The people indigenous to this southern area of Yukon when European and American settlers arrived are the Kwänlin Dän. It wasn’t until the year 2005 that they gained governance over themselves, which is astounding to me. Not to them, I imagine, sadly. And I’m already tired of hearing the names of the explorers as the […]
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Muncho Lake with Friends
This is such a beautiful place, but you add friends, and it’s like cranking the dial up to 11. We’re at Muncho Lake Provincial Park in British Columbia, camped right next to Doug and Melanie. You know them: we met a couple of years ago in Anza Borrego (California) back when they had their Airstream. […]
Flower Springs Lake
Lotsa photos! I’ve been stymied by broken eye glasses, a lost camera lens cap, and so many bear sightings that we have to keep Banjo close, but I’ve still managed to take too many pictures. Prophet River Wayside Provincial Park We’re still heading north up the Alaska Highway slowly, enjoying each stop. The provincial park […]
Back-country Hiking at Writing-on-Stone
I ended my previous post thinking the spirits in this sacred place were telling me to slow down. Well, perhaps I misunderstood that message, because the hike I went on the next day seemed spectacular. First thing, I signed in with the visitor’s center for back-country hiking, then I joined Tracy in fording the Milk […]
Writing-on-Stone Overwhelm
I often feel like spirituality is something other people experience. I’ve never felt connected to a greater being, and I wonder if my feelings about the land and nature aren’t a little forced. And when I get emotional while witnessing indigenous ceremonies, my tears are probably a whole lot of racial guilt. Some places are […]
Hiking Texas’ Hill Country
My Texan friend, Karen, told me that this central region (the Edwards Plateau) is lovely, and right she is; it’s unlike any part of Texas we’ve seen. Not to imply Texas is generally unlovely, but this area is special. We’re in Garner State Park, along the Rio Frio, west of San Antonio. Right now it’s […]
I’ll Meet You at the Gator, But First I Gotta Get Around This Turkey
I texted that to Tracy yesterday afternoon while we were both hiking here at Choke Canyon State Park in south Texas. He was up ahead, and he’d found an alligator in a shallow part of the lake, so he texted me a heads-up in case I wanted to see. I did! In my rush, I […]
Tabasco Sauce Is a Big Deal
I didn’t know this until we spent a day at the McIlhenny farm and factory and bottling plant, all on an “island” in southern Louisiana. It’s called an island because the land is a big circle and much higher than surrounding flat Louisiana; it’s, interestingly, a naturally occurring salt mound that was shoved upwards during […]
Eating Our Way through Cajun County
We’re wrapping up a week in a small town in south Louisiana called Abbeville, which we picked because we love the little bit of this state we’ve seen on two drive-throughs and wanted more before our winter stay in Texas. We’re right in Acadiana (a term somehow I’d never heard) aka Cajun Country. I tell […]
Doug and Melanie in New Mexico
Hi all. We spent two short weeks at Big Bend National Park on the Mexican border. It is a beautiful, rugged part of the country where even dried mud can be art. The scenery is stunning. It varies from river scenes along the Rio Grande, to desert landscapes to mountains and magnificent night skies. But […]
