In mid-summer of 2016 my daughter and her partners held a 14 day permaculture design course on a small ranch above Bozeman, Montana. My daughter recruited me and my husband to cook for the 30-some participants for the first three days, using the detailed menus she had created and sourced. We had a history of preparing … More Food Truck Cook in the High Plains
Guest blogger and husband Phil Deering shares his tips on how to plan for multiday, long (and successful) hikes. If you read my last post April 5th, you know I will not be among the group of friends that takes these trips!! More power to them. For each of the last five years, I’ve taken long, … More 10 Tips for Planning and Enjoying Long Hiking Trips with Friends
On our fourth week of March in Colombia we headed for a pre-planned trip into the part of the Andes called Los Nevados National Park. About 8 hours by bus from Medellin toward the west, Los Nevados consists of mountain peaks of up to 17,000 feet, glaciers, volcanos, and a wide array of ecological regions. … More Adventure Travel–Don’t Panic: Part 3
This summer I agreed to go on a six day, five night canoe trip into the Quetico National Park in Ontario, CA, in early September. It is just across the border from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota, with a similar landscape of lakes, rivers, and islands, with portages connecting them … More Canoeing the northern wilderness at 72: it’s never too late for life lessons
One of the goals of my travel blog is to encourage people to plan their own travel more. The purpose is to engage more ahead of time with what you want to see, make it more likely to meet the locals, and to have some unexpected and, ideally, delightful surprises. It is usually much cheaper … More Kayaking the Sea of Cortez
Well, we’re back home now. We made a mad dash two days early, April 2, to avoid snow and ice storms coming down from the north. After 3 and 1/2 weeks following the Mississippi to the bottom of Louisiana and back up, I know a lot more about this river that, if stretched out, would … More Big Muddy Meander: Chapter 3-from the Delta Blues to the Chicago Blues
A week ago, we set off down the Mississippi River flyway on a one month road trip. We loaded the car with two kayaks, two bikes and camping equipment. We were fleeing the soul-killing mid-March Minnesota weather: fresh heavy snow and a driveway covered in four inches of black ice. With any luck, we’ll find … More Big Muddy Meander: Chapter 1
On day 8 of our month long road trip through the American Southwest we reached our campsite at Lake Mead near Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam was the first dam on the Colorado River built during FDR’s presidency. This water recreation area on the Arizona border is a short tourist bus ride from arid Las Vegas. … More Southwest Road Trip: Chapter 2-Busted Flat at Hoover Dam (with thanks to Janis Joplin)
The southwest region of the United State of America was not meant for modern human settlement. Much of it is desert: dry, rocky, hot and splendid. The Sonoran and the Chihuahuan Deserts are classic arid deserts that cover much of the Southwest low land and largest cities, while the high desert defines places like southern … More Red Clay, Cacti, and Ravens: A Southwest US Car Camping Trip—Chapter 1
In Minnesota winters, we have a mix of three elements: snow, sun, and cold. We don’t get all three together very much. If there is fresh snow, it may be cloudy, grey and not too cold. If there is not much snow, it may be not too cold and bleak skies. If it’s below zero, … More Dressing for below zero: Superbowl visitors take note!
Other states, other lives, other souls 