Category Archives: Travel

Troll Treasures

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Thomas and two prized volunteers!

We’ve been enchanted by Thomas Dambo’s trolls since we first set eyes on some of his work in Denmark. How cool it would be to get to help build one of his trolls? When we learned his team would be coming to Victor, Colorado to build a troll, we decided that was close enough.

As an artist, Dambo is living close to his ethos by building art from reusable wood and creating expressive spirits that arise from local space and culture. Every troll has a name, a unique story, a new design challenge, but all are part of a global troll family, all watching out for the little people. Us.

Working with Thomas’ team was an enriching cultural exchange showing once again, that we are more alike than we are different. To find Thomas’ trolls, visit: https://trollmap.com/

Artist at work

Early stage

Hands on!

Yellow Parachute Test

Several years ago our friend, and inventor, Ed Rios made a prototype drag parachute for tandem use. His stoker, Jane, wisely refused to participate in the test, and of course we volunteered. Stoker Claire wore and deployed the chute which, after a bit of a jerk on deployment, worked to bring our speed to reasonable levels on a descent of Mt. Lemmon just outside of Tucson, Arizona. We loved it! It would need to be bigger for touring less smooth roads, but for day rides, perfect. Ed, how about making it double as a tent fly/tarp?

A Walk in a Chennai, India Neighborhood

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but the rains have come hard, making walking the muddy, cow shit and trash strewn streets a bit of a challenge. People here take it in stride, they have to, they know the drill, keep to the less dirty narrow pavement as much as buses, trucks, cars and motos allow, wade the mud and poop when you have to, rinse your sandaled feet in the least muddy water you find, carry an umbrella at all times; it’s a hard rain that falls brother.

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Overland Expo 2013: Overland Travel; Different Strokes…

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The Overland Expo is an international gathering of people who love overland travel in its many forms. The attendees range from newbies, interested in the latest kit (gear) and guided tours, to solo women who’ve traveled the continents on a motorcycle. As bicycle tourists with 43,000 miles around the world on our tandem, we share much with the hard core, and can remember being a newbie. The range of people and their changing passions is what this six minute mini-documentary is about

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Jorge Luis Borges, and The New Bohemians, on Life and Travel

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While working on New Bohemians today I ran across this previous post. The quote from Jorge Luis Borges evoked memories: they flashed across my inner travel screen, not in pixels, but in soft amorphous remembered images, scents, labored lungs and heart, sweat soaked, cold shivers; wind cooled and sun warmed. Smiles from faces never to be seen again… I thought I’d re-post. Share.

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The Lost Hiker, Big Spring Canyon Loop

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We’ve hiked most of the trails in Needles during our five week volunteer stint, but still hadn’t been able to replicate the hike we did a decade ago with Northwest friends, Jack and Mary Lange. We remembered that we had started and ended in Loop A of the campground

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Peekaboo and Rock Art Too; Seeking Rock Art in Needles District of Canyonlands

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We went straight to the panel and I was blown away. All pictographs (paint on rock) are special, but this one is unique. The white pigment leaps out from the red sandstone in the reflected light of the overhang, and the string of dots (passing of the sun?) is something we haven’t seen before, though admittedly we are novices in the extreme in this rock art appreciation hobby.

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The West. A deep breath of dry cool air.

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We topped a small rise in western Kansas in Turtle. Morning light cast our shadow down a long straight road ahead of us. The colors were intense, the air sparkled, the land rolled off in wheat stubble and stone fence posts to a horizon uncut by haze. A railroad track led to a lone grain elevator. I took an involuntary deep breath; a gasp almost, of clean dry air. It’s been months since I’ve been able to see that far, months since the air was so clear, blue and white and wheat color, chocolate loam, the sky so big, so big.

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Bicycling to Spruce Knob, West Virginia

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The reason for the smaller trees in the past was fire, no doubt caused by logging operations in the early part of the 20th century. The same fires burned Dolly Sods; both produced a unique landscape that is now returning to something akin to the original heavy forest cover. I’m not so sure it might be time to burn both again to regain the special character they had for nearly a century. I’m sure the idea would be controversial, but worth consideration..

