American Trails #1 by American Trails

American Trails EXPLORE WITH US

CURATED BY NORDIC FOLKS | 2017

Travel the US! MEET THE LOCALS, MAKE A ROAD

TRIP, HIKE A NATIONAL PARK OR GO TO A REAL RODEO. WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO WE WILL BE THERE FOR YOU.

AMERICAN TRAILS 1 | 2017

American Trails EXPLORE WITH US

CURATED BY NORDIC FOLKS | 2017

#1 in stores, november 2017

Check us out at: americantrailsmag.com #amtrailsmag facebook/amtrailsmag WE DON’T AIM TO PLEASE – WE AIM TO INSPIRE

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People, places and passions

elcome to the very first issue of American Trails. For us this is the trailhead for a journey into the unknown, which is as scary as it is awesome. We hope that you join us on this adventure and enjoy the stories about places, people and passions we love so much. In this issue you’ll meet hot rodders, cowboys, foodies, bartenders and many more. American Trails is a web community and printed magazine focusing on very soul of the USA. We want to dig deeper into this vast country, tell the stories not usually told in other magazines. American Trails is a publication for travelers with an open mindset and an itching wanderlust. Like our fellow travelers we have a strong and irresistible impulse to explore, meet new people and see new places. The first printed issue of the quarterly magazine will be in store early November 2017. The website and social media is up and running this summer. Be sure to check us out and follow us on Instagram #americantrailsmag, on Facebook facebook/ americantrailsmag and online americantrailsmag.com We don’t aim to please – we aim to inspire.

Jonas Henningsson and Jonas Larsson // FOUNDERS AND TRAILFINDERS

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Content 3. HI

Nice to meet y’all, this is American Trails. 6. SHORT AND SWEET

Let us show you our favorite places. 12. PRAIRE WONDERS

Hang out with some furry guys in South Dakota.

American Trails

28. NOLA

Southern comfort as we know it. 46. NEW ENGLAND

JONAS HENNINGSSON EDITOR IN CHIEF

Sweet memories from sea food shores.

HENNINGSSON@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

54. MAIMI

Yes it’s more than beach, bars and babes, there’s art and food. 64. PORTFOLIO

Swedish photographer Cecilia Magnusson takes a stroll in Frisco.

JONAS LARSSON CREATIVE DIRECTOR LARSSON@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

LINDA GREN PHOTO EDITOR GREN@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

ANDERS BERGERSEN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

82. HOT RODDERS

We met some cool guys in hot cars in the Lone Star state.

BERGERSEN@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP

94. TO DIVE FOR

HI@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

This is your new favorite dive.

TO PARITICIPATE IN AMERICAN TRAILS HENNINGSSON@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

96. THE AMERICAN

Bartenders tends to know it all, this one does too.

OFFICE MALMGÅRDSVÄGEN 24 S-116 38 STOCKHOLM SWEDEN AMERICANTRAILSMAG.COM INFO@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

AMERICAN TRAILS IS A WEB SITE AND A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE ABOUT PEOPLE AND PLACES IN THE USA, CURATED BY NORDIC FOLKS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES, UK, AND SELECTED STORES IN THE REST OF THE WORLD.

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Friends forever

WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JONAS LARSSON

In oregon farmers and city folks get together to defend a sustainable lifestyle. Friends of family farmers is a grassroots organization in Oregon which helps small farmers to sell their produce and to fight of the big industry farmers, through education, advocacy, and community organizing. They organize classes, tastings, markets, events and dinners. These pictures are from a beautiful fall dinner in Willamette Valley with some very nice Oregonians. Way to go! friendsoffamilyfarmers.org

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The Monochrome Setting RUBY BEACH, WASHINGTON WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

Here there is no real colors, more of a monochrome palett and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not really raining, its more like rain making love to fog, it drizzles and all of a sudden a ray of sunlight races over the pebbles and sand on the beach and it glitters like a million diamonds. Ruby Beach on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, just a couple of hours drive from Seattle, is a natural sculpture garden. Pebbles, gigantic tree trunks and roots that have been sculptured by the mighty waves of the Pacfic compete with the hollow cliffs, rocks and bluffs for attention. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very tranquil place, not a place you go to, to get a nice tan, more of a zen temple or a garden made by the great spirit. We spend a couple of hours just walking around and take in the scenery. The light is constantly changing and the tree trunks and the rocks take on new forms all the time. Truly a magic place.

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The Lakota way is to always give something back to nature when you take something from it, says Billy, a Lakota indian.

Let’er Buck! PENDLETON, OREGON

WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTO BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

This guy goteverything right, the hat, the checkerd shirt, the Wrangler jeans, and the boots. That is the dress code for a real cowboy at a rodeo, and in Pendleton they take it serious. The Pendleton Round Up is one of the most famous rodeos in the US and a grand spectacle. It’s really everything you expected from an event like this, real cowboys (and girls), indians, horses and big angry bulls. PBR, Professional Bull Riding is the most spectacular part, a 2,000 pound bull in a bad mood is up against a 150 pound cowboy who try to ride it for eight seconds. That rarely happends. Outside the arena, the small town of Pendleton comes alive and there is plenty of bars and restaurants to meet and discuss the days events. September 13-16, 2017 pendletonroundup.com

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Praire

South Dakota

wonders

If you ever stared a bison in the eyes and seen the wisdom and eternal wilderness, you will never forget that moment and you will always want to return to it. In Custer State Park in the Black Hills you can do just that, join us on an amazing journey. WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON â&#x20AC;¢ PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN.

