Category: Adventures

  • In which Duck!

    In which Duck!

    We went to Mexico City as a family, known as Mexico by the locals. This was an ambassadorial trip to meet extended family of my sister’s in laws and have all the new babies baptized at the Cathedral of Guadeloupe. Counter-intuitively, the baptism was about the only thing we did not do while in the…

  • In which I turn off my scooter with a Swiss Army knife

    In which I turn off my scooter with a Swiss Army knife

    During the course of my master’s degree, I would spend an extra weekend a month going into the mountains with my professor or classmates to help catch birds. This required a number of people to set up nets and retrieve whatever bird was unfortunate enough to fly lower than a few meters from the ground…

  • In which I literally throw my keys and identity at a stranger

    In which I literally throw my keys and identity at a stranger

    For my first Colorado fourteen-er, I joined a friend in his third attempt at Snowmass, which lived up to its name on July 19th. Two days previous, however a coincidence of faster road-tripping due to glorious 80mph speed limits in Utah on my part and slower arrival of my friend due to the appalling traffic…

  • In which we scale an ice cascade

    In which we scale an ice cascade

    There are many things in nature that go predictably. It does take a while to hike a long distance with a pack. There are rocks that you need to either go over or around and even occasionally under. Weather is a lot more extreme when you are actually out in it. Most of these things are…

  • In which there is Japanese medication

    In which there is Japanese medication

    In the course of my studies in Taiwan, it became apparent that I would NEED to come home for a period of time to see family and recharge my batteries a bit. I found a travel agent, and three days later was in possession of a ticket not only to travel home for the winter…

  • In which train politics are complex

    In which train politics are complex

    Between programs in Italy, I took a while to tour eastern Europe on a EuroRail pass. This was primarily with the motive of leaving the European Union since my attempts to get a permesso di sogiorno with a multi-colored ink letter had failed. Thus, I needed to let my tourist visa connected to the US…

  • In which I go to the deserted valley

    In which I go to the deserted valley

    On the way back from Telluride weekend, or rather on the way up, I decided it was finally time to check out what in the world Hovenweep National Monument was. I had been curious about it for a while since it appeared on my radar as trips north to Utah and Colorado became more frequent.…

  • In which we chase Kevin the bird around the school

    In which we chase Kevin the bird around the school

    How many adults does it take to catch a bird? During my first year teaching at a local charter school, I was running an ecology club. My three hearty troopers and I would go out on Wednesday mornings and wander around the cactus-infested meadows around the school looking for anything interesting. Every now and then…