Category: The Moosilauke Letters

PittsburghMarch  2013 Pittsburgh airport.  Flight to Denver to take us to the high point of Kansas, among others. At the gate awaiting our flight.  Lisa goes to get a magazine.  A woman sits down on the adjacent chair, or whatever those plastic things you sit upon at the airport are called.  We sit for a… Continue reading Who Do You Trust?

The Black HillsSouth DakotaMay  2015 Our favorite local character and fellow diner back at The Hill City Cafe… …recommended that we not miss Crazy Horse.  Sage advice, that.  So there is Crazy Horse, the man and Crazy Horse, the mountain carving. Crazy Horse, the manCrazy Horse was born of parents from different tribes.  He was… Continue reading Crazy Horse

Harbin Hot SpringsCaliforniaJanuary  2009 On the morning of January 27, my birthday, I rise early.  It is daybreak when I go out to explore the trails.  At the end of one short trail is an alcove with a small but energetic waterfall.  I settle, listening to the water, feeling the rocks with my bare feet,… Continue reading Buddha Tipping

Zion National ParkUtahMarch  2014 The mountains are splendid and breathtaking in Zion National Park.  The squirrels and chipmunks are uncommonly bold, stopping just short of asking for food in complete English sentences, or possibly even French.  The mule deer, smaller cousins of our familiar white tail, have enormous ears to help keep themselves cool.  They… Continue reading Treats of Zion

Central PennsylvaniaSeptember  1995 The Mid State Trail runs 327 miles from the Maryland border to the New York border, through the ridge and valley system of the Appalachian Mountains and the Allegheny Plateau in Central Pennsylvania.  It has been called “The Wildest Trail in Pennsylvania.” I’m not sure why, but my guess is that it… Continue reading The Mid State Trail

FlagstaffArizonaJune  2013 I notice the locals here in Flagstaff refer to their city as Flag.  Interesting that a short syllable, staff, which would take very little effort to append to the first half of the name, is left off when spoken aloud. Where am I from?  Pitts.  Where does the Vice President live?  Wash, or… Continue reading Flag

North CarolinaJanuary  2019 Jo-me-okee, according to the folks who used to live here, the Saura Tribe of Native Americans, means “Great Guide” or “Pilot.”  This enormous rock has also been called “Mount Ararat” and “Stonehead Mountain”. In 1753, the Moravians, just like all the other white folks, exhibited the usual sensitivity by changing the original… Continue reading Pilot Mountain

Kennerdell TrailPennsylvaniaJuly  1999

AlabamaNovember  2013 Oh, look.  Alongside the road.  The vine that ate the South. Kudzu. Back in the old days, the Japanese gave a 100th birthday present to the United States.  It was kudzu.  Americans loved the attractive sweet-smelling kudzu gardens that were mostly ornamental but could also be used as a forage crop.  Soon other… Continue reading Kudzu

FloridaNovember  2012 At the age of 95 years and 8 months, my mother fell down.  As sometimes happens with folks her age when they fall down, her hip broke.  Two days later she was in surgery, having the broken part replaced with a new part made of space age materials, possibly one of the used… Continue reading Max