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t’s pitch black when I’m shuffling out to the parking lot in Rapid City, South Dakota. Shuffle back to the hotel room and gert back in bed again feels like a very good idea, but I firmly click the rental car open and throw in the bag. Get up at five in the morning after a few hours of sleep is really not my cup of tea, but as it will turn out more than worth it. We are heading out on an empty highway and after half an hour we arrive in the National Park Badlands. Now that we walk the boardwalk to the park, nobody’s regret that early morning. The stars in the milky way shine above a mighty mountain range in front of us and with no more a led light we go out into Badland’s rugged but beautiful scenery. We are waiting for the sun to rise above the horizon to the east and to illuminate the almost unreal landscape around us. It’s a warm and comfortable silence that is only broken by coyotes howling. Slowly, a magical landscape appear around us, rocks and barren gorges just a few feet deep forming a maze reminiscent of something from The Lord of the rings. I wouldn’t rise an eyebrow if Gandalf the Grey had appeared behind some of the rock formations around us.

BISON COUNTRY, BLACK HILLS

South Dakota may not be the most famous destination in the United States, which makes it so much more exciting. We decided to concentrate on the western part of the state and explore the Black Hills, but above all to join the Buffalo Round Up. An arrangement that is organized once a year, at the end of September. The purpose is to collect the scattered bison heard of about 1500 animals and drive them down to a coral where they receive a health check and vaccination, after a few days they get released again. It is a well-attended and well-organized event. In 2015, there where over 20,000 spectators on the hills to see the mighty animals at close range. Chad Kramer has an impressive mustache.He is also ”Capo di tutti Capo” when it comes to bison in South Dakota and he’s giving us a lesson in “Bison for dummies” before jumping up on the pick up pickup and head off tobuffalo country. “If a bull freaks you’re in danger, that means: I’m pissed off and do not like watching my ladies.” Chad’s info is not just to scare us, a full-grown bison weighs their brave 900 kilo and is surprisingly fast. The fact that it has an enormous head (and sharp horns) does not make things better right now. We take Chad’s warning seriously. Bison is usually peaceful animals Most of them look curious at us and some come closer to take a proper look at the strangers. Suddenly, there is a hustle a few meters behind us, and a giant bull puts a younger bull in place, the cow has stood between the young bull and her calf, they are surprisingly verbal animals and have a strong protectional instinct for their offspring and wives. Bison usually becomes about 17 years old, although in this particular flock has one at the age of 22. They go on the prairie in smaller groups until the mating time at the end of July they gather in larger flocks. When mating is completed many of the bulls go away and live alone or in smaller groups with other bulls. A buffalo is a calf for three years, the first three to four

DAWN IN THE BADLANDS

As the sun sets over the horizon, the monochrome environment turns into a cushioned paradise. We, me and the photographer Anders, are silent, it’s really powerful. It was here in Badlands Sitting Bull and his tribe hid when they were hunted by the government soldiers. And I would not have been surprised if we met the famous chieftain here, it is a spiritual and fascinating landscape. After getting lost immediately in the ravines, we meet up again on a plateau, looking at each other in silence, nodding and head back to the car. It’s only when we been driving for a some time as we manage to start trying to put words on what we have experienced.

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when a fiftieth rider collects them and drives them down to the coral.

CHAD KRAMER HAS AN IMPRESSIVE MUSTACHE. BESIDES THE SPLENDID SNOT

THE LAKOTA INDIANS

BRAKE, HE IS ALSO ”CAPO DI TUTTI CAPO”

The Lakota Indians who inhabit South Dakota look at the Black Hills as a sacred place. When the gold rush started here in 1874,gold diggers and Indians did not get along and it all ended in the tragic massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. The wounds have not completely healed even today, but the state and the people here are working on trying to normalize the conditions. The Lakota Indians view of life is fascinating, among other things, the position of women in the tribe is strong. No decision is taken without a group of elderly women having their saying. Sympathetic. It is our guide Billy, at Tatanka, Story of the Bison Museum, which tells about his tribe’s fascinating lifestyle. The whole museum is paid by Kevin Costner who after the movie Dancing with wolves, filmed here, became involved in the bison and the Lakota Indians situation and history.

WHEN IT COMES TO BISONS. months are the cinnamon colors and very cute. At the age of 5-6, they become mature and the young bulls leave the flock. Once the greatest curiosity has taken place with us and the buffalo, we jump down from the pickup and get a better perspective. They are beautiful animals and look very wise where they slowly stumble around us, a giant 14-year-old buffalo goes close by, he is magnificent. Chad tells that the puck is a big muscle that carries the magnificent head. We say hi to the buffalo for this time but we’ll be back in a couple of days and be back in the pickup

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Billy continues to tell you how the Lakota Indians look at nature. “We are part of nature, neither above nor below, therefore, it is important to respect Mother Earth and Father Heaven. If we take something from nature then we also have to give something back”, he continues. The Lakota Indians believe that they originate from the bison and look at them as holy animals. They use everything from the buffalo, when they kill an animal, the liver is taken out and eaten raw by the hunters, when they themselves get a part of the soul of the buffalo, if they are not eating the liver, it is as good to take blood from the liver and paint two lines in the face as well. In the language of the Lakota Indians, neither the word “I” or ”me”,are being used but “we” and “us”, being humble, respectful and spiritual, is important in Lakota culture.

