Featured Posts
Putting One Foot in Front of the Other
When I was a kid in the 1970s, my family played a tiny role in a cross-country walk by an activist named Esther “Little Dove” John. A solo Black woman walking across the North Dakota plains to promote peace stood out in great detail from my everyday routine. And I can see why the idea of walking long distances to support a cause endures. The physical manifestation of the mental stamina needed to navigate hard times will always be compelling.
A Girl with a Fast Car
My first car (1979 Datsun) was not nearly as cool as Margaret Gasperi Kloecke’s first car. I bet yours wasn’t either. And do you still have it? Me neither—but Margaret does. Her bright purple 1970 Dodge Charger is in such pristine condition that it’s a national treasure.
Whale Watching and Whispering
“I had the thought: I wonder if anyone heard me? I dove down again and listened. Someone had. A voice, faint, plaintive yet serene, reached through the water. From maybe a hundred yards away, or a hundred miles—no way to know—but its reverberance was stirring. I went up for air, dove down and tried to imitate what I’d heard, waited, and heard a response—or was it an inquiry? A pretty dull conversation for the whale, no doubt, as I just tried to repeat what I heard, but we sustained this back-and-forth for the length of my mostly underwater, sounding swim back.”
Reporting from the Squirrel Cooking World Championship
This story from Eater about the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off is my favorite kind of writing: quirky, fun, but ultimately very respectful of the unique people and traditions that make our world so wonderfully diverse.
‘Tis the Season for Fireflies and Glow Worms
An Australian journalist details his search for the first fireflies of the season in a New South Wales park in 2023. His guide is a bioluminescence chaser who also points out glow worms during their excursion.
5 Paths to New Outdoor Adventures
My first time rappelling happened in France. I was with a longtime friend and her cousin, who only spoke French. He suggested something that I vaguely understood to be an outdoor activity. My friend agreed with gusto for both of us. And that’s how I found myself strapped to a rope and descending off an abandoned railroad bridge to practice. Then it was off to the real adventure on the cliffs of Ardeche.