During my third year living in Japan, in 2011, I made a potter’s pilgrimage to three historic towns where contemporary potters, many descended from old masters, still produce mingei, stoneware folk pottery. This trip had been long planned; I had spent years gathering information andContinue reading “A potter’s pilgrimage: Bizen”
The south rim drive along Canyon de Chelly gives one the big picture of its depth and length. The walls tower over one thousand feet high at its deepest. The wash meandering through it doesn’t seem powerful enough to have carved this spectacular scenery, butContinue reading “Canyon rim drive”
I began this road trip hiking the red rock canyons of St. George, Utah. Turning north from Tucson, towards my home in Colorado, the stunning red rock Canyon de Chelly National Monument beckoned. I stayed two nights at the Thunderbird Lodge on the grounds, managedContinue reading “Canyon de Chelly”
A walk around the grounds of the Botanical Gardens before leaving the Tucson area. The scenery, despite the arid climate, is home to the unusual shapes of cacti and succulents, tall and tiny, rugged and intricate. Not as planned or sculpted as the Desert GardenContinue reading “Desert landscapes”
Always looking for an interesting place to walk, I strolled the grounds at Tucson Botanical Gardens. The highlight of the park was the butterfly center. Staff members or volunteers limited the numbers in the enclosed area, and carefully checked for butterflies that may have landedContinue reading “Butterflies in Tucson”
After a long day’s drive across the desert southwest from California, I spent a few days in Tucson with a friend from younger days. As with my other stops along this road trip, I wasn’t looking for cityscapes. However, since I had arranged to meetContinue reading “Tucson street art”
Just north of San Diego, in La Jolla Cove and adjoining beaches, harbor seals and California sea lions make their home. Carefully warned by signage and rangers not to approach too close, visitors gather to watch their antics and photograph. I spent a glorious fewContinue reading “La Jolla sealife”
A long day’s drive took me from St George, Utah to temperate Carlsbad in southern California, avoiding the glitz of Las Vegas and Nevada road stops with their flashing signs, through desolate desert landscapes with occasional sculpted rock outcroppings. Carlsbad has a comfortable and attractiveContinue reading “California beach walking”
North of the town of St. George, Utah, the big draw in Pioneer Park was the Narrows, a slot canyon. I watched while two youngsters squeezed through the stone passage. Their father stood by and encouraged them, then climbed around the rocks to meet themContinue reading “Pioneer Park”
The National Parks in southern Utah are spectacular: Arches, Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands. If you haven’t been, that would be my recommended route, a day or days in each. In past years, my son and I hiked every trail in Arches, and I’ve waded through theContinue reading “St George trails”
The ski traffic was already backing up as I merged onto the highway going west. It was Friday morning of a three-day weekend, so I knew I needed to get on the road before bumper-to-bumper creeping set in. I live in the Rocky Mountains, notContinue reading “Glenwood Springs”
Although I have pages of photos in the Photography section of this website, I prefer a mix of writing and images in this blog. However, these doors and windows on the streets of Antigua, Guatemala are worth sharing along with the Antigua posts. So manyContinue reading “Antigua doors and windows”
Christianity came to Latin America with the Spaniards, with missionaries following conquerors and colonizers. In Guatemala, there is an interesting mix between traditional Catholicism and Mayan religions. The stories and beliefs of the indigenous peoples have somehow infused even today’s culture. Every town and villageContinue reading “Antigua saints and ruins”
The old, beautifully preserved Spanish colonial city of Antigua was at one time the capital of Guatemala until it was decimated in the 1700s by a massive earthquake. Now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, Antigua Guatemala, or Old Guatemala, sometimesContinue reading “Antigua”
A day bus trip from Takayama to Shirakawa-go brought me to the UNESCO World Heritage village of Shirakawa-go. Weathered brown wood cottages topped by steeply angled, thick thatched roofs have been well preserved, probably because it was so isolated in years past. Gassho-zukuri, the architectural style, meansContinue reading “Shirakawa-go”
It was a long ride to Takayama: a couple of hours west to Nagoya by Shinkansen or bullet train, then a couple more on an express. The train headed north into Gifu prefecture to what is known as the Japanese Alps, following the Hida river in aContinue reading “Takayama”
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Lovely, my adventurous traveling friend. How did you like the “fresh” fish?
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Thank you! It was fine once it was cut up. I prefer not to think that my teeth were the instrument that killed something.
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