take a shortcut on small forest roads, we drive of in our off-road cars through the woods. But suddenly we come to a grinding halt. Someone has forgotten to unlock a gate for us, we have to turn around and drive back, I’m getting a bit nervous to miss the whole round up, but our guides are born in the neighborhood and soon we have we found another back road that takes us past all the cars. The riders are up att the hill top as we jump out of the pickups. We park behind the riders who standing in a line, suddenly the buffalo thunder over the nearest hill, like a big brown uneven wave, the bison heads towards us, the riders scream and chase on the heard, suddenly some of the buffalo turns and tries an outbreak attempt. Five, six riders gallop after them, it’s drama in buffalo country. They succeed in turning the big animals and the herd moves forward again, over Lame Johnny’s Creek and further in between the hills towards the coral. The crowd on the hills applauds and shouts, the bison, calmer now, slowly walk down the

BUFFALO ROUND UP

On the way to the round up there is a lot of cars, everyone is going to watch the buffaloes today. We

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The bison is a beautiful animal.

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The whips bangs in the air, they never hit the animals. Every september there is over 20,000 people attending the round up and a lot of volunteer riders.

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Bob Landis has done this for over 50 years now and deservs a rest after a long days work. Right: A bison bull is very impressiv up close.

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The Ranger station office in Custer State Park. The rangers are doing an amazing job on maintain a healthy population of bisons in the park. Left: Miss South Dakota is one of the cowboys and girls rounding up the bisons each year.

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hill until they reach the coral. Suddenly everything is over, we look at each other and we realize we’ve been a part of something really unique.

rolling hills, we are hungry and go to get something to eat. On the way, many people stop and talk to Bob. I wonder how a person of his age can be so in the fit and in shape. Bob is 30 years older than I, but with a life spark you only have if you really do what you love. It’s awkward when I wake up in the early morning –again, I’m shuffling across the parking lot, unlock the car, sighing and wishing it was in the Badlands or one of the other amazing places in western South Dakota, but repetion is the mother of knowledge and I’m happy to return soon.

OLD HOURS FOREVER YOUNG

It’s not exactly as unique to Bob Landis, Bob is 81 years old and this is his fifty-first Buffalo Round Up. “It went a bit fast this year, the buffalo had already gathered quite close.” He says with a voice that only really cool cowboys master. Bob grew up in a farmhouse and always ridden horses, he has a handshake like a cowboy and is the archetype of a cowboy, even the gun is in place. “It’s rarely I need to use it, but if a bison turns and comes to get you, then this stops it quite efficiently.” “So it’s loaded?” I ask. Bob looks at me with a tired look and says “What should you do with an uloaded revolver?”. Well … Horses are my life, he says and hugs his horse Chip. The horse was to be slaughtered because it was too hard to ride. Bob who has lived with horses all his life bought him and after three weeks, Chip was a completely different horse, willing, happy and easy to ride. Bob and I sit and talk cowboy life, and look over the

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Next time we will be on horse back.

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Left: The dresscode is very clear, cowboy outfit from head to toe.

Love, food, music. The three ingredients in the mix that make The Big Easy the obvious destination for international lovers.

Nola

-IT’S, OH SO EASY TO FALL IN LOVE WITH NEW ORLEANS

WORDS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON • PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN AND AMERICAN TRAILS

n inquisitive piano hook makes its way through the room, and the lady next to us suddenly breaks off from telling us about the city she loves. Soon, the drums brush into action, a mellow bassline kicks in, and the trumpet takes the lead. The murmurs at the tables die down, and the clanging sound of cutlery in use goes away. And then, a powerful, captivating voice takes over the Little Gem Saloon. Kermit Ruffins has the audience spellbound. Indeed, they are all in the palm of his hand, listening intently to his story. The woman at our table smiles blissfully, holding her breath. The band, the BBQ Swingers, start to pick up steam. Soon, the pianist takes over, firing the crowd up with his equilibristic explorations of the keyboard. Next, the drummer, not one to be outshone, takes his turn as the cheers from the crowd grow louder. When he’s finished, an avalanche of applause follows, before Kermit draws another breath and continues. This scene is acted out every day, or perhaps, more accurately, every evening and night in New Orleans.

There is music everywhere in the city, music overflowing into the streets. Music that makes the nights live forever. This city would survive no better without music than a human body would without a heart. Or, rather: Music is the beating heart of New Orleans. We leave Little Gem as the final notes of Kermit’s second set ring out. Inhale the humid, lukewarm evening air, and follow the echoes of notes through the French Quarter. Our mood picks up even more when we see the throngs of people that are milling around on the street. In this city, life is lived out on the streets. They are where meetings, fights, and love all happen, in a way we’ve not experienced anywhere else in this vast country. We slip through the bustle of Bourbon Street, cutting a path through the crowd, and stop to catch our breath on the less busy Chartres Street. THE DEEP SOUTH

There really is no other city like New Orleans, or NOLA, in the USA. It leads a life all of its own down in the Deep South, right by one of the last bends the mighty Mississippi makes on its way across the country to the point where it flows into the Mexican Gulf. The colorful past of New Orleans is also a story about the

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There is no city like NOLA, it leads a life all of its own down in the Deep South.

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Colorful past, colorful today.

