The Stanley Hotel Shines Unstable weather and thunderstorms came in quick succession all through the day of our Estes Park visit. In anticipation of downpours we scheduled a tour of the Stanley Hotel which inspired Stephen King to write “The Shining”. As a sensitive, I can usually tell if a place is uneasy—if it holds […]
Medicine Bow Wyoming Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a pilgrimage as a journey to a shrine or holy place and/or any long journey to a place of historical interest. Exploration of the American West has become my pilgrimage. If you’ve read my memoir, Balanced on the Edge of the Crowd, you already have a […]
Freedom to Rest—Elephant Seals Migration to Piedras Blancas Female Elephant Seals spend most of their time at sea solitarily foraging the open ocean. In early May I fell among them, pointing and clicking my camera, to capture some rest. “Are you cold?” asked the volunteer docent, a kind elderly man with grey eyes and a […]
I silently giggled at the trailhead’s warning sign. “Do not expect to be rescued. Rather, prevent rescues from happening in the first place, and be prepared to handle rescues within your own climbing party should something happen. Nature sets its own terms and YOU must judge how much risk you are willing to accept.” Yeah,” […]
A tidbit of historical fiction— Joe Simpson had followed the telephone lines from Rhyolite to Skidoo. The stopover at Stovepipe Wells had replenished his canteens but he was almost dead when he stumbled into the Gold Seal Saloon. “It’s a good day for the devil,” he remarked to the bar-keep. “Here’s the last of my […]