Contributing

The calendars are gifts that I enjoy sharing freely. They are useful (everyone needs a calendar) that also allows me to share pictures and stories of many places. My goal is to inspire others to travel and experience the many fascinating and hidden places that can be found everywhere.

Please understand that the calendars are also a kind of gift to me, too: I've been creating them every year (starting with 2001), and to get interesting pictures for the next calendar, I have to find new and interesting places. It is happily a self-perpetuating cycle! Even during my travels, I hand out calendars to people that I meet: it starts some great conversations and their suggestions lead me to more new places.

While I understand that many people want to give something in return, it is not necessary and I have generally discouraged the offers. While I am humbled that people see some value in the calendars, I am not looking for compensation for the gift freely given. However, I have also learned that some people really feel the need to give something back.

A financial contribution is certainly not expected or required, but it is understood as a sign of appreciation. So, thank you! However, I feel that it is only proper to set the expectation. Thanks to the great advice and effort by the team at Kenwell Printers, the cost to print and mail each calendar is under $5. Any contribution over that amount will go towards the travel fund for the next calendar.

You can send me a small payment through Venmo to john@johnscalendar.com. Drop me an email if you have any problems with Venmo, or if you prefer an alternative.

The best compensation I can hope for is to hear that my calendars helped to inspire your own adventures. This is one of those 'make your own adventure' books on a real-life scale. If I can ride a motorcycle in every state of the US, you can probably go somewhere by car, too. Leaving your usual surroundings can be fun, whether you go 50 or 5,000 miles from home. Drop me a note to tell me about it, since it might be somewhere I haven't been to yet!

If you're thinking about a roadtrip, let me know and perhaps I can make some suggestions. One of my favorite resources is Roadside America, and be sure to check out their maps of unusual places in each state.

It would be great to hear from you! You can Contact Us with a message to let me know how you've been, any adventures you've had, and even let me know which pictures in the calendar you enjoyed most (and even least). If you've been to or heard of places that might be interesting for me to visit, please let me know!