For us, there's nothing better than crossing some border to a distant land and discovering unique cultures that welcome us to their awe-inspiring landscapes. But sometimes that's just not possible to do, and we occasionally find ourselves back in the Midwest. Back at home.

Some people are fortunate enough to have mountains and fire roads and heart-pounding twisties right at their doorstep. But here in Chicagoland, that's not really what we're known for. More like flat, flat, and more flat. Corn, corn, and more corn. That's the type of nature you find out here.

But since we both grew up here, we've discovered that being stuck in the Midwest with a motorcycle doesn't have to be a drag. And pretty much anywhere on earth you can find beauty and fun roads to ride. So this week, we'll introduce you to our two personal favorite spots just an hour and a half from Chicago, both of them free to visit.

I've been coming here since I was a child and always thought it was pure paradise. And I still think so. The views from the cliffs overlooking the Illinois River from "Starved Rock" itself are pretty impressive by themselves, but then you throw in the beauty of the canyons, and Starved Rock becomes so much more than just a pretty view of a river. It takes you into another world.

The heat and buzzing humidity of the forest faded away as we entered the sandstone cliffs of the canyon, and listened to the echoing trickles of water dripping down the rock faces. In the distance, a waterfall slowly came into view, and the sloping curve of the beige-colored rock walls unveiled a peacefully falling cascade of water that spilled into a glittering pool beneath it.

As we entered LaSalle Canyon, reflections of water danced on the rocks surrounding us, creating twinkling diamond patterns. Children played on the natural slip-n-slide rocks that the stream flowed over, and their voices carried across the stones, melding with the chirps of swooping sparrows.

Sand filled the banks alongside the lazy stream that created the canyon, and the walls were pocked with nooks and caves to explore. It's not just a perfect playground for children, but a peaceful retreat for anyone to go to.

LaSalle isn't the only canyon at Starved Rock. There are several more, each with its own shape and character. It's a bit of a hike to get to these canyons, but that just makes the destination that much more rewarding. 

And the road to Starved Rock isn't half-bad either. It may be one of the only places in the area that has a few real twisties, cliff edges and all. Plus, coming from Chicago, you can take rolling country roads to get there, some of which pass through quaint historic towns such as Ottawa.

Matthiessen is one of our secret "hidden gems" of the region. Most people flock to Starved Rock because it is so well-known. But as stated earlier, most of the canyons are a long hike to get to, and once you're there, they may be filled with people. But Matthiessen doesn't have these problems.

Paths from the parking lot lead straight down to the main canyon (you can also hike around in the forest as well), and from there you can go on personal adventures where few others venture by following the river to ravines that branch off from the main one. Sometimes you'll find waterfalls around every turn, sometimes not. But you'll always find a waterfall at the main canyon where there is also a bridge that overlooks.

We took two days exploring these sites, and camped at Starved Rock in between. It was a great introduction to our summer of adventures here the US (and hopefully Canada too). But most of all, it reminded us that we don't have to be in Africa or South America to have an incredible time.

Happy Father's Day everyone! And I hope you find yourself able to go out and enjoy the scenery with good company wherever you find yourself.

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One of the pleasures of being back home in Chicago is that it has given us the chance to take joy rides on the bike around the suburbs, which we do almost on a daily basis. It's been wonderful to just feel the hot summer breezes whip through our jackets, and not have to worry that a cow might just stray into the road. Or that we'll randomly hit a hidden speed bump going at full speed. African roads are amazing in their own ways, but American roads have their advantages as well. So whether it's through twisty roads along fields of prairie grasses, or forests of buzzing cicadas, or along strip malls and residential blocks, we've been loving it all.

​But another thing we've been doing is making videos about our journey through Mexico and Central America, and chronologically following the book 2Up and Overloaded. As Tim finishes up his newest book on South America, it's been fun to relive all our experiences as we headed into Latin America for the first time. And one of the things I wanted to share with you is our exploration of Meso-American ruins.

Visiting ruins on the motorcycle was a real highlight of the region for us, and the Mayan ruins of Central America truly captured our hearts and imaginations. And so the following is a list of some of our favorite ruins that we rode to on our motorcycle (doesn't get more magical that that!). And I've tried to pick ones that are off the beaten track, and a little obscure - 

Coming back to a sedentary lifestyle has been wonderful, don't get me wrong.

It feels good to be back in a world of familiarity and predictability. Besides just seeing the people I know and love, there's a comfortable rhythm to life here that I missed. It's that sense that everything is under control.

