Walking in the shade of the Laurel

Took another hike today. I think that shelter-in-place might be our undoing. The United States, that is. Americans have a hard time staying cooped up. Especially western Americans. Especially in the spring. When you see green grass growing, smell the flower’s blooming and hear the birds singing, you gotta get out. One of the bottom […]

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The Serengeti (of North America)

Took a trip recently to Yellowstone National Park with my daughter. While we hike regularly in our own area of the central coast of California, and always have a lovely time, it’s also almost always a lonely, silent peregrination wildlife-wise. That’s thanks to hunters. Wild animals that are hunted, learn to fear people and, thus, […]

Island Life

I’ve always loved islands. In fact, when we were about 7 or so, my brother and I tried to run away to one. We’d seen them in picture books and were inspirited. We didn’t get too far, of course. But that didn’t stop our loving them. I have been to Hawaii (twice), but that seems […]

Autumn In Vermont

Every fall, the US northeast puts on a show, a dazzling display of color, when deciduous leaves, in particular, sugar maple, turn from green to -> yellow -> orange -> red, and all the variety of hues in-between. It’s truly one of the wonders of the world. Of course, since this blog is all about […]

My PCT Section Hike

Finally took my Pacific Crest Trail hike, well a part of it, that is. The PCT is not just any hike, it requires a massive amount of logistics and planning. For one thing, it’s pretty much impossible to get to many of the trailheads without having to hitchhike, something I’m not great at. Then, since […]

The beauty necessity of waving grass

Been awhile since I posted, but I’ve been pondering this one for some time. I once worked at a large company which had a cafeteria and an enclosed outdoor area, where people who chose to, could sit. Of course, I usually ate outdoors. One day, as I was lunching and causally glancing over a low […]

Support Our National Monuments

Well, I’d intended to take an indefinite break from this blog, but circumstances have compelled me to post once again. My apologies. It seems that there are two kinds of people in this world: the short-sighted and the far-sighted. The short-sighted are those who measure the value of things in an extremely limited way, both […]

Red Tide

My daughter is 16, and as we all know, the teenage years are often full of angst and self-doubt. They sure were for me, at least. Yet, I have often remarked upon, and reveled in, her uncommon kindness and level-headedness. When I am feeling sad or low about something, she is always there to cheer […]

Trasher Hall of Shame

Following are images of some of the more notable of the many instances of trash carelessly, or deliberately, tossed about I’ve come upon in my hiking life. I always have to ask, why do some people have so little respect for nature? Shame on the trashers. Please you bozos, get the hint. And if you […]