Again, I was able to use my rooftop tent (www.autohomeus.com) to camp out.  This time, I was at Lake Arcadia in Edmond, Oklahoma, just north of Oklahoma City.

One of the best parts of this journey has been enjoying a great American Road Trip and camping out in my truck, when possible.  From my rooftop condo, I’ve awaken to the thunderous crashing of Mavericks’ giant waves in Half Moon Bay, CA, the bright sunshine in Albuquerque, NM, the howling winds of the Great Plains, the fishing boats riding the tides in the Gulf Coast and other uniquely American sites, before reaching Lake Arcadia in Oklahoma.

All of these places have been amazing, but this small lake, which is all but abandoned in the winter, provided a front-row seat to an unforgettable event – a spectacular and immensely powerful lightning storm, which I marveled at throughout the night. 

This display reminded me of the intense power of nature, which has moved mountains, carved canyons and even reshaped continents.

Nature’s energy is all around us and I didn’t need to be struck by a bolt of lightning to realize this.  Wave, solar, wind and tidal power was literally sounding a wakeup call for me nearly every morning of this trip, as it has been doing, figuratively, for mankind for eons.

Enjoying nature on this trip has been a blessing, but using nature to power my journey has been most rewarding.  While waves, the sun, wind or tides can’t power my truck (yet), nature created corn cobs and husks that, thanks to POET, can fuel my propulsion.

Nathan Schock of POET calls corn “nature’s batteries.”    He has a point.  Nature really is storing power in plants, just like we have been storing power in batteries for some time.  The difference is nature’s batteries don’t require strip mining, chemical processing, toxic manufacturing or costly disposal. 

 Thankfully, POET is converting nature’s “batteries” into fuel.  Better yet, through Project Liberty (www.projectliberty.com) they’re now using “field residue” like corn cobs and husks to make fuel.   And, they’re doing this without requiring any additional fuel, fertilizer or water. 

Unleashing the power within “nature’s batteries” has enabled me to enjoy an American Road Trip and experience many of the natural splendors within this great nation.   This includes the beauty of Lake Arcadia.