This summer, I failed at blogging. I started this blog with the intention of posting one to two times per week. This summer, I clearly did not do that. Not counting today, I posted a grand total of 8 times in the months of June (3), July (4), and August (1). Let’s contrast that with Courtney Cantrell’s blog . She has posted 23 times in the month of August alone. She has Continue Reading
A Trip to the Mall of America: Wilderness Expedition in Disguise
The Mall of America is the mall closest to my home. On my last trip, I was amused at the similarities between going to the mall and going on a wilderness expedition. Plan ahead and prepare: What is your Goal? Hang out and have fun, or summit that peak or purchase an outfit for a specific occasion? I was on the hunt for a summer dress to wear to an outdoor wedding. How Continue Reading
A Tale of Two Canoes
I just drove 1600 miles round trip to pick up and bring home a canoe. This canoe is nothing special to look at: an old beat up aluminum boat. Wooden planks reinforce the thwarts, signs of its years of abuse. Its keel may be broken, resulting in a slow leak. It is a heavy canoe, weighing at least 90 pounds. It is not designed to be carried, and does not have a portage yoke. It Continue Reading
Challenge by Choice, or the Positives of Pressure?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Just keep breathing. Almost to the top. I can do this. My forearms burn with the effort of holding on to sandpaper-like surfaces. I lean to the right, fully extending my left arm out to my side. I twist my right hip into the wall, facing my outstretched arm and the corner just beyond. My right forearm gets a temporary respite as I instead push down Continue Reading
The Little Rhododendron that Could
I am inspired by a bush, a rhododendron bush to be exact. This bush has gone through a lot in the last few years. But it always seems to come back healthier than ever. Two years ago the bush was trimmed back to only 25% of its stalks. You see, we re-sided our house after storm damage, and the work crew trimmed all the shrubbery around the house so they would have room to Continue Reading
