Category: The Moosilauke Letters

Key WestFloridaJanuary  2018 Randomly ask a person where to find the southernmost point of the United States and that person might say, “Florida,” or even, “The Florida Keys,” which extend farther south than the mainland. If that person has ever looked closely at this geography, they might even narrow it down to Key West, at… Continue reading String of Pearls VIII – Conch Republic

Knight’s Key / Little Duck KeyThe Florida KeysJanuary  2018 Forty-two bridges connect many of the islands that make up the Florida Keys.  The longest one is the Seven Mile Bridge.  It is 6.79 miles long.  You probably are not wondering why it isn’t called the Six Point Seven Nine Mile Bridge.  At one time it… Continue reading String of Pearls VII – The Seven Mile Bridge – Not Really

Key West CemeteryKey WestThe Florida KeysJanuary  2018 Please honor those who went before us. Dead people have a lot to say.  But they don’t have a lot of space to say it in, what with their message carved into a suitcase-sized tombstone.  So they’ve got to be succinct. For example, Giorgio Aversa says, on his… Continue reading String of Pearls IX – The Dead Live Here

1the scene…the men’s room at the airport what I am doing…standing at the urinal doing what one does when one stands at the urinal, which is to say, peeing what the guy next to me is doing…standing at the urinal doing what one does when one stands at the urinal, which is to say, peeing,… Continue reading 13 Shorts

ArkansasJune  2012 From Driskill Mountain, Louisiana to Mount Magazine in Arkansas.  We pass this sign, reminding us that, yes, we are in the Bible Belt… JESUS FIRSTOTHERS SECONDYOU LAST We get lost on our drive, not spiritually, but geographically.  For thirty minutes Lisa drives this way and that on the two-lanes with me cursing the… Continue reading Delight

Sassafras MountainSouth CarolinaMay  2013 The mountain laurel is in bloom.  Mountain laurel is the official flower of my home state of Pennsylvania, but we won’t get the bloom up north for a few more weeks. What else grows here in the South, in addition to the laurel?  Hey, it’s spring.  Plenty grows here.  Pink lady… Continue reading Sassafras

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