Category: The Moosilauke Letters

303 North Summit StreetYpsilanti MI   48197September   2022 Just the name of the town itself sings:  Ypsilanti  Ips sill anty. The first Domino’s Pizza location was here in Ypsilanti. Ypsilanti has one of the three tridges in Michigan.  A tridge is a three-way bridge, sometimes called a Y-bridge for its shape. The shore of… Continue reading A Rather Naughty Way to Store Water

the Appalachian Trail It is easy not to get lost while hiking this granddaddy of a trail.  Just follow the blazes, the 2 x 6 inch vertical paint swatches on trees, sign posts and rocks along the pathway.  When the blaze is white, it means you are on the route of the main trail. When… Continue reading Colors of the Appalachian Trail

ColoradoJune  2018 First, let’s get the name straight.  They don’t call it “Pikes Peak.”  They call it “Pikes Peak America’s Mountain.”  Or at least the P R people call it that. Next, Pikes Peak America’s Mountain is… – the second most-visited mountain on the planet.  For 50 points, which one is first?  Right!  Mount Fuji… Continue reading Pikes Peak America’s Mountain

Taum Sauk MountainMissouriJuly  2012 Lisa and I walk from the parking area to the summit.  Takes about ten minutes.  At this high point is a polished granite marker immediately before a two-foot high rock and a forty-foot tall oak tree.  It appears that the rock is pushing the tree over, starting with the roots.  It… Continue reading Jesse James is Hiding Here

Las VegasNevadaMarch  2019 Our flight lands in Las Vegas.  I would be remiss if I did not spend a little time describing this desert burg to you.  It is nicknamed Sin City although I will be quick to point out that prostitution, which is legal in the state of Nevada, is not permitted by law… Continue reading Las Vegas — Whoopee!

2021 When I walk, I move forward by placing my feet, alternating one by one on the ground, pushing backward.  Using my hamstrings, I am pushing Earth away from me, back toward where I was. I’m staying in the same place, but my mighty hamstrings push the entire planet backwards.  The illusion is that I… Continue reading Moving the Earth

Frick ParkPittsburghAugust  2023 The Frick Park Lawn Bowling Club rocks it in Pittsburgh’s East End.  Has since 1938.  Generally older folk roll a ball on the manicured grass about as slowly as it can move without imitating stasis.  I think those playing this bowling-like game get older as they play.  Their goal however, is to… Continue reading Bug Spray

Blue Spruce ParkPennsylvaniaMay  2005 Suddenly a commotion trailside.  Big wings!  It’s a hawk, a Red-tail streaking and whizzing around a tree, circling like crazy, fast, fast.  I’m surprised I don’t see tire screech marks in the air.  It’s chasing a chipmunk.  So this is why chipmunks chase each other up and down tree trunks.  Have… Continue reading Chipmunk v Hawk

Mount RogersVirginiaJuly  2014 We take a short rest at the junction where the Appalachian Trail meets the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.  We get to chatting with another couple of hikers.  These two are checking their maps, looking around, squinting, scratching their respective heads.  They are trying to decide how strenuous the hike up Wilburn Ridge… Continue reading Theory of Universal Compensation

Monongahela National ForestWest VirginiaJuly  1992 Another time in Dolly Sods as I am making my way up the trail a few days after a storm, I come upon a downed tree.  A tall, muscularly chiseled woodsman is chopping through the log which is blocking the trail.  He’s using an ax.  His flannel shirt lay on… Continue reading My Man