Doniphan man roams in the slow lane
When Greg Ponder retired from his job as the manager of finance for M & A Electric Power Cooperative in Poplar Bluff, one of his coworkers, Steven Austin, suggested he spend his newfound free time driving the length of Highway 160. Greg had traveled the scenic drive many times as far as his home in Doniphan. But he had less knowledge of what lay to the west.
“I didn’t have any reason why I shouldn’t do it,” Greg said of the 1,465-mile route that begins south of Poplar Bluff in Harviell.
Before pointing the helm of his car west, Greg took a selfie in front of the exit sign and posted it on Facebook with this comment: “And so it begins … an old adventurer’s traverse of every mile of Highway 160 … from its eastern beginning to its western terminus near Tuba City, Arizona … it’s a silly thing to do but once Steven Austin planted the seed … off I go.”
This trip marked the first of many great adventures for Greg, who admits to being born a wanderer. “I was kind of made to run and do and see,” he says. “Being a nerdy old accountant, I had been tracking my net worth for 10 or 15 years. It reached the point where I had been blessed more than I ever thought that I would be as a Ripley County hillbilly who had some good fortune fall his way. So, I thought it was time to count my blessings and go see things while I still can.”
It’s not that Greg’s wanderlust had been idle for all those years he worked as an accountant. Before retiring he had traveled to every state except Hawaii. “Back in the day, my cousin and I would go out West every year,” he says. “But it was always a two-weekend bookend, nine-day thing. We would try to cram as much as we possibly could into those nine days. We weren’t ever slowing down enough that you could appreciate it.”
He also spent nights in the Current River cabin where he lives alone studying Delorme Gazetteers. These map books show all of the back roads in a state, along with camping spots, parks and trails. The Ozark Border Electric Cooperative member highlighted future routes he planned to take, far from the A-list attractions — the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Canyonlands National Park — he visited with his cousin.
Inspired by those sessions, Greg decided it was time to retire from the cooperative and live out his dreams. “I’ve seen thousands upon thousands of sunrises over the river,” he says. “I still love every one that I see. But with my inherent desire to go and see and do, I just needed to see new things, have new experiences and meet new people.”
His trips begin without much of a plan other than a destination in mind. That leaves him free to take in festivals like the one he stumbled on while driving the back roads of Louisiana, or to visit landmarks like the “Field of Dreams” movie site when he discovered he was just 10 miles away from the site in Iowa.
He takes the roads less traveled in order to visit small towns with interesting names, or places where some obscure moment in history took place. That’s led him to the graves of blues musicians like Willie James Foster, whose gravestone reads “Harmonica Parader with Soul,” or historical markers such as the one for Norman Breakey, the inventor of the paint roller.
“That’s what I love about being retired,” Greg says. “You run into things like the biggest steam shovel. So, you go see it. And some of these towns that you would drive right past if you didn’t take the time to slow down, they are just really pretty little towns.”
A talented photographer, Greg has recorded his travels with thousands of digital images posted to his Facebook page. His social media friends follow Greg through mountain passes, along seashores, across covered bridges and into ghost towns. There are many selfies: Greg in an abandoned rust bucket car; soaking in a hot spring; relaxing beside a waterfall; posing with musicians; or standing in front of welcome signs from U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
His most ambitious journey to date started with the idea of traveling as far north as possible to the Arctic Circle. Again, his friend Steven had other ideas for Greg. “He said if you are going to do it right, you need to start in Key West,” Greg recalls. Undaunted, he shifted his start to the southernmost point in the continental U.S. The trip took 108 days and remains one of his most memorable.
Most of his trips have been by car because he hates to fly. His Toyota 4Runner now has more than 316,000 miles on the odometer. While the interior looks lived in, he keeps it well maintained in order to avoid trouble far from home. Still, one mishap took place in Colorado and led to a pleasant encounter at a horse ranch.
Greg was driving along when he heard a noise and then felt the rear of the car settle. “I lost a wheel out in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “Which is the worst possible thing that anyone can do while on vacation.” Fortunately, he was 100 yards from the driveway of the ranch, and the cowboys there had all of the tools needed to get him back on the road.
It’s encounters like that one that keep Greg planning new journeys. On his most recent trip, he accompanied his niece to the island nation of Mauritius. He hopes someday to visit Argentina, the jumping off point for a cruise to Antarctica.
Over the years, he’s immersed himself in the local culture wherever he’s traveled, sampling new foods, enjoying local bands and listening to stories from newfound friends. Wherever he goes, you can bet it will be off the beaten path and found in the slow lane.
“That to me is the beauty of not having a game plan,” Greg says. “You just stop and enjoy it.”
You can follow Greg on Facebook.
