Double Arch on Carrer del Bisbe Street in Barcelona

Learning Lake Chewaucan

Road trip to Southeastern Oregon's desert lakes.

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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.

Recent Travel Notes

The Sea Cats of
Cap de Creus

In Spain's northeastern Mediterranean coast, I make the case for itinerary-free travel.
Crossing the
Sixes River

Hiking the Oregon Coast from Bandon to Port Orford: Snowy Plovers, hipsters and cops.
Malheur and the Golden Age of Travel

Observations from Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge after the Bundy occupation.
Primeval and Protected Osa Peninsula

The Osa Peninsula is a wild gem of protected lowland forest, teeming with life.
John Day
River

Tips on minimalist road trip from the desert canyon roads of Oregon's interior.
Scarlet Starsong on the Tambopata River

Notes on global biodiversity, from one of its prime hotspots in the Peruvian rainforest.
Clatsop County
Road Trip

On the Oregon coast, I write about my dearest subject: perpetual road travel.
The Bright Road to Zingaro

Explore Sicily's Tyrhennian coast, with notes on climate and immigration on the island.
The Essaouira
Murex

Explore the Jimi Hendrix fable and the historical blue dye of Essaouira.

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

"Beautiful, Edge to edge." – Apple.com, 2017 Apple Keynote Address

"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 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 Journal

Drawings, sketches and illustrations from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Sicily Sketches

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

Paris Sketches

Notes, drawings, sketches and illustrations in different mediums from Paris

Morocco Sketches and Illustrations

My journal from Marrakech, which includes sketches of buildings, food and people.

My List of
Life Birds

An updated list of every species of bird I’ve seen in my travels, with sketches and drawings.

Moleskine Travel Journals

Look inside my travel moleskine journals, which I use to make notes and reference my itinerary.

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.