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Jon Webb; Glint of Humor and Joy

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At a distance I would not have recognized Jon had I passed him on the street, nor he I; forty plus years changes a body! But as I got closer, and the small talk proceeded, I began to notice bits of body language that hadn’t changed. As the memories of that time begat one story and another and another, suddenly there was a thing that touched me: an unmistakable Santa Klaus glint in his eye, a window into the humor and joy that is at the heart of the man; always has been, always will.

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Do it Now. Say Thank You. Thank you, Ken Steinhoff and Lila Steinhoff, and Mary too!

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For the past twenty some years I’ve been doing something that brings me great satisfaction, something I recommend to you. Express your appreciation to those who have had an impact on your life. Begin with your parents, if you are so lucky to have one or both, your siblings, teachers, work mates, bosses, old friends, spiritual guides; anyone who had an impact on your life’s path. When you begin thinking about these people, you will be amazed, as was I, at the people who helped form your present self. It’s a wonderful process, one I don’t expect to fin

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Along the Rio Santa in Peru on a bicycle tour in South America
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Our narrow tandem tires cut into the dust and bounce and slide from one auto-tire slickened rock to another. We hope to avoid the shattered and sharpened hidden ones, capable of ruining our day, and one of our tires. We have one spare, and wonder if we should not have brought two. A few times a particularly viscous rock (by the second day I was attributing evil intent to certain rocks) would throw the front wheel toward the abyss, necessitating a dual bail out.

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Sloth in Iquitos, Peru in the Amazonian Basin

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Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and Amazon Animal Orphanage, a short boat ride from Iquitos, where founder Gudrun Sperrer gave us a personal tour. Pupating caterpillars just aren’t as photogenic as a sleepy sloth. The sad story is that there is even a need for this place, a place where Peruvian children finally learn that big blue butterflies don’t come from little blue butterflies; shockingly, the metamorphosis of butterflies isn’t taught in school so Sperrer hosts field trips.

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So Much Like a County Fair in any U.S. State

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We went to an agricultural fair in the Peruvian Andes and were surprised at just how much it was like our own county fairs. There was even a cuy (guinea pig) queen, lots of farm animals, food and even a limited but very popular equestrian jumping competition.

We had cuy for lunch. A little greasy and not much meat, but not bad tasting. Claire shot some video. Many photos coming.

PS. We love Cajamarca; brightly painted, clean, good food and music, friendly people who don’t seem to look at us a tourists. Maybe it’s because Gringoes don’t come here. More Andes tomorrow.

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Looking Back On Time an article by Claire Rogers in Desert Leaf

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Because the Earth’s magnetic poles wander erratically over time, the magnetic orientation of artifacts from a site can be tied to specific dates in the geologic time scale.
Archaeologists love a good mystery, and they have found one at the base of the Tucson Mountains. One quarter mile from the West Branch of the Santa Cruz River, near what is now the intersection of Mission and Irvington roads, a complex of ancient settlements bears the markers of abrupt change. From A.D. 950 to 1140, agriculture in the area appeared to be on the rise and the population in flux. Initial archaeological research at the West Branch site began in 1984; nine years later, additional inquiry added volumes to what was previously known about the boom and bust of this period in Tucson’s pre-history.

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The (Chinese) Communist Party Are Eating Their Young

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Our world is becoming complicated. Cold War ways of thinking about Asia in particular are useless, damaging to our foreign policy. I wish more Americans would use their wealth to see, really see, our World, and understand that it is not as we were taught in school. Go and experience for yourselves, the lives of people, who except for accident of birth, are not that much different than you. Remember that; not that much different than you.

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Litang, Tibetan Sichuan, No tourists here!

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Litang is far from a tourist town. The roads are so bad that the Han Chinese find it quite an adventure to travel there via modern SUV to view the, strange to them, Tibetans. They found it quite strange to find two Westerners, a couple, riding a tandem bicycle, on the roads and elevations they found so daunting. They are daunting, and took a physical toll on us, leading to a well deserved rest in a town we came to love, and found difficult to leave, despite the high elevation and wonky weather.

