Category: The Moosilauke Letters

ClevelandOhioMay  2017 We’re on our way home from Cleveland Clinic in a rental car, Lisa is driving.  It is quiet for a few minutes before she says, “Y’know, this whole thing with anal glands…”  She lets the thought hang. This is not Lisa’s standard introduction to conversation. Nonetheless, anal glands are real.  Dogs have them,… Continue reading Jerry Siegel’s House

Mount AscutneyVermontSeptember  1984 We are on our way up-trail to the summit of Mount Ascutney, a former volcano in Windsor, Vermont.  Our snack stop is on Blood Rock. Blood Rock.  In 1925, a self-important gentleman named Houghton Hoisington was using a hand ax to carve his initials in the stone of the overlook.  As he… Continue reading Blood Rock

Red River GorgeDaniel Boone National ForestKentuckyMay  1998 The publicists, in their usual inclination to the obvious, didn’t resist the play on words, calling this area “gorgeous.”  And it truly is, the little of the place we saw. There were stunning rock formations, hillsides loaded with sassafras, and the mountain laurel and giant magnolia were in… Continue reading Rough Ride at Red River Gorge

Downingtown2024(There are 27 columns in my Pennsylvania Series.  Behold!) The Blob is a horror movie made in 1958 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, about 29 minutes west of Philadelphia as the crow flies, or 45 minutes as the crow drives.  The Blob is about an exuberantly growing amoeba thing.  You know, a blob.  It starred Steve McQueen… Continue reading Pennsylvania Series:  The Blob

Greene River TrailPennsylvaniaSeptember 2014

The Long TrailVermontAugust  1996 My backpacking buddy, Alecia, and I are hanging out at the intersection of Kelley Stand Road and the Trail, where we parked our car.  This road has some history.  In 1840, the great orator and senator Daniel Webster delivered the Kelley Stand Speech in this very spot.  Fifteen thousand and two… Continue reading Just Say Yes

Death Valley National ParkCaliforniaJune  2009 A number of rules tell us what not to do on land overseen by the U S National Park Service.  Here are some of the rules.  Do not… . remove rocks, plants, fossils or antlers. pan for gold. gather wood, nuts, berries or fruit. feed wild animals. climb, walk on… Continue reading Hot Rock

VermontAugust  2013 Our weather today is pleasant, comfortable, delightful even.  We have wispy clouds, reasonably warm temperatures.  It’s August, it’s summer, one of New England’s seasons.  Summer is followed by autumn, of course, and then by stick season.  When Earth is on the other side of the sun, spring for most, New England experiences mud… Continue reading New England Seasons

Mount GreylockMassachusettsMay  2014 It rains on our hike to the summit, but lightly enough that we don’t even put on our jackets.  There’s an odd sky. Which puts me in mind… Let me take you back to the days before cable television, or whatever we have now, even before Saturday Night Live.  On a few… Continue reading The Devil’s Wife

Mingo Creek County ParkFinleyvillePennsylvaniaJune  2015 Later on our loop hike, coming back closer to trailhead, we descend a hill with an expansive field to one side.  To the other, at a break in the sycamore, hemlock, dogwood, oak and maple, we can see a house with an outdoor swimming pool.  This summer day, walking past… Continue reading B G