USA, A story of colonialization, French influence, the defeat of the British, and the impact that Haiti and other Latin American countries have had on the country. All these things converge in a city that defies imitation; a simmering, frothing melting pot of cultures, displaying its heritage in its music, in its culinary offerings, in its art scene, and in an attitude that seems entirely separate from that of the rest of the country. In NOLA, people from all parts of America, and the whole world, come together to do their thing. As mentioned, NOLA is unique among the cities of the USA, or of the world, for that matter. And we simply adore it.

sums up many the strands that run through Nola’s culinary history. Cajun is a robust and direct cuisine, created by French Canadians who brought their own culture with them on their migration along the Mississippi, across the continent, and all the way down to the South. Creole is the urbane, cosmopolitan food culture of Nola. It blends French, African, and Spanish flavors with local produce. The word Creole denotes a person descended from the French and Spanish settlers of colonial Louisiana and New Orleans, who constituted the city’s ruling classes in the 18th century. Creole Jambalaya originated in the French Quarter, the result of the Spanish attempting to recreate their paella in the New World, where saffron was an expensive import, and hard to come by. Instead, they used tomatoes as a substitute

CAJUN, CREOLE, AND COLONIZATION

The music has made us hungry, and we sneak into the Napoleon House to order Jambalaya, the dish that

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Kermit Ruffins with band at Bullet Sports bar.

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In NOLA there is music in every street corner, good music!

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The cemeteries in the City is above ground due to the risk of flooding.

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Warm and lazy afternoon at the pool table at The Balcony.

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Cajun is a robust and direct cuisine, created by French Canadians who brought their own culture with them on their migration along the Mississippi, across the continent, and all the way down to the South. 38

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A refill of oysters at French Market.

Jeff ”Beachbum” Berry, tiki ambassador.

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JEFF HAS DONE MORE FOR TIKI CULTURE THAN ANYBODY ELSE. HE’S SPENT THE LAST TWENTY YEARS RESEARCHING, STUDYING, AND TRACKING DOWN THE OLD RECIPES, AND WORKING TIRELESSLY TO PERFECT THE ART OF MIXING A Tiki cocktail.

for saffron. In time, the French grew more influential in New Orleans, and the use of spices from the Caribbean transformed the paella of the Old World into a unique dish. In present-day Louisiana, the dish has evolved in a variety of directions. Creole Jambalaya, or “Red Jambalaya”, is mainly found in and around New Orleans, where it is simply referred to as Jambalaya. Creole Jambalaya contains tomatoes, but Cajun Jambalaya does not. Cajun Jambalaya comes from the rural marshlands of Louisiana, where there was an abundance of crawfish, shrimp, oysters, alligator, duck, turtle, wild boar, and other wildlife. Any combination of meat can be used to make Jambalaya, including chicken and turkey. Cajun Jambalaya is known as “Brown Jambalaya” in the New Orleans area, but the Cajuns simply call it Jambalaya. Cajun Jambalaya has a smokier, spicier flavor than its Creole cousin. The French Creoles were the ones who introduced the Cajuns to Jambalaya. BEACHBUM BERRY

If music is the heart of the city, its stomach and brain are food and drink, respectively. Somebody who knows all about this is Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry. – This town takes food and drink very seriously, as seriously as any company town would take its business. It’s just like in Washington DC, where the most widely read journalists would be the political commentators, and in New York, where it would be the stock analysts, or in Los Angeles, the movie reviews. Here, restaurant reviews are as widely and hotly discussed as movie reviews are in Hollywood. We’re sitting at Latitude 29, Jeff’s very own tiki bar, which he has established in the Bienville House Hotel, sipping a Pearl Diver and talking about the New Orleans-born pioneer “Donn Beach”, who opened the first tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, in 1934. The culture flourished in the decades that followed. Now, tiki culture is back in fashion, unlike the long years during the 20th century when it was nowhere to be seen. Berry refers to this time as the “Dark Ages of the Cocktail,” which spanned from the 1970s up through the late 1990s.

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Whats your favorite tiki cocktail?

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AS JEFF SPEAKS, WE HEAR THE RHYTHMIC CLATTER OF THE BARTENDER SHAKING A New cocktail BEHIND HIM. IF JAZZ IS

THE FIRST SOUNDTRACK WE’VE COME TO

ASSOCIATE WITH NOLA, THIS IS THE SECOND. WE TRY A MAI TAI AND A Zombie.

But at the turn of the millennium, things changed. – You had books and magazine articles, and bartenders who were going back to the way things used to be done, and a sense of craft was instilled again. –Tiki cocktails were the first craft cocktails, before the term even existed. These drinks were very complicated and expensive to make, and when the golden age ended, all the bartenders who knew how to make them were scattered to the four winds. There was no demand for them anymore, and the recipes had never been published, because the drinks were valuable business secrets, and you didn’t want your competition to find out what was in them. As Jeff speaks, we hear the rhythmic clatter of the bartender shaking a new cocktail behind him. If Jazz is the first soundtrack we’ve come to associate with NOLA, this is the second. We try a Mai Tai and a Zombie. The fact that Jeff and his wife Annene Kaye ended up in New Orleans came down to a sense of belonging, emotions, and love. – Everybody we met was very warm, all lovely people. So we thought, this is it. We’re moving here! Jeff has done more for tiki culture than anybody else. He’s spent the last twenty years researching, studying, and tracking down the old recipes, and working tirelessly to perfect the art of mixing a tiki cocktail. - The recipes were never written down. So, it was basically a matter of finding a ninety-year-old bartender who was willing to tell me what was in the drink… Often, the bartenders had already died, and it was their wife or daughters or sons who had a shoebox full of memorabilia. In that box, there might be a recipe book the size of a shirt pocket notebook. The bartenders kept their recipes closely under wraps. Don the Beachcomber wrote his recipes in code because so many people took his recipes and went and opened their own bars. - It took me a long time to break the code. It was my hobby, I was doing this unprofessionally, working in isolation. I published the recipes in a little booklet for other tiki

