travel

Can Spiders Fly?

 in travel / Wildlife/animals  tagged Charles Darwin / flying spiders / granddaughter / Oregon / spider research / travel by

At a scenic overlook in northeastern Oregon, an iridescent green spider caught my eye. Our granddaughter Mysa has a fascination for spiders, so I got my camera out. Then I noticed that the spider was struggling. One of its legs seemed to be stuck to our truck door. It twisted one way and then another, fighting a stiff breeze along with being stuck. I helpfully took a video. Glancing around to see if my husband was ready to go, I turned back to the truck and saw the spider glide by using a long strand of web as a magic […]

spider

Eternal Truths from Pompeii

 in Greece / nicknames / travel  tagged ancients / archeology / death / Pompeii / symbols / travel / truths / Volcano by

After Grandmother read me the story of Pompeii, I sniffled over those tortured deaths by volcanic ash. Then I realized that Grandmother would die someday, and sobbed. I never dreamed that Pompeii held yet more shocking truths for me. I first toured Pompeii in 1973, and being a teen, my only clear memory is of a painting kept locked behind a grate to shield the innocence of children. In the painting, a man weighs his mega-member against a heap of gold on a balance scale. Interpretation: a man’s organ is more valuable than wealth. Fifty years later, Pompeii’s 66 acres […]

Glorious Grecian Gluten

 in Gratitude / Greece / travel / Travel tips  tagged Athens / baklava / European gluten / European river cruise / gluten free / Greece / Italy / rash / Santorini / tour guide / travel by

I wanted to scratch my skin off to make the itching stop. Even prescription meds couldn’t calm my rash. When I finally got in to see the dermatologist, she could offer only a list of possible allergens. Eliminating the allergens did nothing to help. After years of suffering, a friend suggested that I go gluten free. I bit the bullet and found blessed relief. Before I learned how to avoid the pitfalls, I learned that taking chances wasn’t worth the indulgence. The rash from even a small serving of glutenous food can bring a month of misery. So, when a […]

Athenian Subway Tour

 in Gratitude / Greece / travel  tagged Athena / Athens / avoiding pickpockets / GoAhead Tours / pickpockets / subway / travel by

Tour director Rachel recruited my husband Steve to help haul excess luggage across Athens, then treated him to a Metro ride back. She knew that taking the Metro was dicey. During the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, Greece had no resources to prevent illegal immigrants from flooding in, so Athens was overrun with desperate people, some of whom still struggle to survive. Many have turned to picking pockets, and the subway is an ideal locale for getting hands-on. After having Rachel point out a few likely candidates, Steve noticed that though pickpockets dress like tourists, they reek of body […]

Canyoneering in Iceland Inspires! 2

 in Iceland / Inspiration / travel  tagged canyoneering / hiking / Iceland / inspiration / Nauthusagil / scenery / slot canyon / travel / waterfalls by

Our Icelandic self-driving tour book described, “a little water adventure:…by walking carefully on rocks in a stream, you can avoid getting your feet wet and see a waterfall.” Yes! I steadied my rickety knees with a hiking stick and tackled the rocks. Falling into the shallow stream wouldn’t have killed me. I’d likely have been hurt though, so I struggled along testing every step, setting my stick, grappling the canyon wall for grips, stopping to revel in the beauty. The canyon walls soon narrowed to a slot with scenery so gorgeous I groaned. Passing hikers warned that the rocks ahead […]

Mystery in the Mud

 in Arizona / Snowbirding / travel / Wildlife/animals  tagged camping / desert / donkeys / Imperial Dam / Senator Wash / tracks / travel / Yuma Arizona by

Outside Yuma, Arizona—not far from the Mexican border—my husband and I got lucky in finding a dispersed camping spot along the Senator Wash lake front. The reservoir water level had receded, leaving extra beach space, and I spent hours soaking in the view while walking a swath of dried lakebed. Strangely, the mud had dried into zillions of baseball size pockmarks. I wondered if some special property of the soil caused it to dry with depressions. Had some aquatic species somehow excavated indentations? Too small for people tracks…dog, coyote, bobcat, deer? Maybe, but probably too small, and anyway, that many […]

Aud the Deepminded

 in Iceland  tagged Aud the Deep Minded / Dublin / Hebrides / Iceland / Isle of Mann / nicknames / Norse history / Scotland / slavery / travel / Vikings by

The Norse had no last names so used nicknames to specify which Harald, Olaf, or Sven.  Some nicknames were graphic, referring to genitals or, say, skull splitting.  Others were funny: Furbreeches, the Amorous, or Lousebeard.  Many were simply descriptive, Forkbeard, Thinhair, Bluetooth.     Women’s nicknames included Horsegelder, Shipbreast, and one of my favorite ancestors, Aud the Deepminded.   Odd that Aud’s nickname is so exalting.  Cnut the Great and Aud are the only very positive ones I’ve come across. Aud’s father was Ketil Flatnose who made himself a king by conquering the Hebrides and Isle of Man.  Her husband was […]

Celebrity Vendor

 in Peru / Wildlife/animals  tagged jewelry vendor / Kevin Costner / llamas / Machu Picchu / movies / Peru / train / travel by

Kevin Costner introduced himself to me as I waited in line for the train to Machu Picchu.  He was amazingly well disguised as a Peruvian jewelry vendor, but he couldn’t resist leaking the plan for his upcoming sequel. He and Julia Roberts were going to start filming Dancing With Llamas the following week.  That was about five years ago, so I expect it will be showing anytime now.

Camping in a Shoot Out

 in Arizona / camping  tagged Arizona / ATV riding / Black Canyon Trail / Phoenix / primitive camping / Table Mesa Recreation Area / target shooting / travel by

We noticed some people target shooting as we looked for a camping spot in  Arizona’s Table Mesa BLM Recreation Area.  Unlike other BLM camping we’ve used, these primitive campsites were grouped which seemed a good idea to prevent bullet riddled campers.  I could almost smell the testosterone wafting off rough and ready campsites and wicked rigs.  Between that and the steady barrage of gunfire, we weren’t sure we’d stay long.  If our poor dog had had a vote, we wouldn’t have stayed at all. The sunset was killer, but the firing continued far into the night.  Bullets rattled in bursts, […]