"If you don't slow down, you're going to get caught halfway though life and realize all the things you missed when you were capable of doing them."
-Chuck McGrady, president of the Sierra Club

On one of our roadtrips from Seattle to Chicago, we pulled off I-90, a major truck route connecting the ports in Seattle to the Midwest, at the Clark Fork River in western Montana. We got off to explore a beautiful valley that caught our eye from the freeway. A dark blue river curved around a massive rock formation that had a perfect strip of sand at its base. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we hiked down to the river to play a few games of Over the Line softball.

While we were at the river we ran into a trucker, all geared up in overalls, greasy cap, dark shades, and boots. He was skipping stones in the river. This was odd; truckers are known for not stopping. The only place you ever see them is at truck stops when they're fueling up.

He started opening up to us about how his ex-wife had passed away the day before from cancer, and for the first time he felt how impermanent life is. "For thirty-five years I've driven by this exit a million times, and I've never stopped." The look on his face was part enlightenment, but part regret. He was an older man who didn't have many years left, and you could sense the sadness he felt from knowing he could have skipped a few more rocks in his day.

Many of the people we interviewed on the road exited the freeway in one form or another throughout their lives. When he was thirty years old, Alastair Paulin, managing editor of Mother Jones magazine, left his career as an investment banker to travel the world with his wife for eighteen months. Howard Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks Coffee Company, traveled throughout Italy where he discovered the romance of the Italian espresso bar. Pat O'Donnell, CEO of Aspen Skiing Company, cashed out everything he had and lived on a boat for a year.

We thought about that a lot on the road-why don't more people exit the freeway? Not just on a roadtrip, but in life. There are so many beautiful stops, and it only takes a few moments. Sure, you'll get to your destination a little bit behind schedule. But when will you ever have the chance to stop off at a small town in Nebraska, pursue your passion for film, travel to Thailand with your wife, write a book about your experiences, climb a random hill in Vermont, start a juice company with your friend, or stroll down to that river in Montana?

Meeting that trucker and listening to all the stories of the people we met made us wonder, what is life really about anyway? Is it a series of connected events that serve the sole purpose of arriving at a predetermined destination? Or is it about the roadtrip along the way?

The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Several concerts on the Dixie Chicks' "Accidents & Accusations" tour have been canceled after slow ticket sales, but the group says it has replaced them with other dates.

Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Memphis and Knoxville are among 14 cities no longer on the original schedule released in May, according to a revised itinerary posted Thursday on the Dixie Chick's Web site.

Other shows, including Nashville, Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix, have been pushed back to later dates.

The North American leg of the tour kicked off July 21 in Detroit. Billboard magazine and other trade publications have reported lackluster sales in some markets, particularly in the South and Midwest.

Group spokeswoman Kathy Allmand said Monday that the total number of North American dates remains the same, with several Canadian cities added in place of the U.S. shows.

The trio released a statement last week attributing the changes to attempts to "accommodate demand" and said more dates might be added next year.

The group also said the adjustments will allow them to promote the documentary "Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing," for the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

"We hope that our fans who were looking forward to a stop that is no longer on the tour will be able to join us at a nearby arena this fall, and we are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience these changes have caused," the Dixie Chicks said.

Many country fans criticized the band after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of war in Iraq that the trio was "ashamed" President Bush was from their home state of Texas.

County radio stations dropped them from their playlists and have been slow to welcome them back, despite strong sales of their latest album, "Taking the Long Way."