Dishonoring Alaska’s Larsen Bay “Old Ones”
After stumbling through heavy undergrowth in a remote corner of Alaska’s Kodiak Island, I stood over a vaguely familiar piece of bone protruding from moss covered ground. I carefully pried it loose with the toe of my boot from a thick overlay of covering moss wondering, “What’s this from?”
Suddenly my host’s voice interrupted the reverie, […]
Alaska - A Spirited Adventure
The wife and I recently booked an excursion to Alaska based on recommendations from a peer outdoor writer based in Fairbanks, Alaska. When contacting him, I outlined photography priorities programmed for the trip which strongly included whale viewing and brown bears – preferably with cubs. Everything else was secondary. Without hesitating, he recommended Steele […]
[more...]Newest Third World Country – Katrina’s Devastated Gulf Coast
Kurt Olsen, Pascagoula, Mississippi stood near the skeleton of his Katrina shelled house. Its gutted frame, incongruously elevated on temporary 10-foot high wooden pillars, loomed over us in the background as he related a post-Katrina “carpetbag” story. It mirrors, in one form or another, tens of thousands, or more, of other ripped-off Gulf […]
[more...]Fishing South Dakota’s “Father of Waters”
Brad Garrett, Oahe (O-wah-hee) Lake fishing guide, bent his rod to duel with one of Lake Oahe’s finest. Fishing a bottom bouncer trailing a 24-inch leader equipped with stinger hook and night crawler, he eventually fought a large walleye grudgingly to the surface.
In Oahe’s crystalline waters, the trophy first swam into view 15-feet down. Garrett […]
Trail Riders Explore Missouri’s Scenic Rivers
Eight months each year, Cross Country Trail Ride, Eminence, Missouri, annually attracts from 500 to 2800 trail riders per monthly event to one of Missouri’s most scenic Ozark sites. The area is steeped in history. Its settlement was part of the westward migration fueled by hardy pioneers who brought little more than the sweat of […]
[more...]Meso-American Ruins Connect With Widely Dispursed Ancient Cultures
If not aware of the culture’s violent history that inhabited Tulum’s incredibly idyllic setting, you might, while strolling through it, let thoughts drift towards envy for those formerly living in this Caribbean Paradise. In reality, by today’s western standards, life in ancient Tulum hovered on sanity’s edge.
A narrow passageway penetrates an 18-foot wide massive […]
Missouri’s Bridal Cave & Ha Ha Tonka (Tonga) - The Rest of the Story.
In 1799, an aging “Kaintuck” Indian fighter migrated to Missouri. In doing so, Daniel Boone, sons Nathan and Daniel Morgan as well as other scions of the Boone family tree, spent the balance of their lives raising their families and seeking their fortunes on Missouri’s frontier. Today, these pathfinders’ Missouri graves testify to life-long commitments […]
[more...]Zimbabwe - The Lost Garden of Eden
This article was originally published in 1995 before Mugabe’s 1999 land grabs spiraled Zimbabwe into today’s disastrous economic collapse. It is now reported the only whites left in Zim are those who can’t afford to leave or their bones rest in a cemetery plot. However Mugabe doesn’t always play favorites. He, reportedly, is rapidly filling […]
[more...]Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley - North America’s Serengeti - Part II
Twelve wolves from the Slough Creek pack first surrounded and then, simply sat or lay in the snow confronting (“testing”) a taciturn innocently grazing huge bull bison. Two lay directly behind him. Several more positioned to either side. Three stood or sat in front of him.
The deceptively ponderous looking prey occasionally maneuvered his massive […]
Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley - North America’s Serengeti - Part I
While our expedition leaders set up spotting-scopes at a predawn stop within sight of the Tetons, I wrestled camera and tripod into position focusing on a magnificent sunrise washing across fog-shrouded and the freshly snow-draped Tetons. Suddenly, excited whispers escalated to low voices, then rose to just this side of shouting from the group […]
[more...]