I can eat the same thing for breakfast every day if I want. I can fill up a hamper with dirty laundry without having to worry that I'll run out of clean clothes in just two days. And there are some comforts of American life that I used to take for granted. I can turn on a faucet, and water will come out. And better yet, I can even drink that water. I know that the electricity will stay on because the infrastructure of the power grid is maintained. I know that if a fire starts in the house, I wont be trapped in a room with bars on the windows with only one fire escape through a padlocked door. Society more or less functions on autopilot. But while on the road, nothing is nearly as predictable.

One thing is for certain - traveling is not just a physical journey, but a mental one too. We've been on the road for years on end, but it still never ceases to amaze me how sometimes my worldview of what I thought was true can be shattered to pieces in a matter of moments. Or I realize that I had once been so naïve to think a certain way, and now a new place has taught me differently.

But perhaps the strangest of all these epiphanies are the ones that happen when I come back home. This is our first week back in Chicago after having been in Africa for more than a year and a half, and not only are things here strange due to the changes from the pandemic, but some completely ordinary things seem very weird to me now.

Getting ourselves from Africa to America during a pandemic is hard enough. Getting our motorcycle across continents is even harder. But we were fortunate with the people who helped us, even though the entire process really tested our patience, and certainly emptied our wallets.

Starting with the motorcycle, there's a lot of things that can go wrong. When it comes to flying a motorcycle via airfreight, you don't actually know how much you're going to pay until the bike is crated up, has passed customs, and is ready to go on the plane. This is because the cost is based on the final dimensions of the crate which is hand-built around the bike. So we could only get estimates beforehand, and the numbers that people were getting back to us varied by thousands of dollars. Sometimes even the same clearing agent would change his price by a couple grand overnight due to some "unforeseen" cost.

As the world's poorest continent, Africa unfortunately sometimes has the reputation for being behind-the-times, and not up to speed with the newest technology. But while living here, I have found some instances in which Africa is actually quite innovative with new technologies and progressive ideas, sometimes even more so than other places. And the following are three of those instances:

The hardest part of crossing from Kenya into Uganda was complete - getting through the bureaucracy of the border. It hadn't been easy, but we were finally through and on the road again in Uganda. And it was a glorious feeling to say the least (partially because we were so hot and sweaty, the wind from being on the motorcycle felt oh-so-amazing).

Since we had already spent a good portion of the day at the border, we knew we wouldn't make it all the way to Kampala before nightfall. So we stopped in the next big town called Jinja, a humidly tropical city on the low-altitude shores of Lake Victoria. Because of it's paradise-like setting, and also being on the banks of the source of the Nile River, Jinja was a hotspot for tourism in better times. The place has a whole assortment of hotels and accommodations to choose from, but in general, they tend to be more upscale and would normally be out of our budget.

As with everything here in Africa, it was quite the adventure journeying from Kenya back to Uganda. In order to travel across the border, we had to first get a negative Covid PCR test that would be good for three days. Considering it would take a couple days to get to the Ugandan border from where we were living in Kenya, we had to time things just right.

We had done a similar procedure when moving from Uganda to Kenya six months ago, and I remember getting that swab up my nose, and thinking that it was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. I could taste blood afterwards, and my nose (more like my brain) hurt for days. I whimpered a bit while the nurse was doing it, and she said, "It does not hurt. I am the most gentle!"

Luckily, this time was not nearly as bad. So yeah, that first nurse was NOT the most gentle.

As our time in Africa slowly winds down to a close, I find myself thinking about all the incredible experiences we've had here. Some of these times include coming face to face with lions, elephants, rhinos, or delving into the food, cultures, and languages that make up this vast continent. But those are the expected treasures of Africa, the ones you see in brochures, or on instagram, and online travel articles.

Today I'm going to talk about my favorite experiences that came as unexpected surprises, things that I never expected or even dreamed of happening. And even though all of my experiences here have been profound, and some even life-changing, it's the little things that sometimes hit home the hardest. The ones you don't see coming.

Kenya just went under another lockdown yesterday, restricting travel once again. This is due to a new wave of Coronavirus cases, and we're currently not sure what this is going to mean for us to move to Uganda once our Kenyan visas expire in two weeks. But we'll hopefully get that figured out soon.

What this lockdown also hints at is the fact that this part of the world is no longer the best place for us to stay. The US and the UK have had a fantastic vaccine roll-out so far, and their cases are dropping as they start to get control over the virus. But poorer countries have been falling behind. This includes most of Africa.