Archive for 2010
The Art of Exploration archive is where you'll find my past writings and thoughts. You are currently viewing a list of articles that were published in 2010.
- Canyonlands
- Island in the Sky—a vast slab of rust-tinted sandstone 1,000 feet higher than the surrounding landscape—is not the ideal place to find yourself during a lightning storm.
- Lotsa Redrock
- This is one of those vistas that made me think of the scene from Lawrence of Arabia in which TE Lawrence and Sherif Ali stood at the edge of Nefud Desert, which of course they had to cross in order to attack Aqaba by the land.
- The Hike to Delicate Arch
- Have you ever had that dream where you’re hiking to the Moon? Maybe not. But anyway, it was a bit like that, like hiking to the Moon. Or Mars perhaps, because it certainly was a long way. And red.
- Wolfe Ranch
- Wolfe Ranch is located near Salt Wash in Arches National Park.
- Fiery Furnace
- In what amounts to another illustration of the fact that I should never be allowed to name a national landmark or monument, I thought “Fiery Furnace” looked more like “Box of Melted Crayons”. All red crayons of course, but still.
- Parade of Elephants
- The thing that struck me about Arches National Park was that it so plainly illustrates the vast number of ways there are to erode a rock. There were wind-warn rocks, water-sculpted rocks, and crumbling-from-beneath rocks.
- Devil’s Garden
- By the time we reached Devil’s Garden we were pretty much exhausted. We wondered if we had the energy for another hike. We inspected the map to determine what was out there.
- Balanced Rock
- There’s a path around Balanced Rock that is all fine and dandy when you’re on the one side, which I shall here refer to as the Sunny, Balanced Side. Simply put, Sunny, Balanced Side is the side toward which the rock isn’t leaning.
- A Weekend in Door County
- A fog of anxiety and exhaustion plagues me right now. What I need is a bonafide mini break. My most practical escape route is a northerly one to Door County, Wisconsin. I book several nights at Stone Harbor Resort.
- Two Storms
- I’ve heard that in the moments before a tsunami crashes ashore, the sea rushes away from the beach. I’ve also heard that what you don’t want to do at such a time is follow the sea as it rushes out, because it’s coming back with it a bloody big wave.
- Monsoons
- The rains are here. For five days straight, I’ve lived under leaden skies and breathed in damp air. The garden is lush, which saves me the chore of watering flowerbeds twice daily.
- A Hot Day in May
- It was the kind of weather that wilts flowers. The temperature climbed to ninety degrees and the air grew thick and soupy by mid-morning.
- Summer Recreation
- Pictures from a trip to southern Illinios with my mom to visit Garden of the Gods National Wilderness in the Shawnee National Forest. The lack of concrete in southern Illinois is refreshing.
- Garden of the Gods Wilderness
- Pictures from a trip to southern Illinios with my mom to visit Garden of the Gods National Wilderness in the Shawnee National Forest.
- Outbound Flight
- My flight to the UK took a northerly route, so much so that the wing tip skimmed the air above the southern shores of Greenland and I was able to capture a rare glimpse of the rugged, frozen island.
- Greehouse Indulgence
- Today I indulged in more greenhouse escapism. It’s all an elaborate plan to avoid as much of the remaining winter as possible. Unfortunately, I’m running out of local greenhouses to visit and winter still has a firm choke-hold on the Chicago area.
- Mitchell Park Conservatory
- January is getting to me. I made it through most of the month without complaining about the weather, but I can take it no more. I am finally and officially sick of winter. It’s cold, its grey, and I’ve had enough.
- Acclimation
- This caliber of cold takes some getting used to. I thought I would ease myself into it by going for a short ten-minute walk to get acclimated to the arctic air.
