Category: The Moosilauke Letters

Black HillsSouth DakotaMay  2015 Mount Rushmore is in the Black Hills, an isolated mountain range rising up from the vast Great Plains in the western part of South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.  This area is rich in American history and the story of the Mount Rushmore monument is one of many partially ignored capsules of… Continue reading The Presidents’ Heads

DouglasWyomingMay  2015 Lisa drives us north, leaving Colorado and entering Wyoming.  I navigate.  All my driver knows is that we are on our way to Devils Tower and that we are going to make a stop on the way. As we approach Douglas, Wyoming, I have her get off the interstate highway and make a… Continue reading Jackalope

HarrisburgPennsylvaniaJanuary  2012 Lisa and I make a stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on our way home from our successful summit of the highest point in Delaware, Ebright Azimuth.  I show her the house where I allegedly grew up, the capital building with its impressive dome and one of my favorites, the Susquehanna River. I mention this… Continue reading Water Boundaries

Plymouth NotchVermontAugust  1998 The highest point in Vermont is just two hours north of Plymouth Notch in the beautiful hill country of the Green Mountain State.  Plymouth Notch (population: 565) is where former president Calvin Coolidge was born and buried, although not at the same time.  Coolidge was known to be witty, although he never… Continue reading Calvin Coolidge

Laurel HighlandsPennsylvaniaJanuary  2001

May 2022 the pigsVacation:  a period of leisure and recreation when one often experiences things that one doesn’t ordinarily experience when engaged in normal, everyday non-vacation activities. For instance, when I go about my house, my work, running errands, chatting with my neighbors — what am I talking about?  I never chat with my neighbors… Continue reading Pigs and Sasquatch and Springer Mountain

Tennessee/Mississippi/AlabamaNovember  2013 Soundtrack… I’m Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs— Elvis Presley Three state high points in six days.  A fair amount of driving — 995.8 miles — and an entertaining assortment of sights.  Based on observations during these travels through the heart of Dixie, there are two personalities, two celebrities who have been most popular in this former… Continue reading Icons of the South

New HampshireAugust  2013 After our summit hike from the nose over the lips and to the chin of Mount Mansfield in Vermont and our warm visit with our friend Carrie in Montpelier, we drive south through the excellent green mountains of the Green Mountain State. The nose?  The lips?  The chin?  Simply geologic features of… Continue reading Ecstasy

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