Determined to Thrive: A Family Pilgrimage

What do you get when you stuff six kids into a 1976 Travco RV and make plans for a cross-country voyage to discover America? For us, depending on the day, it is a comedy interspersed with moments of pure terror and utter bliss.

For five years, my husband and I ran a general store in upstate New York, deeply embedded in the community, and witnessed, firsthand, the impacts of a long recession on many of our hill town families. We lived and breathed localism, sure that eventually the economy would turn around, folks would reemerge stronger and renewed, and our communities would prove as resilient as we have always imaged them.

But that hasn't happened. Anxious to find a better way, and wanting to show our kids our amazing nation, we have hit the road.

Our goal? We are hoping to share stories—to uncover some strategies that might lead to greater resilience. We are hoping to find communities that have come out of the recession stronger and with lessons learned. We are anxious to find some indication that we rural folk are still relevant.

In particular, we'd be really happy if we could find some rural communities that have managed to make it without embracing the short-term appeal of luring large corporations that rarely stick around. While we aren't necessarily hooked on the vision of the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick maker, finding communities that have become more endogenous makers would be thrilling.

Moreover, we are interested in finding some rural communities that have sought answers to some of the larger questions: how, as small rural townships, do we respond to climate change? How will we be affected by the impacts of peak oil, and how do we respond to the reality of vast income inequality and growing economic hardship?

Our motley crew of kids, ranging in age from newborn to 12 years, struck out on April 7 from our home in upstate New York with a vague plan to head south through Pennsylvania and Virginia. On the first leg, we made it as far as a friend's home in western Tennessee, but we are still going strong. We are hoping to swing through Missouri and Kansas, with a tentative goal of reaching Colorado, and then to head south through the southwest.

So far our route has been determined by weather (our RV is dripping on my laptop as I write this from Mammoth Cave in Kentucky), our ability to stay comfortably off the interstates, by the locations of friends who want to host us, and, well, a little bit of whimsy. We'd love to mine for diamonds in Arkansas, for example, and we found a charming TED talk by the Land Institute's Wes Jackson, so several of us would really like to meet him. And of course, this crazy band of upstate New Yorkers would really like to dip our toes into Pacific Ocean waves.

If you are interested in following along, or have some insights to offer, places to recommend, or just want to point out how nuts you think we are, follow along! We are posting regularly on our Facebook page as well as blogging our way across the country, as well as trying our hand at a little fundraising (in order to make sure we can get ourselves back from the other side of the country!).

We'd love to have you join us!