November 22 25 Newsletter | Take the Back Roads

This newsletter was originally sent on November 22, 2025

Each month, I share new essays, books, and stories from the road.

📬 Want these updates in your inbox? Subscribe here.

Welcome, Friends, to 

News from the Back Roads!

Hello friends,

As November settles in around us, I’ve been thinking a lot about how this time of year feels like a pause between seasons, a little breath before the holidays begin. It’s the perfect moment to slow down, savor small beauties, and reconnect with the stories, places, and people that bring meaning to our days.

This week on Take the Back Roads, Rite of Fancy,  and Everyday Patriot, I’ve been wandering through history, philosophy, literature, and a bit of quiet wonder. From fog drifting across the Golden Gate Bridge to the echoes of ancient arguments in Plato’s Crito, from the power of a favorite fantasy novel to the life of a Marine who loved poetry, it’s been a week filled with thoughtfulness and gratitude.

I hope you enjoy this week’s stories — and I hope they bring a little inspiration to your journey.

With warmest wishes,

a.d. elliott
Art and Other Odd Adventures

Stories Found Along the Way

Once Upon a Time at Beaver Lake: The Lost Valley Beneath the Water

“The Ozarks have a way of layering their stories: old hills, young lake, new roads.”
— a.d. elliott

This week, I revisited the story behind Beaver Lake Dam,  a 1960s Army Corps of Engineers project that dramatically reshaped Northwest Arkansas.

The article explores how the dam was built, why it was needed, and how it created the lake we love today.

It’s a blend of engineering, local history, and the quiet beauty that often emerges from human effort. 

A great read if you enjoy learning how landscapes are shaped by both nature and people.

→ Read the full reflection on TakeTheBackRoads.com

Another Book in the Bucket


Plato's Crito - Virtue Before All - Book 21 of the Bucket List Book Adventure

In this Bucket List Book Adventure entry, we follow Socrates as he faces a choice: escape his unjust death sentence or remain and accept the consequences. 

The conversation with Crito becomes a powerful meditation on justice, responsibility, and what it truly means to live with virtue. 

This post also connects Socrates’ view with Mencius’ contrasting belief that righteousness sometimes requires defying authority, two ancient voices asking one timeless question

→ Read the full review on RiteOfFancy.com

A Story of Service

Lance Corporal Michael Eugene Linderman Jr. - A Marine's Story

This week’s Everyday Patriot entry honors Lance Corporal Michael Eugene Linderman Jr., a Marine who served during the Gulf War. 

He was an avid reader of the classics and enlisted in the military to earn money for college. 

He deployed with the 1st Marine Division and was killed in action during the Battle of Khafji in 1991. 

His story is a reminder that our service members are full, complex people, with passions, dreams, and inner lives far beyond the battlefield.

A Fun Read For the Road

Knife of Dreams – Robert Jordan - When the Wheel of Time Finally Turns Again

The latest book review dives into Knife of Dreams, the 11th book in The Wheel of Time. 

After a few slower volumes, this one finally turns the Wheel again; Faile is rescued, Mat and Tuon’s fated relationship sharpens, and Rand faces one of the darkest blows of his journey. 

It’s a book filled with long-awaited payoffs, emotional turns, and the unmistakable sense that the true endgame is finally beginning.


From the Studio Wall

Golden Gate Bridge 

a.d. elliott, Take the Back Roads

Available in the shop! This print captures the Golden Gate Bridge emerging through rolling fog; that magical moment when the familiar becomes extraordinary. There’s something peaceful and powerful about watching steel towers rise out of drifting clouds, and this image holds that sense of quiet transformation. A perfect piece for anyone who loves travel, moody coastlines, or scenes that feel half dream, half reality.

Photograph by 

a.d. elliott 

available at https://shop.takethebackroads.com › products › golden-gate-bridge

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