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Ear Wax Removal Guaranteed, and Safer than the Vietnamese Barber’s Method

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I do have an ear wax removal method you can do yourself. Before you shower, fill one ear with vegetable oil and let it soak by lying on your side for five minutes, or more if you can stand it. Absorb the oil with a paper towel when you stand. Shower with a moderately strong stream of warm water into that ear. After a couple of minutes, turn your ear to the bottom of the shower, jump on your right leg and bang your head on the opposite side, gently.

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Petrified Forest National Park: hidden gem just off I-40 N. Arizona

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Recently Claire and I were lucky enough to catch a hike guided by the park paleontologist and an interpretive ranger. The short, two mile or so, hike took us away from the road and interpretive signs and into the washes and flats where dinosaurs died 225 million years ago in the late Triassic Period. We found pieces of bone and Claire even found an intact tooth. The stark landscape adds to the mystery and amazement of the realization that you are holding a thing, that was once part of a living Stagonolepis so long ago. Nothing like science to put one’s lifespan into perspective.

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Snowy cold Tibetan pass for two weary travelers

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When we awoke it was still raining, spattering the mud puddles of the courtyard with discouraging regularity. We couldn’t imagine another day of near hypothermia, and more hills and bad roads. But, we didn’t want to stay another day with the road workers, nice as they were, so we packed up our filthy gear and steeled ourselves for the day. By the time we were ready to go, the rain had stopped, and there was even a hint of blue over the first hill. The road workers were spot on with their description of the road ahead, a first on this trip.

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A New High: Into Tibet in Search of Shangri-la

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Yesterday we rode Zippy to the highest elevation ever for us. We started at 8,500 feet in Kangding and topped Zheduo Pass at 13,900 feet in 35 kilometers, or 21.7 miles, all under construction/repair. For our Olympic Peninsula friends, that’s like taking the Hurricane Ridge Road, raising the sea level start to 3,000 feet above the Ridge, loading 80 pounds on your tandem before beginning. Oh, I forgot, put 1,000 people and hundreds of trucks and equipment on the now gravel/dirt/broken concrete road.

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Into Tibetan Lands: a repost from one year ago today.

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We are getting into Tibetan prefectures and seeing the dress and features of the minority population. After a 13,000 plus pass tomorrow, they will no longer be the minority. We are already seeing prayer flags flying, and old women turning prayer wheels as they walk, men dressed in huge leather cloaks with cowboy style hats and daggers. Everyone is friendly, and the air is finally clear!

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Erlangshan Tunnel:Riding with Chinese friends, In Search of Shangri-la

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We caught them 1,000 vertical meters later at the entrance to the summit tunnel to great exclamations of pleasure and another round of picture taking, with Zippy at the center. Lucky was busy flirting with one of the girls and got left out of the picture, again!

There were police and army personnel all over the place, protecting the tunnel no doubt, and we had to show our passports to be allowed through. We had heard horror stories about the tunnel, but found it reasonably well lit and smooth. As usual, when you worry, it is always unnecessary.

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Kettle Valley Rail Trail

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We got on the, still unfinished, Kettle Valley Railway (rail trail) bypassing Kelona and on to Penticton. The Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park is the most spectacular section of the trail, with 18 trestles and two tunnels in an 8.5 kilometer section.

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Goodby Alaska, Hello Again Canada

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We missed a sow grizzly by seconds. According to volunteers, something spooked her up on to the road just before our arrival. We saw her still wet paw prints in the road after we rounded a corner. I sure am glad we weren’t there when she burst out of the brush, scared for her cubs and soon to become mad at innocent us! All we saw at the site was a few bushes rustling. All this time in the far north, and not one grizzly sighting. Maybe the wet paw prints were more exciting than seeing her from the protection of a raised viewing platform.

