Category: The Moosilauke Letters

everywhereall the time My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am. A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.— Robert Benchley If dogs could talk, perhaps we would find it as hard to get along with them as… Continue reading HIking with Canine Americans

on the slopes As much of a schmuck as I can be — go read https://www.asiwentwalking.com/2024/12/05/martys-dry-boots/ — I think it’s a good story.  But I owe Marty.  He’s a good guy.  In fact, here he is again, in the world where he is most comfortable.  He is not exactly walking, but as a ski patrol… Continue reading Marty’s Dry Boots II

Frick ParkPittsburghDecember  2003 Wherever crows are, there is magic.— Ted Andrews “The crows seem to be calling my name,” thought Caw.— Jack Handey Frick Park is a mere block and a half from my home.  Being close to this park is one of the chief reasons I chose some thirty years ago to live in… Continue reading Crows

PittsburghJanuary  2017 I’ve got some stuff going on.  One doctor thinks I have sleep apnea.  That’s when you stop breathing while you are sleeping.  I’m thinking that as long as you start up again, what’s the problem?  But they say that it can affect your waking life too;  make you sleepy during the day, mush… Continue reading Sleep Study

any two states Heading due east on our way to the high point of Kansas — yes, Kansas does have a high point — we cross the Colorado/Kansas state line.  This transition occurs at a city called Kanorado.  Great name, a portmanteau of KANsas and ColORADO, as if you couldn’t already tell. What fun!  Some time… Continue reading South Dakotasota

HuntsvilleAlabamaNovember  2013 A couple thousand years ago, give or take twenty minutes, in and around Jerusalem, this happened, then that happened and so forth, all leading up to Jesus’ trek on the Road to Calvary.  You may recall that the soldiers compelled Jesus to carry his own cross to the site of his crucifixion.  That… Continue reading Simon the Cyrene

Blue EarthMinnesotaJune  2008 And thus we come to Blue Earth, Minnesota.  A short distance off the interstate and there it is, just like in the pictures, the world’s largest Jolly Green Giant, all fifty-five feet of him.  Lisa says, “That’s an awfully large giant.”  I say, “Actually, that is a normal size giant.” THE EARTH… Continue reading Jolly Green Giant

summer  2018 It started on a walk with Mike, my excellent friend and excellent hiking partner, telling me about his hike at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington, where he saw two bald eagles at the same time.  Some of us go a lifetime not seeing a bald, and here, he sees two… Continue reading The Dance of Life

PittsburghPennsylvaniaSpring 2016 This is Jean-Clawed.  He lives with me.  We’re roommates. This is what Jean-Clawed is looking at. This…  thing…  is on my back porch.  It is an opossum.  It does not live with me.  Clearly, you can see that, by the expression on Jean-Clawed’s face. What we have here is the two extremes.  When… Continue reading Possum Opossum

Dolly Sods WildernessWest VirginiaJune  1998 Reminds me of the time when a group of us were backpacking in the Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia.  It had rained heavily over the past few days and our trail was flowing with runoff from the long storm.  Proper trail etiquette is to hike on the trail, regardless… Continue reading Marty’s Dry Boots