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nerds, and then one thing lead to another, and soon there were five books. Then the tiki revival happened, and all of a sudden, these recipes were spreading all over the world. Now, there were tiki bars everywhere. Jeff’s evangelizing had born fruit. The moment for him to take the next step had arrived. – “It was time to stop just writing about drinks and start serving them!” he laughs. MARIGNY STREET AND THE NOLA NIGHT

We leave Beachbum Berry and continue our wandering through the city. While we were lost in tiki land, the sky shifted from bright cobalt blue to pitch black. Music is spilling out onto the streets from the restaurants and bars of the city. On Marigny Street, we catch a handful of rollicking concerts in an equal number of establishments. The Spotted Cat, d.b.a, Three Muses. Jazz, blues, folk, skiffle. More jazz! In every place we visit, we make friends for life. In every joint, we become more convinced that this is where we really ought to live. We remember what Jeff said about the people here. At the Three Muses, we meet Sarah Candler. She wants to show us a bird’s-eye view of the city, and we’re soon stretched out on her roof terrace in Marigny, taking in the full moon that has parked itself above the Mississippi river. Sarah brings out her guitar; she wants to play us some new songs. We hear a freight train go by in the distance, and a boat floats through the light of dawn, heading right out across the water. It rounds the sharp turn in the river by Algiers Point, and continues off out of sight, and we soon lose ourselves in Sarah’s beautiful tune. Before she has finished playing, the first weary rays of daylight reach us. They reflect off the fiery red of the bricks and glisten on the surface of the golden-brown waters of the Mississippi. Literal early birds greet the sun in a lively dance across the sky. The music down on Marigny Street has stopped. Nola takes a deep breath and waits for the next day, the next evening. The next night. And we fall head over heels for the city all over again.

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Long nights and lazy days. Thats NOLA.

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FALL New England in fall, could it be better? We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think so. These are memories from a road trip we made along the east coast one fab fall week. WORDS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON PHOTOS BY LINDA GREN

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IN LOVE

WITH NEW ENGLAND ON A FAB FALL WEEK!

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rom New Hampshire’s rural hinterland, we reached the salty coast and the state of Maine, following Route 1 north. It is never far to a lobster schack in New England. Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery looked really run down on the outside. But Bob sold tempting seafood at bargain prices inside. We bought fresh lobster before we continued further north. The sky was pale blue when we set off for Cape Neddick the next morning. We were on the road to the Nubble following the coast lined with shining wooden Victorian villas. The air was filled with the smell of seaweed and sea salt when we reached the iconic lighthouse, perhaps the finest of the more than seventy lighthouses along the New England coast. A steel swing connects the island with the mainland, it served as a transporter for the lighthouse keeper and his family. Heading north, we stopped at York Corner Gardens. Here you can buy milk, cheese, eggs, cranberries, cider, potatoes, but also wooden reindeers and other knick-

knacks. An Irish and an American flag were hanging in front of the shed. -My Grandfather came from Sweden, the mother from Ireland, said owner David Coombs. The dog, Miss Pearl, looked suspiciously at us. LOBSTER ON ICE

You cannot be in a hurry when traveling north from York. The small lovely coastal villages succeed each other. The Kennebunks consists of a few small fashionable societies, Goat Island Lighthouse and Cape Torquise peeping out at sea. Down in the harbor in Cape Porpoise, we waited for Kevin Perkins who came sliding into the harbor in his little skif, the kind of skif fishermen use to and from the fishing boat. Kevin is a lobsterman. The catch ended up at Roxanne O’Connell’s fish shop in the harbor. Roxanne displayed some of the freshest lobsters laid on a bed of ice. The next morning we started the day at the Brunswick Diner. Ordered thick pancakes with blueberries that we drowned in maple syrup and washed down with scalding hot and watery coffee. The breakfast

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3 Light houses CAPE NEDDICK NUBBLE

Perhaps the most famous and photographed of all of New England lighthouses (there are a total of seventy) with its tiny Victorian cottage. Located just north of York. nubblelight.org MARSHALL POINT LIGHTHOUSE

At the inlet to Port Clyde. www.marshallpoint.org PORTLAND HEAD LIGHT

I Cape Elisabeth. Vacker fyr, nära Kennebunkport, väl värd ett stopp. Beautiful lighthouse, near Kennebunkport, well worth a stop. The artist Edward Hopper has painted this lighthouse many times. www.portlandheadlight.com

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A SIGN PROCLAIMED: THE PRETTIEST TOWN IN MAINE. ROCKPORT LITTLE FURTHER NORTH HAD JUST RECENTLY BEEN NAMED AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY.

dishes were called things like Billie Holiday, Johnny Cash and The Beach Boys, composed of various combinations of fatty foods. The jukebox glimmered of different colored lamps. For every mile north the landscape became harsher, morning fog thicker, ocean swells higher. In small Wiscasset the low fog danced on the Sheepscot River. The city was built in 1663. Behind the river glistens trees in yellow, orange and gold. Down in the harbor vendors were busy filling their bags with fresh fish and seafood. A sign proclaimed: The prettiest town in Maine. Rockport little further north had just recently been named America’s most beautiful city.

and crabs. You cannot go home without clam chowder he explained, and soon we had another load carried into the car. Bar Harbor was our base for a few days exploration of northern Maine. We were now familiar with the props. Pickup trucks, a trailer with lobster pots, fishermen in thick white beards and worn caps. Up the street, we stopped at Roy´s who had seventysix kinds of ice cream in his store. -Lobster ice cream sells, of course. In summer it is chaos, said Roy. The lanes meander far down the street towards the harbor, the kids shout excitedly, parents yell excitedly at the children and all of us who work here shout excitedly because everything is so crazy, but it’s a wonderful time, he said with a smile. But now, in autumn, it´s much more quite.

