It didn’t make sense. I turned to Kate, our group leader, with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. “What’s going on?” I don’t know why I thought she would have the answers, when the pilots couldn’t even give us a concrete answer. But I was nineteen and she had been […]
Educational
157 posts
Astronauts are gutsy adventurers! Wanting to experience a taste of space exploration, my friend Randi and I attended adult Space Camp. It was a life dream of Randi’s. The two of us joined a team of 15 adults, “The Pioneers.”. There was another 13 member adult team who we were […]
July of 2019. I took a little trip with the Zodiac “Thor”. 33 miles one way in open water. We explore some of the history and open water loneliness.
The mist rolled across the tiny fake village of Glen Haven. The enfolding morning fog was slowly retreating skyward as the sun burned it. I pushed the sticky door of the tiny “Park Ranger” office in the back of a newly reconstructed residence. The door squeaked open to reveal three, […]
Overcoming a fear is rewarding and terrifying. Like grieving, it takes time.
I hadn’t paid attention to the ground instruction. I was just excited that it was time to rappel. I had been chosen to join the upperclassmen of the ROTC program for some advanced training. Apparently, this freshman had shown superior land navigation skills and “rabbit skinning/preparation skills” and it impressed […]
Dentist-turned-“bush pilot” GEORGE ERICKSON flies his Piper Cub seaplane into the far reaches of the north. With a couple of close calls, Erickson sets up camp on unexplored lakes and rivers, fishes for trout, struggles with bad weather, overflies forest fires, and and mingles with polar bears, killer whales, musk […]
I slid by the muddy banks of the Grand River, gliding my kayak into the shadows of the trees. It was quiet, except for the gentle gurgle of water. Just then, I came upon a cow standing in the water. She looked at me – silent and still. I glared […]
This month – we consider “438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea “ On November 17, 2012, two men left the coast of Mexico for commercial fishing trip in the open Pacific. Though, in this part of the world, commercial fishing is done in small boats […]
The website CalTopo has been a powerful, versitle and useful mapping program/website for a number of years. SAR responders will also recognize the usefulness of “SARTopo”. Those who have used Caltopo will know that its usefulness ends when you close your laptop or desktop. . . that is until last week, when […]