“… blogging about life, travel, books, food and the outdoors”
Jewel showcases her songwriting, vocal prowess
What a difference 16 years can make. That’s the time span between the two times I’ve seen Jewel in concert. Her voice. Wow! The range. Incredible. The depth to her songs. The artistry of her guitar playing. It has been a long while since I have been so thrilled to be...
Jewel showcases her songwriting, vocal prowess
What a difference 16 years can make. That’s the time span between the two times I’ve seen Jewel in concert. Her voice. Wow! The range. Incredible. The depth to her songs. The artistry of her guitar playing. It has been a long while since I have been so thrilled to be...
Book Review: ‘Are You There God?’ a classic worth revisiting
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (Atheneum Books, 1970) is a classic coming of age novel by Judy Blume that this year was made into a motion picture. I think I read the book when I was kid, but not 100 percent certain. I certainly knew of it. This spring I saw the...
Environmentalists trying to protect Baja’s waters
It would be hard to find a place that humans haven’t ruined in some manner. Fortunately, the stories about recovery—by humans—are also out there. One of those places is Cabo Pulmo National Park on the east side of Baja Sur in Mexico. This...
People and nature out of balance in Todos Santos
Balance. It’s something much of Baja California Sur is trying to figure out, with Todos Santos in the thick of it. The balance of people and natural resources is at the crux of so many issues embroiling this town. Money is also an integral component. Development is an...
Little-known Gravenstein apples delicious whole, baked or juiced
Gravenstein—it’s not an apple that is often found in stores. But most people who live (or have lived as is the case with me) in Sonoma County know all about them. These orchards once dominated the landscape more than wine grapes. While the origins of how this orb...
Popular Lake Tahoe roadway and summit full of history
Thousands of people drive up and down Kingsbury Grade and over Daggett Summit every day without thinking about how they got their names. Charles Daggett may have one or two T’s in his last name. The sign atop the 7,334 foot summit that splits the South Shore of Lake...
Once thriving Nevada town reduced to roadside marker
Sheridan was once a metropolis in Nevada. Do you even know where this Douglas County town is located? Well, it’s not a town anymore. As with so many towns that sprouted in the West, settlers moved on and the town withered away. A marker on Foothill Road in the Carson...
Sparkling wine dazzles with its complexity of flavors
Bubbles, more bubbles, and yet even more bubbles. What an education in flavors of Champagne—OK, sparkling wine because this was California after all. Call it what you want, an afternoon of tasting at Domaine Carneros in Napa was sublime. Sue and I ordered different...
Book Review: ‘No Ordinary Assignment’ proves importance of journalists
No Ordinary Assignment (HarperCollins, 2023) is almost an understated title for Jane Ferguson’s memoir. Ferguson is an award-winning journalist who has traveled from one war-torn country to the next all in the name of providing viewers the truth. While news executives...
Sprawling outdoor museum pays homage to logging industry
Remnants of the logging industry are scattered about Oregon like sawdust. One place this is evident is at the Collier Logging Museum, which is less than two hours south of Bend, Ore., on Highway 97. People have been cutting down trees for millennia—for fire, shelter,...