BAR HARBOR

In Penobscot Bay we stopped at a mobile seafood shop with the sign Dads Seafood Lobster on the roof. The vendor, Dad, said that the price for lobsters hadn´t been lover the last twenty five years. He showed us scallops, shrimps, smoked mussels, salmon, fish cakes 52

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3 seafood restaurants

NONANTUM RESORT

Location cannot be better, Nonamtum is out there in Kennebunkport, right on the water, with plenty to explore around the bend.

MIKE’S CLAM CHESS

Good variety and low prices. Mike Chowda is a classic worth to take home.

95 OCEAN AVENUE, KENNEBUNKPORT NONANTUMRESORT.COM

1150 POST RDWELLS MIKESCLAMSHACK.COM

3 cozy small towns

BOB’S CLAM HUT

Baskets with seafood and fries cost close to nothing and even dinner is inexpensive.

PORPOISE

Just outside the fashionable resort of Kennebunkport where Victorian houses line the well-polished streets.

315 US ROUTE 1 KITTERY, MAINE BOBSCLAMHUT.COM

CAPE NEDDICK LOBSTER POUND

ROCKPORT

Fresh steaming lobster to the daily price, The Pound is a classic.

Great litte town that has always attracted artists to settle.

60 SHORE ROAD, CAPE NEDDICK

BAR HARBOR

CAPENEDDICK.COM

Nice seaside town in northern Maine with mountains as a backdrop and a very remote feeling.

3 hotels

3 x excursions

MIRA MONTE INN

For those who want to wallow in Victorian extravagance.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Leave the coast and explore beautiful New Hampshire. Cozy villages, amazing nature.

69 MOUNT DESERT ST BAR HARBOR ME MIRAMONTE.COM

RANGELEY LAKES NATIONAL SCENIC

Great three hour drive, but expect it to take all day with all the great stops.

THE KENNEBUNK INN

Charming inn at the heart of Kennebunk. Also has a fine restaurant.

SCHOODIC SCENIC BYWAY

45 MAIN STREET, KENNEBUNK THEKENNEBUNKINN.COM

Spectacular nature, lighthouses, villages and seafood makes this a great drive.

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MIAMI FOR FOODIES OH YES! CAN YOU TRAVEL ALL THE WAY TO MIAMI JUST TO EAT AND SAMPLE ART?

HERE´S IS OUR HIT LIST AFTER A WEEK SPENT EXPLORING FLORIDA’S FABULOUS ART AND FOOD SCENE.

WORDS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON • PHOTOGRAPHS BY HENNINGSSON AND LARSSON 54

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ets start with ropa vieja, empanadas, cheese tequenos and maduros, the beer is brewed around the corner, a fresh citrus-scented ale from Wynwood Brewery. Mirka Roch Harris talks with all her body, gesticulates and rolls her eyes when she describes the various cuisines that you can experience in Wynwood. We are at Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, the epicenter of the trendy art- and food district. Mirka is a genuine foodie, raised in California by Argentine parents. As we move on, she shows some of the most famous murals in the neighborhood. Wynwood doesn’t only taste good – it looks good as well. Colorful murals on every street corner, creativity and innovation sipping out of every building. - Check out this painting by Shepard Fairey, she says, showing a huge wall, you know him from the Obama Hope campaign. At our next stop, the bbq joint Pride and Joy, we do as the regulars. Sit down at the long bar and order from the grill. -This is Red Neck taco!, says Tim behind the grill as he puts plates with pulled pork on the counter. Pride and Joy has an outdoor terrace but we prefer to stay indoors, close to the good selection of craft beer. If you don’t fancy a beer you can always ask Sandy to shake up a Dark and Stormy dark rum and ginger beer, our favorite. Time for dessert and we have no desire to look like the athletes down on Miami Beach so we just walk five yards down the street for a proper sugar shock. On the small Firemans Derek we meet Derek behind the counter. He was a firefighter wanting to change his life. So he bought a food truck – and changed his life. The long queue to the counter with the golden pastries tells us he succeded. We have to try the Key Lime Pie of course, and it tastes amazing. Derek has probably the best coffee in Wynwoods too, whispers Mirka.

