Posts filed under "Talking Story"
Windy and cold, with a chance of snow
Got back from Texas last night. We were only home for an hour or two when the power went out. Micah and I could see the wind waves on the water from 8,000 feet as we dropped into Sea-Tac at last light yesterday. On final approach, our 737 was clearly being buffeted about, and I […]
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A Texas farewell
From where I’m sitting here in front of this screen, I can hear Micah coughing like a chain-smoker. The boy is still sleeping – how, I don’t know – and he sounds like a candidate for a throat transplant as he tosses his sweaty head from side to side on his pillow. I gave him […]
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That time again
The Tacoma Polar Bear Paddle last January 1st was a rousing success. So much so, it’s on again for this coming New Year’s Day. It’s free, there’s give-away swag and it’s a chance to give something back to the community by donating canned food for a local food bank. It’s open to kayaks, canoes, rowers […]
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Veteran’s Day, 2010
Thank you to all those who have served, to those of all eras who have put their lives on the line to protect the hope of what this nation can be. To those who take the pain so we don’t have to, who watch in the briars at the gate while we sleep quietly on […]
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Gone to Texas
Micah and I are leaving town today, taking the silver bird to Dallas. There are some very good friends of mine that live about two hours south of there, in the heart of Texas hill country, on the shores of Lake Whitney. I’ve known Charles and Yvonne for 25 years or more – met them […]
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Changing of the guard
Last night’s meeting of the Matelót went well, my final meeting as President. It has been a good year, with a lot more people getting out there than in years past, and more paddlers getting comfortable in their boats. The new President, by almost-unanimous acclamation – his vote against was the only nay – is […]
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Reasoning with winter
This is the time of year when I normally hunker down. I’ve always liked to use the long nights to plan for those trips that are loosely scheduled for next year, for when the sun comes back, when the weather and the psyche are ready for them. This is not to say I don’t go […]
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Protection Island
I have been to Protection Island. Have actually stood on the beach, which any kayaker knows is not allowed. It’s a wildlife refuge, after all, off-limits. Protected Island. A place hidden in plain sight, close enough to touch but just out of reach. I can explain, of course, and I will in good time. But […]
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Carpe Diem
It never ceases to throw me, to befuddle my sense of all that is right and natural, this indecisiveness of climate that is so common here in western Washington. By that, I mean, the way that summer turns to fall, then back to summer for a while, then immediately to winter. Icy mornings, then back […]
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A Commercial interlude
The Last Wilderness is a collection of ramblings, more than anything else. It is not, and has never been, part of a focused marketing effort. I wanted it to be interesting, for me as well as for others; it was never designed to make money. As readership has increased, however, I have started to get […]
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A story of sea kayaking and science on the rugged coast of Alaska. Coming – Spring 2014.
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