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Our Best Anniversary Present Ever

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Claire and I looked at each other. We both had tears in our eyes. It was our twentieth anniversary, and we were witnessing the beginning of the end of a young marriage. It didn’t take words between us to know what we would do.

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On the road to, and in, Denali National Park

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By noon our mountain bikes were loaded and we were off. The traffic was not bad, the hills fairly long. We saw the mountain (hooray!), two caribou, a family of ptarmigan, a snowshoe hare, and a huge set of grizzly tracks. We arrived at Sanctuary River with plenty of time to organize our camp and stow our food safe from bears, and from attracting bears. No bears.

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What is a Boondock? Why do we do it?

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This is a direct photo through the windshield of our motorhome, Turtle, of The Mittens in Monument Valley, Arizona. I doubt there is a very expensive RV resort, or Five Star hotel, that could offer an equal view. This was a no service parking spot on the Navajo reservation. Boondock spots (sometimes called dry camping) are free, but we paid $5 for this one. I’d say $5 is close enough to free to qualify.

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Character(s) at The End of the Road, Homer, Alaska

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After a good hard bike ride up East End Road out of Homer, we decided to celebrate the rare sunshine with ice cream for a late lunch. We bought a carton at Fred Meyer’s and took it outside to their …

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Midnight Sun Blues

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There is something about the light here this past week: soft and heavy and long nearly through the night; long and soft and ineffectual. I find it vaguely depressing, sometimes not so vaguely. An hour of blessed sunshine makes it worse, knowing it will go away and take the mountains and the spectral highlights, the sparkle, with it. The sun, slow to come, always going away, soon. I know I shouldn’t feel this way about the North. I feel guilty about, which doesn’t help any. All the beauty; moose, bears, lakes, mountains, and still snow patches and sometimes glaciers. But the light is just not there, just not right, yet.

There were days during the months we spent in Iceland

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Alaska Summer Camp, Deadman Lake.

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Not long after entering Alaska from Yukon Territory, Claire found a small lake with free camping through the Escapees listings. It was a short drive down a narrow dirt road, just small enough to keep out the big RVs. We were fairly early in the day and got the best lakeside site. We saw quite a few birds, Claire heard a loon, and I saw a pair of tundra swans patrolling the shore.

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Fountain of Need; Anchorage Encounter

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We moped through the gray afternoon, napping to the shush of the fountain and studying maps to prepare for some sunny day. Throughout the day, a lone figure moved around the park, sometimes contemplating the fountain from a lonely perch on a park bench. As others came and went, this boy stayed. I imagined that he’d planned to study in the library and was stuck waiting for a ride home once a parent got off work. He looked to be a teenager, but he wasn’t talking on a cell phone or listening to music, he was just sitting.

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St. Elias Mountains Yukon Territory Canada

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We expected bears or moose, but only had birds and wildflowers for company. The daylight is almost continuous now, and the light, when there is a break in the rainclouds, just fades and warms slowly toward 11pm, and it is light all night. I enjoy waking up and looking at the light at 2am or so, just as morning color begins to wash the sky.

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Whitehorse: A Busy First Nations Day and Solstice

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A fun example of the cultural mixing here was the jig contest. Now, I’ve always thought of the jig, danced to a fast fiddle, as an Anglo-Saxon tradition: Irish, Scottish, French, but here it’s a local tradition, with most of the dancers of First Nations descent, with plenty of mixed and white faces giving it a go. Oh, by the way, the really really excellent fiddler seemed to be from the orient. Go figure.

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Enjoying big and beautiful British Columbia, on the cheap and slow.

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t becomes almost difficult to sleep as we near the Yukon, the days are so long, the nights so short. We close all the blinds in Turtle, and it still is late before we can sleep. Light usually wakes me at 3:30am, but I’m a good sleeper, and Claire’s warmth makes it easy to wait for full sun to warm us through the windshield sometime around 6:30. At that 3:30 awakening, I open the blinds and curtain between our living area and the cab to welcome the sun. A warm house makes it easier to get out of bed at a reasonable hour.