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ART AND FOOD DISTRICT

Wynwood is changing rapidly, not least when it comes to the beer scene. We slip into Concrete Beach Brewery and sample some great ales. From there we continue to explore Miamis food culture. At Coyo Taco, two tacos per person is mini order, we choose Carnitas de Pato with duck and serrano salsa, Al Pastor, pork, roasted pineapple and onion. Tacos, always those amazing tacos! It is of course the strong Latin American influence in Florida that makes it constantly present great new taco places. What about food trucks then? Sure, they are flocking here. Every second Saturday you better show up for Wynwood Art Walk when the galleries stay open until the wee hours and the district really vibrates with life. Many also come for the food. Thirty food trucks gather in the area and serve with everything from Latin American burger, east coast lobster to Asian street food. Peruvians and Mexicans usually always quibble about who invented ceviche, we say it doesn’t really matter, as long as it is as tasty as it is here. For ceviche with a twist be sure to visit Suviche on North Miami Avenue, offering a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. Ceviche, tiraditos and sushi. Fresh and healthy, with one of the most beautiful outdoor dining areas in Wynwood. European food then? Well of course there is good food from the old countries. For the best pizza on the American continent, we’re not kidding, visit Chia Antonio and Alessandro Pazzaglia at Cafe Babbo. We sit at the bar at the side of a bright red Fiat 500, since we are car crazy we ask if it is for sale. Antonio sighs. - Know how many people ask it every day? No, it’s not for sale, the whole soul of Italy can fit in that little car, he adds. Alessandro makes pizza and is also from Napoli, of course, and everything falls into place. The pizza is divine. -The secret is in the dough, and the technology, explains Alessandro.The wine list with wines from winery Castello Romitario Montalcino is just as good as this pizza deserves. Of course we can not fail to try the coffee machine from 1961.

to press together. The inside is filled with pickled vegetables, slices of divine Cuban pork, (matured and happily smoked) bacon, and (Swiss) cheese. We let the evening pass into night, how was it with that dodgy club hid behind a Tacobar down in Miami Beach that Mirka told us about? We jump into a taxi, the driver, Ruben Gonzales, looks like plucked from a movie. SPEAK EASY IN MIAMI BEACH

- We’re going to a place called Bodega in Miami Beach, do you know that? - Of course, man, everybody knows Bodega. Once there, we don’t understand anything. Club? This is a taco joint, a very hip one obviously, but still a taco joint. But wait, that shaved latino dude with the upper arms bigger than a redwood tree trunk standing and looking angry in front of the urinal - he really looks like a doorman. Hello, is this the club? We get a probing and compassionate gaze. He nods briefly, moves his trunks and we slip past and into - a urinal! But what the f-ck! We look around in surprise. At one end of the room is a portable toilet door, we press it and… club! Bodegas speakeasy is a laidback club this early in the evening, people hanging out in the lounge, play pool and eat - tacos. Late at night we find ourselves back in Little Havana and the classic Ball & Chain. We jump out of the cab. On the street, in the greenish light from the night club neon sign, a beautiful pair dances salsa on the sidewalk. It proves to be the local dance teachers! Yep there are organized dance lessons in the bar and it’s pretty cool to sit with a drink and watch forty people dancing synchronously in the bar. Only in Miami! We order tapas and margaritas and eat as the beats of salsa gets increasingly louder. Mariquitas de Maduro, Chicharrones, congri Fritters and the fish tacos are a royal finale to the Miami food odysse. The dance around the bar increases, the palm trees in the backyard small outdoor seating swaying lazily against a black night sky. Miami is hotter than ever.

LITTLE HAVANA

Little Havana is a few blocks south. No trip to Miami is complete without trying a legendary Sandwich Mixto, or the Cuban Sandwich. We find the craftsmanship to be just great at Urban Smokehouse & Deli. A Cuban Sandwich whit white bread that is soft andzeasy 62

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PORTFOLIO

CECILIA MAGNUSSON

Swedish born Cecilia Magnusson has a very sensitive eye for every day poetry. Cecilia is one of our favorite photographers here at American Trails. In this portfolio she captures a day in San Franscisco through her lens.

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Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a

Hot Rodder yes I am! 82

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Austin, Texas capital has a thriving custom car culture. The Kontinental Car Club organizes Lone Star Round Up every spring. We drove over there to check out cars and were looking forward to visiting Murphos, Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most exciting custom car builders right now. WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON, PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

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he night is hot in Austin, Texas where we stand along South Congress Avenue. Bergersen, the photographer exposes himself to death at all times, crossing the middle of the street between hot rods, kustoms and wonderful original cars. But it goes quite slowly, it’s cruising night and SoCo is lined with people in a really good mood. For two days, we’ve been skidding on the amazing Lone Star Round Up, Hot Rod and Custom Festival, which is now in its sixteenth year. It’s a giant car bonanza. We have seen the rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson, she has to be over eighty but she was incredible.

and manufactures the hair gel Cock Grease, cock like in rooster. I buy a jar and decide to get an oilier look. Göran drives a burgundy Mercury that is exhibited on the show, style straight through.

HOT RODDERS

A CUSTOM CAR LEGEND

We’ve heard about good custom car builders and got the tip about Murpho’s Rod and Customs. It’s supposed to be a young crowd with Murph himself as clan leader. We find the whole gang including a small bunch of pin-up girls among the cars. Murph and company look rocky and cool, but turn out to be humble on the verge of shy. However, the cars they build are not the least shy ones. We agree to get up at Murphos the next day. Bergersen is wandering of for himself and take pictures while I walk around and talk with people. I meet, among others, swedish Göran, who lives in California,

Suddenly, Bergersen comes to a slash. – Do you know who I met? The guy came up to me and asked if I was the Norwegian photographer! – No idea, I answer and start wondering if the heat has been too much for him. – John D’agostino! He wants us to meet him at the cruise tonight and take some pictures of him and Mercury Charlie’s car, Sweet Nadine! I manage to calm him down and he explains that John D’Agostino and Mercury Charlie are legendary car builders. I realize that I still have a lot to learn when it comes to American custom car builders.

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THE AMBITION IS TO CREATE A MEETING PLACE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE INTO

CUSTOM CARS AND Rockabilly CULTURE.

