Category: The Moosilauke Letters

South PointHawai’iJune  2016 Fancy, kitschy, whimsical or inaccurate as the southernmost point of the Republic of Conch (Key West) may be, this is not the farthest south you can go and still be in the United States.  Ask Lisa or me where the southernmost point is and we will tell you, “It ain’t in Florida.” … Continue reading To the South!

TennesseeJuly   1998 On top of Old SmokeyAll covered with snow.I lost my true loverFor courting too slow. Everybody knows the first two lines of this song, some know the entire first verse.  If you want to listen to this song again, I recommend the version by the Morris Brothers.  Gene Autry’s version isn’t too… Continue reading Smokey Music

Dolly SodsWest Virginia1996 I had to call a bunch of different numbers trying to get reliable information.  It’s something I do when on our way to the wilderness.  How’s the water supply?  Any vermin we need to be aware of?  What’s the condition of the trails?  Y’know, any particular challenges we should prepare for? This… Continue reading Wildflower Emergency

Hoover DamMarch  2019 Whoa!  Hoover Dam outside of Boulder City.  This immense concrete structure was built on the Colorado River to control floods, provide irrigation water and to produce power.  You can walk across the top, from Nevada into Arizona, or the other way around.  We do both. There are towers with strings of hanging… Continue reading Winged Figures of the Republic

PortsmouthOhioMay  2002 We arrive at the hotel in Portsmouth, Ohio, about 45 minutes east of trailhead, the night before we plan to begin our five-day backpack trip. Let me ask you a question.  Do you know where Roy Rogers was born?  I’ll tell you.  Portsmouth, Ohio.  We learn this as we check in to the… Continue reading Who’s Roy Rogers?

 Horseshoe RunWest VirginiaJune  2011 There are quite a number of smallest churches in the United States of America.  One such mini-church, which bills itself as the “Smallest Church in the Lower 48,” is on Route US-219 in the unincorporated community of Horseshoe Run in West Virginia.  It’s on our way to the high point of… Continue reading Smallest Church in America

Sir Francis Bacon (1st Viscount of St Albans), philosopher, jurist, statesman, author and scientist was born January 22nd, 1561 at York House in London. Once an adult, he was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I as well as being a close advisor to the Earl of Essex. One of his biographers, the historian William Hepworth… Continue reading Sir Francis Bacon

Edgar Thompson Works, U S SteelBraddock & North BraddockPennsylvaniaJanuary  2014 There are 27 columns in my Pennsylvania Series.  Behold! ===== Behold the greatest imaginary folk hero steelworker who ever lived.  And he lived and worked right here in my home town of Pittsburgh. The word Magarac, this character’s last name, is Croatian for “donkey,” which… Continue reading Pennsylvania Series XII — Joe Magarac

all around youall the time sealSeals lounge and bark.  Many of us have been addressed by a seal. Or were you addressed by a sea lion?  Is there a difference?  Behold… seal small thinly webbed flipperssea lion large flippers seal wriggle on their belliessea lion walk on land seal no visible ear flapssea lion small,… Continue reading Sound Off or How to Recognize Your Friends in the Woods — part III

all around youall the time vultureVultures make raspy, drawn-out hissing sounds while feeding and fighting, along with grunting noises that can sound like hungry pigs or dogs barking in the distance.  Courting vultures may give a yapping sound although sometimes it just plain old squeaks. They always sound annoyed.  Probably because they are always annoyed.… Continue reading Sound Off or How to Recognize Your Friends in the Woods — part II