Visiting author Joe Hurley

Saturday, November 9 at 12:00 pm

Joe Hurley, author of Ten Million Steps on Route 6: A Fresh Look at America and Americans from Cape Cod to California, is a retired newspaper reporter who spent most of his career at The News-Times in Danbury, Conn. where, among other things, he wrote the consumer-humor column called Shallow Pockets.

In 1999, Joe came to the startling realization that he knew almost nothing about the other side of the state, even though Connecticut is small enough to fit in the back pocket of Colorado or Nebraska. That year, photographer David Harple and Joe walked across Connecticut on Route 6 to give News-Times readers, and themselves, a better picture of their home state.

Later, Joe noticed that Route 6 stretched all the way to California – it was one of the few coast-to-coast highways and remains the longest continuous highway in the country. After retiring, Joe walked that 3,600-mile road while photographer Travis Lindhorst traveled along in the comfort of a car. Their stories and pictures ran weekly in a dozen newspapers across the country. The book resulted from their adventures. You can check out Joe’s website at: http://route6walk.com/

Joe is pretty much a homebody, writing occasional magazine stories, attempting to play basketball with other old guys, and promising his wife Pat that he'll get after the forsythia bushes tomorrow.

Books will be available for sale and signing.