Notes from the Road Travelogue
Double Arch on Carrer del Bisbe Street in Barcelona

Explore the Pacific Northwest

Road trips in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia

Cascadia

Notes from the Road

Imagine that you're careening through the city on an old bus, and you find a notebook wedged in the corner of the seat. Open it up. Dusty sketches of swampy backwaters, photographs of foreign lands, illustrations of exotic foods. No destination reviews, no top 10 lists and no industry guest posts. It appears to be written merely for the joy of curious explorers and travelers.

This was the reason I set out to create Notes from the Road in 1999. If you enjoy reading about travel, dive in: Notes from the Road rewards readers who enjoy digging deep and exploring even while surfing the web. Check out my Roam section, where I write about everything from organizing for travel, to the importance of science to travel bloggers, to traveling through the deserts of Mexico and the fight to save the marine wilderness of Guana Cay.

 

  • Cadaques, Spain

    The Sea Cats of
    Cap de Creus

    Europa
    In a road trip to Spain's northeastern Mediterranean coast, I ponder the value of itinerary-free travel.
  • Bandon to Port Orford

    Crossing the Sixes

    Notes on hiking the Oregon Coast from Bandon to Port Orford, including an interview with Snowy Plover biologist Dave Lauten.
  • Malheur Refuge

    Malheur Refuge

    Observations from Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge just after the end of the Bundy occupation.
  • Osa Peninsula

    Osa Peninsula

    Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula is a wild gem of protected lowland forest, teeming with life. What can it offer the rest of the world?
  • John Day River

    John Day River

    Tips on minimalist road trip from the desert canyon roads of Oregon's interior, with sketches of everything that I keep permanently in my vehicle.
  • Tambopata River

    Scarlet Starsong on the Tambopata River

    Notes on global biodiversity, from one of its prime hotspots in the Peruvian rainforest.
  • Sicily, Italy

    Clatsop County Road Trip

    Thoughts on perpetual road trips in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Sicily, Italy

    The Bright Road to Zingaro

    Exploring Sicily's Tyrhennian Sea coast on foot, with notes on the effect of changing climate and immigration in the Mediterranean.
  • Essaouira Blue Boats, Morocco

    The Essaouira Murex

    Notes on travel to Morocco's Atlantic coast city of Essaouira, where I explore the Jimi Hendrix fable and the historical blue dye everpresent in each back alley.

About Erik Gauger and Notes from the Road

You can learn more about me and the history of Notes from the Road in the about section. You can also catch up with my radio interview, where I talk about experimental travel writing, the future of travel blogging and my lessons on learning to travel.

"Be Inspired!" – Lonely Planet

"Unexpected frontier of the travel blogosphere" – Boston Globe

"Sumptuous Site" – Time Magazine

"The Best Looking Blog We've Seen" – Forbes Magazine

"Best of the Travel Blogs" – National Geographic Traveller

"Stands out for Hard Journalism" – Lowell Thomas Awards in 2012

Travel Photography Blog

Travel Sketches & Maps

I illustrate my travel blog with sketches in marker, watercolor, pen and pencil. Travel sketches and travel journals have a way of capturing a place in a way that travel photographs cannot. And they can illustrate a particular thing about a place from the subjective mood and perspective of the traveler. If you're interested in creating your own travel sketchbook, here is a post on creating lightweight travel sketchbook supplies. You can also check out my travel maps, like my West Indies Map, my Portugal map, my Nicaragua map, or my Salton Sea map.

  • Barcelona Sketches

    Barcelona Sketch Journal

    Europa
    Drawings, sketches and illustrations from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
  • Sicily Sketches

    Sicily Sketches

    Drawings and Moleskine sketches from my travels on the island of Sicily.
  • Paris Sketches

    Paris Sketches

    Notes, drawings, sketches and illustrations in different mediums from Paris
  • Marrakech Sketches

    Morocco Sketches and Illustrations

    My moleskine journal from Marrakech, as well as sketches and illustrations of Moroccan food, architecture and more.
  • Bahama Yellowthroat Bird Sketch

    Bird Life List

    An updated list of every species of bird I’ve seen in my travels. This list includes a growing collection of field sketches of several species I’ve encountered.
  • Moleskine Travel Journals

    Moleskine Travel Journals

    I use one Moleskine notebook every time I travel as a way to catalog, make notes and reference my itinerary. Here, I share my notes and sketches from several trips.

Online Travel Blog

I don't like to tell people how to travel, how to pack or where to go. But, I think we can learn from each other when we share how we do things. Below are some of my most recent stories on how I organize for travel. Also, Notes from the Road features the Guana Cay Blog, which focuses on a specific example of how megadevelopments can play a negative role in travel destinations. I also keep notes on my bird life list, butterfly life list, reptile life list and amphibian life list.