A Magical Stop
“If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” Neil Gaiman Last Sunday we had one of our toughest days of hiking, ever. But the ending was…magical. We left at about 8:00 am because we knew it was going to be hot and the guidebook classified the […]
Walking the Italian Hill Country
In America, one must be something, but in Italy one can simply be. Pietros Maneos We’ve left behind the big city of Florence and walked into a different Italy, the Italy of small towns in the mountains connected by quiet forest paths and roads. An Italy where mushroom hunters prowl the forest paths and bring […]
A Trek Across Italy
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. Francis of Assisi Yesterday we set out on a month long walk across Italy from Florence to Assisi to Rome. Our objective is not only to experience the beauty and history of this country, but to seek a higher purpose for […]
Hadrian: King of the North?
“The Night’s Watch is the only thing standing between the realm and what lies beyond.” Maester Aemon to Tyrion Lannister On our third day, we finally began to see segments of what remained of one of the great achievements of Roman engineering, Hadrian’s Wall. As we walked I noted how it stretched across vast landscapes. […]
Show Me The Wall
We’ve been walking Hadrian’s Wall for two days, and of the ancient Roman Wall—nothing yet. This isn’t unexpected. When the people in the north of England started to build houses of stone they had a choice of quarrying it—or scavenging from this stone wall that had been unused for centuries. Easy choice. Times were tough […]
Hadrian’s Wall: Keeping the Barbarians Out
Great civilizations built walls to keep those “barbarians” out. “Just when you think you are at the world’s end, you see a smoke from East to West as far as the eye can turn, and then, under it, also as far as the eye can stretch, houses and temples, shops and theatres, barracks and granaries, […]
North to Victoria
“…on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island.” From a tour brochure It’s getting hard to stump her. Laurie and I have a tradition for our anniversary. Each year we take a trip that is planned by one of us. We alternate responsibility each year. Appropriately, I get the “odd” years. It’s supposed to be […]
More Than a Garden
Others saw an ugly industrial pit. Jennie Butchart saw a sunken garden.
Pioneers of the Trail
I spent several months walking the Oregon Trail when I was five and I flew over it in several hours when I was a senior citizen. Jacob Butts 1840-1925 The pioneers that traveled the Oregon Trail were hardy people. Much hardier–than us. Earlier this year we read a book about two brothers who retraced the […]
Land of Two Thousand Arches
In a world that is becoming increasingly virtual, the parks remain places of visceral beauty. Nevada Barr, American Author You may not have been there yourself, but you’ve undoubtedly seen pictures of Arches National Park. On our current journey through the southwestern US we managed to spend two days hiking through this unique area, located near […]
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