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Beautiful British Columbia on the Alaska Highway: a hint of true North

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This was taken after 10pm through the window of Turtle at a boondock on the Alaska Highway, or as the Canadians have signed it, the Great Northern. I prefer Great Northern; more romantic than the Alaska Highway.

Long days of slantlong light, and the landscape rolling off to infinity, makes for a magical sense of otherness, of strange timelessness. We love the road, and this one is special.

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Mount St. Helens and Me; a bike ride, a ski trip, a 30 year relationship.

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I skied to a nearby ridge with friends the first February following the eruption. We snow camped with fantastic views of the still actively growing central plug. It glowed in the dark, and the splintered trees surrounding us stood out in stark gray strangeness to the white snow. During the first night we all felt an earthquake, but nobody mentioned it until late the next morning; never speak the name of Evil. It was just too scary an idea that there might be a new big eruption while we were exposed. There were constant belches of steam and ash from the crater. We were reluctant to leave. I never went back. I wanted to remember her that way, and a ski trip was an excellent way to say goodbye.

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Backroads Bicycling in the Willamette Valley

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This is the second covered bridge we have found in Oregon on back road bike rides. It is in Polk county in the foothills of the Coast Range. We have had difficulty riding in Oregon this May; the weather is atrocious, and completely unpredictable. No, make that too predictable, rain likely but just enough sun breaks to make you wish you’d gone for a ride; but it’s hard to start a ride in the rain. I guess you have just go anyway in Oregon, and hope for the best.

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Emerson Vineyards, Harvest Hosts Stay in the Willamette Valley

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Emerson, near Monmouth, Oregon, not far from Salem in the Wilmette Valley. They are on the Harvest Home program, and we were offered a parking place with spectacular views of their 25 acres of grapes and beautiful mature oak forest. We were also treated to a tasting like I remember from so many years ago, attentive and informative with no pressure to buy.

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Harvest Host Program for RVers wonderful for us so far.

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The Longsword Winery in the Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon, was the first winery that hosted us for a night under the Harvest Hosts program. For a $20 membership you receive access to a growing number of wineries and farms who will allow you to park your RV overnight without a fee.

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Android Upload Test

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Android ap for uploading directly from the phone to WordPress, had a glitch and the media (photo) wouldn’t load. They put in a fix and it works as of today. For you semi-geeks out there, it means I can take a photo, or hopefully a video, add the text and upload directly to newbohemians.net without having to have the computer on the Internet. Anywhere there is a cell signal, we can post. So if you see a photo of a huge set of grizzly teeth about to chomp my head, you’ll know what happened in real time, almost.

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New RV Friends in the snow below Donner Pass

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He didn’t specify which branch of service he was in, but we guessed it was the one that tends to be secretive. After several, appropriately vague, stories about his ventures there, we shared our experiences being lost in Laos on the spiders web of the Hoh Chi Minh Trail, and we could tell he knew all about the anti-personnel “bobmbies” we were worried about.

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Mono Lake California: Brine Shrimp and Birds Threaten Los Angeles

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The biota of the lake appears tgo be somewhat like the Great Salt Lake, brine shrimp and fly larvae the only critters able to survive in the toxic (natural) soup of water. However the birds find it the perfect place to stop by on their way north to breeding grounds; they can put on lots of weight, gain strength in a short time.

The lake is receding but not beyond historic levels. Los Angeles intercepts water before it reaches the lake, and it seems a no brainer that this is speeding up the process. There is considerable controversy over theextraction, and has been for years. It’s pretty hard to win, pitting our love of green lawns and swimming pools, against a few thousand tons of brine shrimp, and some birds.

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Deadly Bangkok, Another Side of the Story

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I wrote from Bangkok that it was a Shangri-la of major cities, and despite a few inconveniences now and then, I stand by that assessment. It is a great place to get a taste of Asia without getting too far out of your comfort zone, a place from which to launch more adventurous forays into the most important continent in the coming century.

