Myakka River State Park

The next stop on our adventures in Florida was a trip to Myakka River State Park where I was assured I’d all the alligators I’d ever wanted to see… from a safe distance! Crow’s family also alluded to the famous “canopy walk”–somehow a walk among the trees, though how one did this, I couldn’t even [...]

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Meet my new snowshoes

Atlas Elektra 1027s (120 lbs to 200 lbs). They are pretty… and even kind of girlie in the color unflatteringly labeled as “lichen.” Unfortunately, they–nor any snowshoes I saw–did not come in purple. Being good for up to 200 lbs means I have some wiggle room for not only weight gain, but for use with [...]

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Snow-shoeing the ledges at CVNP

I went snow-shoeing a few times when I lived in Colorado. It turns out that winter is one of the best times to hike in a popular place like Colorado because all of the tourists are not generally outdoorsy enough to appreciate the wilderness in the cold and snow of winter. So it’s usually the [...]

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Work day meditation

It’s a beautiful day outside. Feels like summer rather than fall, and since my workload at this moment is sparse (and also my coworker gives me subtle pressure against my usual habit of working through lunch), I decided to eat lunch outside. Unfortunately, this rather tree-filled and private business park contains no picnic tables. A [...]

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Lost toenails, sore legs, and fast fathers: my climb up Mt. Elbert

Mt. Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak,as viewed along Route 24 outside of Leadville. It’s not that I expect to be good at everything. Hell, I’m not even sure I’m good at anything. Still, when your fifty-seven year-old father beats you to the summit of a 14,000 foot peak, you can’t help but feel a little miffed. [...]

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Rethinking this year’s cycling goal…

So, tonight, I was thinking. Perhaps I’m being a little over-ambitious with this 3,000 mile goal for this year. It’s August, I’ve had a week off from my bike, and my legs only recently stopped aching from my mountain climb in Colorado (the quest of which I will describe in a future blog entry, I [...]

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