I am camped at sunset in the canyons of the Colorado River, surrounded by massive red cliffs, when I look up. It appears I am witnessing a geological event: the first new volcano in millions of years. Volcanoes typically suppress global warming by reflecting the sun's heat back into [...]
We all have a lot of stuff. Perhaps for evolutionary reasons, we are programmed to accumulate stuff. Maybe, the more stuff we have the more likely we are to survive? Now we even have storage warehouses, where we can store our extra stuff because we’ve run out of room. [...]
Half of who we are is what we remember. The other half is what we forget. The first is made sweeter or more valuable when we remember what we forgot. I remember the crack of a branch. I am camped on the side of mountain near Lake Manyara. The [...]
I am heading from Portland to Coos Bay, Oregon. Having some extra time, I drive the back roads through what seem like endless verdant forests. The road winds through valleys next to streams, and the forests climb the hills and mountains to the ridgelines. It’s a good day. The [...]
Of course climate change is real. So what? Is this really helping? I’d say no. Part I: Given the appointment of climate deniers to key cabinet posts coupled with the rapid rollback of environmental regulations by the Trump Administration, it feels OK to be angry. Scott Pruitt, the new [...]
I have always been fascinated by maps. Imagining what places may look like from their names. I am heading west in search of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. What I believe to be a vast area of tall prairie grasses waving in the steady breezes of South Dakota. Endless [...]
A friend of mine told me that I was a romantic. I had to look it up. It wasn’t much help. If you’ve ever had a literature course, you might remember the “hero's journey.” One of the things required for a hero’s journey is a challenge or an obstacle the [...]
Are we above God? Sunrise on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, light reflecting in pinks and rust, purple clouds slanted to the west. My daughter and I are cold as we start down the South Kaibab Trail. But something stops us. Looking out across the canyon, our eyes [...]
