Category: Adventures

  • Ode to Adventures

    Ode to Adventures

    Adventures add interest to life. There have been so many times that a trip or experience I was on would have been just ok if an adventure had not occurred. Adventures are unlooked for and often unwanted in the moment, but invariably, they provide the best stories and some of the happiest memories that one…

  • In which I climb a mountain in Romania after reading about meeting a vampire in the mountains of Romania

    In which I climb a mountain in Romania after reading about meeting a vampire in the mountains of Romania

    Between my study abroad in Italy and my study abroad in Italy (but for Latin this time), I had to leave the EU for a week so that I could return on a tourist visa since the visa office laughed at me and my multi-colored acceptance letter and stalking the monk didn’t work. I chose…

  • In which I pet my brother

    In which I pet my brother

                The directors of the Arboretum, where I spent a not-small amount of my childhood pretending I was an eagle making a nest, eventually retired and moved up to Colorado. As they were family friends, we would occasionally stop in to visit as we took trips around or past Dolores. On one such trip, we…

  • In which I dance in a cloak and Russian hat at the Torino Olympics

    In which I dance in a cloak and Russian hat at the Torino Olympics

    When we took a trip to the Olympics during my study abroad in Italy, because the Olympics were in Italy, so obviously, we did a few events together such as following the landlady through traffic on her bike, attending and being the loud obnoxious fans at Olympic curling (my request), and wandering the . Olympic…

  • In Which I must keep my breath Tranquil and the trails don’t walk well.

    In Which I must keep my breath Tranquil and the trails don’t walk well.

                As I ended up at the top of the Taiwanese Central Mountains frequently between both doing research there for my master’s degree and them standing in the way of my adopted family at Sun Moon Lake, I started to pause when I could and do some peak bagging. This started with HeHuanShan, a=the mountain…

  • In Which We Have Hot Dog Tea

    In Which We Have Hot Dog Tea

                The summer after Italy, I was determined to rectify the small sore point that my parents, Brendan, and I had gone to Yellowstone without my sister. She was on her way to work in Crater Lake, and I was on my way to school…the long way.             Instead of heading down to Tucson, we…

  • In Which Je Me Suis Perdu

    In Which Je Me Suis Perdu

    Before traveling to a country that spoke a language I didn’t in Europe, I would pull out my trusty European Phrasebook in 14 languages my brother had given me and learn a few useful phrases like “I would like a ticket to______.”, “Where is the bathroom.” , And “I am looking for______.”  While preparing for…

  • In which they should be passing me about now

    In which they should be passing me about now

    My third year at BASIS Flagstaff, I was bait-and-switched into coaching high school cross country. We were starting a full athletic program, joining the state association that would let us compete in the regional and state competitions against other schools, and the cross country coach was looking for volunteers to help run with the kids.…