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Who Am I?

Greetings and welcome to DelsJourney!  My name is Del Leu (yep, just 6 letters in the whole name) and I'm the author of this eclectic website, which is devoted to my favorite topic: road trips.  I've loved taking road trips for as long as I can remember.  I grew up in a family of five kids in Michigan and each summer when I was young, my entire family would pile into our station wagon and hit the road for several weeks, driving and camping throughout the West.  From those trips, I became fascinated with roads, maps and traveling.  Thanks, Dad!

Right:  That's me in a stroller in Michigan, getting our car ready for yet another family roadtrip. Let's go, Dad!

Right:  And a few years later in Massachusetts. This is where my ancestors landed in 1634 and where my family's American story began.

After getting a couple college degrees in geography (what else?), I worked as a ranger and firefighter in the Colorado Rockies for several years then in 1991, I moved to Portland, Oregon.  For the next 10 years, I worked as a transportation planner and mapping specialist for an engineering consulting firm.  I really enjoyed my work, mainly because of my interest in roads and maps, but after working there for a decade I needed a break, so I took an 18-month sabbatical from my job and went traveling.  I started up this website in 2001 to document my travels and to keep in touch with those I met on the road.  Since then, it's taken on a life of its own and, for better or worse, has become much more extensive than I ever imagined so I apologize in advance for posting 451 pages.  You don't have to read them all, I promise!

 

Here's a friendly "Howdy."  (21 seconds) Requires a RealPlayer.  If problems, see Help.

As for me, I'm pretty quiet but I also like to explore.  If you read this website, you'll discover that my passions include traveling, history, and maps.  You'll also discover that I love eating bratwurst, Nacho Doritos, and Krispy Kreme donuts.  But not all at once.

My Travels and Philosophies

I've traveled a fair bit around the U.S., having driven through each of the 50 states several times (see My Previous Roadtrips) and lived in 24 cities and 8 states so far.  I like to travel because it gives me a chance to reconnect with nature, experience historical sites first-hand, see old friends and meet new ones.  Traveling also gives me a chance to pursue my other main hobby, photography.  I've shot about 40,000 pictures of America, including three good ones, and have posted some of them on this website.  Traveling also gives me a good excuse to eat those previously mentioned bratwurst, Nacho Doritos, and Krispy Kreme donuts!

I think that as people get older, they often become complacent and stuck in their ruts or, more politely, their "comfort zones" and often lose the sense of adventure that they had when they were younger.  I'm not sure why this happens but I see it everywhere.  It probably has to do with landing a steady job, accumulating material possessions, getting married, and raising a family, which are all part of the "American Dream."  Those aren't bad things, but I think it's unfortunate that as most people get older, their horizons shrink and their curiosities disappear.  I think it's important to shake things up once in a while, one reason I decided to hit the road.

I believe that "less is more" and simplicity is good, that nature rejuvenates one's soul, and that, as Sheryl Crow once said, "A change will do you good."  And, as you can probably guess, I'm not married and never have been:  I figure that any woman would have to be crazy to marry me, and I don't want to marry someone who's crazy.

Right:  Here are a couple of shots of "Ranger Del" in Colorado.  I'm fixing an outhouse roof here in the Rockies, not my most glamorous pose.

Right:  That's me on the left with my squad before fighting the "I Do" fire in Colorado. Fighting fires was the hardest job that I've ever had -- and the most enjoyable.

My Trip

In June 2001, I began a five-month road trip around North America to visit friends and family and to research my family's history.  After I returned to the Pacific Northwest, I visited the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia for four months.  A lot of people had told me how wonderful New Zealand is, and I'd wanted to visit Australia ever since I was in First Grade when I learned "Waltzing Matilda" and sang about exotic things like billabongs and Coolibah trees.  After avoiding winter, I returned to the U.S. in the spring of 2002 and took another road trip around America.

After my trips, I decided that I'd invested enough time in this darn website that I'd better keep posting stories.   So although I'm not updating it as often as I once was, hopefully my stories are just as interesting.  Then again, maybe not..  Thanks for visiting my website, though, and I hope you like it.  As for me, it's time for more donuts.

- Del Leu