We drank our instant coffee amidst the snowy seeds coming off the Cottonwoods that give our campsite its name. I started packing up before realizing that for once we were spending more than one night in the same place. We set out for the Chimney Trail before the heat of the day began. It was …
We woke up at dawn on the surprisingly cold and windy ridge over Seminole Canyon and started our long drive to Big Bend National Park. We traced the southern border for hours, passing little besides mesquite, purple sage, cacti, and wire fencing marking the boundaries of ranches. The relatively flat landscape we’d been driving through …
After a few days on the road sleeping in the car it was good to get the tent set up again. Planting the stakes into the ground feels like putting down roots, even if it’s only for one night. McKinney Falls State Park is just on the edge of the Austin city limits and offers …
Thalassophobia directly translates from the Greek to “fear of the sea,” but it can extend to fear of large bodies of water, fear of being too far from land, or fear of the vast emptiness of the ocean. But the definition that resonates the most with me is “the fear of what lies beneath.” I’m …
We woke up to blue skies on our first morning in the Everglades. The first exotic creatures we encountered were our fellow campers. A family’s worth of bicycles leaned against a massive RV, playing the soft sounds of pulsing electronic music as mom and dad pumped iron beside the picnic table. Across from them a …
Tiffany got the day off work and the three of us went back up to see a little more of Lincolnville, the historically black neighborhood in St. Augustine that was pivotal in the Civil Rights movement. Truly a city full of history, you can stand where important events occurred in the 1960s a few blocks …
Driving around the country, exploring new places, and going on adventures has been great. There’s nothing like falling asleep outside to a symphony of night insects, or waking up in a new place everyday, or seeing a creature you’ve never seen before. But there’s also something to be said for sitting on a couch and …
Continue reading Papillon, Peacocks, and Paintings (and a Huge Fortress)
I woke up early enough to catch the sun coming up through the mist rising off of Salt Springs. I shared the view with this Blue Heron who stood on one leg watching me over his shoulder. I fired up my trusty Pocket Rocket, which I carried on the Appalachian Trail, and woke Kate up …
We came South to Florida, where we stopped at the Timucuan Preserve. It is a huge park spanning both sides of the mouth of the Saint John’s River, so we had to choose a section and opted for the historic Fort Caroline. It wasn’t until we got there that we learned it was a recreation …
Our final day in South Carolina and we spent most of it across the border in Georgia at Savanah’s Telfair museum. We took a quick walk through the 19th century aristocratic mansion turned art academy, viewing furnished rooms from the period and some of the family’s acquisitions from several trips “traveling the continent.” The museum …
Beyond the Fold 