Early Morning Walk | Twisp, WA | September 2019
Long shadows remind us that the Earth spins. Low-angle light peeks over hills as we all rotate eastward, sunward, from dim to blinding bright. Right now we’re center-stage, spindly and clownish, but not for long. Our place in the universe shifts continuously as cosmic forces interplay. Vast trajectories, evolving planets, fiery stars all combine to project our goofy (more…)
Toltec Mounds | Scott, AR | September 2019
Travelogue #5 | The first thing to know is that the Toltec Mounds are definitely mounds but not Toltec. They were built by the Plum Bayou native peoples about 1,200 years ago and were erroneously labeled “Toltec” by landowners in the mid-19th century. (The real Toltecs constructed their own mounds in Mexico.) Secondly, don’t attempt to absorb reams of archeological data while strolling a mile-long interpretive trail in 102-degree heat. The parboiled brain blurs arrowheads, pottery chunks and ceremonial tools into (more…)
Folk Art | Mountain View, AR | September 2019
Travelogue #4 | I’m not a connoisseur of crafts, but lines and colors catch my eye. My brother and I spent an afternoon at the Ozark Folk Center State Park chatting with artists who hand-make brooms, blankets, jewelry, pottery, toys and oodles of other beautiful works. Live bluegrass music had our toes tapping, but we declined the free (more…)
Modern Antiquities | Damascus, AR | September 2019
Travelogue #3 | I’ve reached the age when everyday objects of my youth now cruise toward extinction. Specifically, a pair of bullet-nosed Ford sedans from the early 1950s rusting in a vacant lot along an Arkansas highway. What’s now home to hornets was once the best dating vehicle for (more…)
Pool | Fairfield Bay, AR | September 2019.
Travelogue #2 | What’s a vacation without a swimming pool? We savored a cool dunk most evenings, but my brother also used the pool as a data bank. He picked the brains of fellow swimmers — many were local residents — about living in North Central Arkansas. (Low-cost housing, tight-knit community.) Inexplicably, after just one dip, the waistband of my 34-inch swim trunks exploded to 52 inches. Elastic fatigue? Much of my subsequent pool time was spent avoiding indecent exposure and (more…)
Fishing | Heber Springs, AR | September 2019
Travelogue #1 | Mist rises from the Little Red River, one of Arkansas’ top trout streams and a great place to hang out until our favorite catfish shack opens for lunch. That’s my brother wetting his line in pools below two landmark boulders. Not many bites, however, as morning temperatures were in the 80s and later would hover near 100. Don’t even ask about humidity. Let’s just note that the inside of my brother’s waders were (more…)
Hats | Ellensburg, WA | September 2019
How many rodeo hands does it take to prep a roper? Just count the hats. One interesting aspect of any sport is the identifying costume of participants and their admiring followers. Football fans wear team jerseys. Tennis spectators dress in white. And some amateur bicyclists pedal even on short trips in spandex outfits covered in advertising. But rodeo probably has the most persistent (more…)
Up There | Wenatchee, WA | September 2019
At ground level | I often look up and am surprised (yet again) that airplanes can fly. It’s a miracle I take for granted nearly everyday. Heavier than air with no-flap wings, planes skim the skies almost undetected. Well, except that their hushed whoosh from 30,000 feet settles on earthbound observers like a (more…)
Tarmac | Dallas, TX | September 2019
Window Seat #4 | An airport ramper I knew years ago had an easy relationship with extreme weather. “Take shelter inside your clothes,” he said. “And have the right clothes for every situation.” Rampers, who load luggage and de-ice planes (among myriad duties), have gear to combat blizzards, heat waves and everything in-between. On this 98-degree day in Dallas, rampers wore sweat-wicking, long-sleeve shirts to avoid sunburn and heat stroke. Some donned mesh French Foreign Legion-style hats with rear flaps for neck protection. All seemed to know the value of (more…)
Hubs | above Dallas, TX | September 2019
Window Seat #5 | I’ve heard that trucks haul most U.S. freight but haven’t seen real evidence for that claim until landing at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Hundreds of rectangular distribution hubs with thousands of loading docks serving (I’m guessing) millions of semi-trucks surround the huge aviation complex. This photo shows flat-roofed warehouses dotted with air conditioners. But you can also spot (more…)
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