Roads Less Traveled

At first, when I dip my toes into the frigid waters of the Boiling River, I think that there’s no truth in advertising these days.  As I struggle to maintain my balance and work my way downstream to where I can see the mists rising from a roiling make shift hot tub, my impression deepens.  From the river bank, boiling hot water issuing from fissures in the rock and upstream geothermal caverns merges with ice-cold water from the mountain streams so that at times one shaky leg is freezing and the other is nearly scalding.  Soon, though, I am able to just ease myself down into a warm water confluence and slip downstream far enough to find myself enjoying a hot mineral bath courtesy of Father Nature along with my new best friends, a couple from Whitefish, Montana, another from Marseilles, France, and a gaggle of teenage girls from parts unknown.  I spend the next hour just relaxing in the hot embrace of these soothing waters while enjoying the splendor and beauty that is Yellowstone National Park all around me.

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Well, it’s that time of year, when fools, blowhards, and certifiable nutcases try to predict what’s coming up in 2019.  I’m not sure what category I fall into (you choose), but, for what it’s worth, here’s my top ten 2019 predictions:

Alabama will take home yet another national championship.  Once they get past a high-flying game against Oklahoma, they’ll maul Clemson in the CFP Championship game, further cementing Nick Saban’s legendary status as the greatest college football coach of all time.  Bank on it.

Vladimir Putin is not your typical politician.  Anyone who has heard him speak, of course, knows that he doesn’t mince his words or suffer fools gladly, and I’m delighted to say he was in top form at his December 20 annual news conference in Moscow.  One particularly amusing exchange during the event illustrates this dynamic perfectly.

International politics and hypocrisy have always gone together like sewers and stink, but the contrast between the recent media and government reactions to the Skripal poisoning, on the one hand, and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, on the other, reflects a new high water mark for duplicity and deceit by the New World Order and its satraps.  

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There was once a magic era when America built screaming, asphalt-gobbling, tire smoking, monster-motor muscle cars, and I’m happy to say that I still remember those days clearly, even though they were, in the immortal song by Don Maclean, “a long, long time ago”.    Back during the “far out” 60’s and 70’s the game was for the Big Three to stuff giant, gas-gulping 426 Hemis, 427 Tri-Powers, and 429 Cobra Jets into the coolest-looking cars they could build and send them straight to the drag strip, Daytona, or even, in one case, to the local Hertz Rent a Car pool to create what became known as the most insane cars to ever emerge from Motown design studios-the rompin’, stompin’, all-American muscle car.

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Poland was never on my bucket list of places to see.  Not that I didn’t like it-I just never really thought about it at all, even though my travels have frequently taken me near the Polish border.  That’s why I wasn’t super excited when I was invited to a Polish wedding.  But I am glad I went, because Poland and its people were a surprise and a delight! Continue reading →

If you’re like me, the first thing you do when planning a trip to Europe is to consult the Rick Steves country guide.  I’ve been buying his popular books for years, and I’m rarely disappointed or confused with the recommendations or itineraries.  That is, until I decided to go to Norway…

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I just hiked the Alum Cave Bluffs Trail in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and it was a real joy.  The Fall weather was perfect, the trail was perfectly clean, and the scenery was as magnificent as any on God’s canvas.  Here I’m hoping to provide you with some quick tips if you decide to take the same hike…things that they won’t tell you at the Ranger Station (or anywhere else, so far as I know):

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