narratives:
A two year project to capture
stories of ordinary Americans
doing extraordinary things
We have completed our journeys, covering all 48 states over eleven months with 240 days on the road. We camped in 37 states, visited 100s of state parks, national historic sites, national monuments, and scenic views. We were able to visit 29 national parks and got close to five others (snowed out). We covered 58,969 miles and visited several states and several campgrounds more than once.
We are now writing a book to share the narratives we found along the way along with some individual stories of our own. We will be publishing that book this fall, hoping that our donations will cover the cost of providing a free copy to every public library in Vermont. And we are soliciting donations to do the same for as many states as we can find funding. We did not use any of our donations for our travel costs - all donations are tax exempt for the donors and will go towards the book only.
OUR PLANS NOW
2026
The book is in the works and has been paginated. We have a printer, we have the funds to print enough copies for every library in Vermont. But we found out that not every library would be interested so we are slowly going through the state library association’s database (great information - poorly formatted) to find out which ones would like a copy (or two). Each of our narrative subjects will get one and each donor will get a copy as well. We are most grateful for the support by all of you.
In the meantime, Kathryn continues to support her mother, run our home and work in her quiltery downstairs, creating wonderful items. One of which is a quilt that documents all of our travels, day by day, state by state, campground by campground, trips #1 through #11. We look forward to sharing that with you when it is completed. And Steffen has started a new career as a tour bus driver, working for two local bus lines and spending two+ months every summer working for the Scouts (2026 in South Dakota and West Virginia).
And we are still open to other narratives. If you know of someone doing good things in their community anywhere in the USA, let us know and we will connect with them. Use our contact form or send us an email with their name and info so we can plan a visit soon.
Future Trips
Trip #12 - August 2025: Any place we can find a story
Let’s Work Together
If you know of someone who has a good story to tell (or are interested yourself), please reach out and contact us.