SOCO BY NIGHT

SoCo again. John D’agostino and Mercury Charlie is cruising down the street in Sweet Nadine, John slides down the window and shouts “Jump ahead and take a picture of us when we cruise by!” Bergersen leaps down the street and he really actually gets some nice pictures. Now we are so fed up with impressions that we decide that after a very long working day it’s time to sit down at the bar at The Continental Club and order a stiff drink. After a night at the legendary Austin Motel on SoCo, we drive up to Murpho’s workshop. We meet with a giant bearded lady painted on the wall to the garage. Murphos opened 2011 right to Lone Star Round Ups 10th anniversary. The ambition is to create a meeting place for people who are into custom cars and rockabilly culture. In addition to the workshop there is a shop with clothes and accessories. – We want Murphos to be a hub of car lovers in Austin. We run movie nights, bands, barberque and a lot of other fun here, Murph says.

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Murph moved to Austin after 25 years in California’s custom world. And it turns out that he and his gang are enjoying themselves and that the business is going well. The garage is full of cars in different stages of renovation. When we are there, a Pontiac Trans Am cab from the early 1970’s is hanging from one of the pillar lifts. – It’s actually better than when it was new, says Murph, we put in modern brakes and other stuff that make the car better without affecting the design of the original, he continues. This is a Dodge Custom Royal that we just renovated for a girl who inherited it after her dad when she graduated but now it hasn’t been used for over ten years so it was a lot of work but now it is in brilliant condition.

BIG HATS FOR BIG BOYS

Liana, Murph’s better half is responsible for the beautiful vintage style store. In the store Murph has parked his Mercury which is quite a beauty. We can resist the hats and walk out of the store with two very cool hats, you got to buy them if they carry size 60 … We leave Murphos reluctantly, they are a nice bunch of car builders. We will return – soon, since we missed the legendary Murpho BBQ.

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To Dive for

BILLY GOAT TAVERN, CHICAGO WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

When the tv-show Cheers kind of gave all the dives in world a new status, Billy Goats did not change. It’s always been the real Cheers, but in a very hard to find place in Chicago. Here celebrities as well as journalist from the Chicago Tribune and regular working folks have had a couple of beers to many an of course the infamous cheezborger. Today it’s a warm and welcoming haven underneath the buzzing city center of Chicago, and like in Cheers we say: You wanna go where everybody knows your name. If not so, go anyway. 430 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, USA billygoattavern.com 94

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”IT’S LIKE LIVING IN THE JUNGLE – WITH WIFI.”

WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS HENNINGSSON

he Bubble Room is an unlikely adorned instead of going to a museum because it’s 10° outside restaurant and bar. A toy train chugs around they get to go on dolphin cruises and visit nature prethe upper bar counter along the roof. There serves. But me specifically, I just really like the weather. is a constant Christmas feel in the air, even I sit outside and play guitar quite a bit and enjoy just though its Caribbean heat outside. Behind the bar being here. In the off season we do all the things the stands Dave Allen who left Ohio to settourists do in season. Movies, dinners, tle on a small Island in sunny Florida. THE AMERICAN beaches. We own the island in the off -My wife had friends who moved to season. It’s spectacular! Dave Allen Sanibel about ten years ago. That gave us a free place to stay combined with I can see you love The Melvins. Tell THE BUBBLE ROOM the airline miles my wife accumulates me a little bit about your relationSANIBEL ISLAND at work we also had free flights whenship to Melvins and Melvins Army! FLORIDA ever we wanted. We came down as – My relationship with the Melvins MARCH 28TH much as we could and fell in love with started in 1993. At the time my fa10:07 PM it. The school here is wonderful and vorite bands were Mr.Bungle, Faith we were excited to have our daughNo More, Sonic Youth, and Primus. ters go there. And quite frankly, 34 Ohio winters was I was fifteen and just started discovering really cool enough for me. I miss Ohio dearly, though. All my music. I saw the Melvins open for Primus and oddly family is still there and there’s plenty of record stores enough I didn’t like them. Since they were on a maand used book stores and all the other stuff I used to jor label they were included in the national tv ad for do there. I fly back every fall to go to Ohio State and Camelot Records. It featured a five second clip of one Cleveland Browns football games and especially for of their songs. It felt like somebody slapped me in the the pizza. People in Florida don’t know how to make face, and I needed more. I’d never heard anything good pizza. It’s weird. We love it down here but it is a like them and haven’t since. I bought every record I very tourist driven culture that took some getting used could find, I saw them live as much as I could. I’ve to. But living in this exotic setting, with all the strange met both Buzz and Dale on numerous occasions and plants and wildlife, it’s like nothing I’ve ever known. they truly are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. It’s truly spectacular. I learn new things everyday. It’s And on two separate occasions I smoked joints with like living in the jungle....with wifi. one time Melvins bass player Jared Warren. Again, a great guy. They’ve been my favorite band ever since. Whats the best thing about living down here? I tried my best to apply their standard in my own – I`d say the best thing about living down here would performances as a musician over the years. Creatively be what it offers my daughters. The schools are great there is nothing that has influenced me more than and growing up in an environment like this is amazthe mighty Melvins. Oh, and if you can’t tell I love ing. My wife started a Girl Scout troop for them and talking about them.

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American Trails EXPLORE WITH US

CURATED BY NORDIC FOLKS | 2017

#1 in stores, november 2017

Check us out at: americantrailsmag.com #amtrailsmag facebook/amtrailsmag WE DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T AIM TO PLEASE, WE AIM TO INSPIRE

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