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Litterbug: Beware Cyclists

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The three policemen, in two cars, arrived shortly afterward and parked between myself and nine cycling friends. I sat down, figuring I would be there a while. Three seemed like an awful lot, maybe they called backup out of concern that I would draw my prosthetic funnel and attempt to use it as a weapon. Or maybe the possibility of arresting a woman for urinating in public was the most interesting thing going on around campus that morning.

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Hai Van Pass, Vietnam

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This view is probably familiar to many in my generation who served in Vietnam in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was taken, looking north, from a headland jutting out into the South China Sea, forming a barrier to weather, and no doubt troop movements, between South Vietnam and North Vietnam. Hai Van Pass, Vietnam.

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Zippy: 40,000th mile.

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Give or take 100 miles, Zippy has carried us 40,000 miles around the world. He was allowed his wish, and said he wanted to play in Saigon traffic. We gave him his wish. Claire is amazed at how many near misses Zippy had; she could fee the heat from the motorcycle mufflers. Imagine what this would be like if all these motorcycles were cars! I would have liked to have been here when they were all bicycles. Well, on second thought, maybe not.

We could have never dreamed of this day when we rode away from our home in Dungeness, Washington. We are thankful for the adventures, the new friends, and the direction our lives have taken. It is amazingly appropriate that we reached this milepost in the city where Claire was born, 45 years ago.

We have a date with the mighty Mekong tomorrow. We first saw the muddy waters of the Mekong in Yunnan province China, still high in the mountains. It will be a very different river in the delta as it nears the sea.

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Zippy is ready to roll!

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Zippy shrink wrapped and ready for China. The wheels are in two other boxes, along with tools and sharp objects, a third bag will carry tent and sleeping bag for the high mountains. We’ll carry cameras and the computer in …

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The Kimberly in NW Australia, at risk from oil spill

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We rode our tandem a few thousand kilometers across and through the middle of Australia, through the Kimberly, in the far northwest. The Kimberly region is the size of California with 41,000 residents. Think of that. We rode for two to three days without seeing human habitation. There are bulbousbaobab trees and bush fires on the land, crocks and huge snakes in the billabongs and camels stomping around the tent in the night. Lovely.

We arrived in Broome probably the most remote town in the English speaking world, just in time for our anniversary, so it holds a special place in our hearts. The coast there is like all the coasts in Australia, spectacular. But the Kimberly coast is special for it’s remoteness and the austere red rock beauty and beautiful, but often violent weather.

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Lucky Inspects Claire’s Pannier Repairs

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The bags are going to look like a clown pretty soon, if she keeps putting on patches. I asked Bob why they don’t get new bags. He said they are sentimental about the bicycle and the bags. New would be nice, he said, but these bags have memories; every tear and scuff has some meaning to them.

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On the road again soon: Shangri-la and Beyond

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We leave September 1 for Chengdu, Sichuan, China to begin a tandem bicycle tour of SW China and SE Asia. We begin in Chengdu, Sichuan, where the earthquakes killed thousands last year. We will visit some pandas and probably visit our first important Buddha statue before heading into high country where the Himalayas transition from the Tibetan plateau, giving birth to all the great rivers of SE Asia. After a long crossing into Yunnan, we will drop into the sub tropics of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and end probably in Bangkok, one of our favorite cities.

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Georgia on My Mind Again

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in our single hard bed room, I drink a cheap Georgian beer and gaze out the window at the Soviet era apartment block through the waning rain and gathering gloom. It is a tableau of a former, not yet liberated, life under Communism: clotheslines, mops, jugs of home-made wine, rust-bleeding concrete balconies; a babushka beats on something like wool, shreds it and hangs it to dry; a woman finishes hanging clothes, they sag the line in the soggy air; another babushka drinks wine and eats bread and stares into the mountains drifting with shards of stringy charcoal cloud; an old man limps the short length of his balcony repeatedly, as if exercising, indomitable spirit;

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Lucky Has A Think: Respect yourself and others will respect you

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I had another of those funny think things. “Respect yourself and others will respect you.” I asked Claire what that word respect means. She took a long time with her thinks before she said something. “Respect means you think well of someone, and that you trust what they say is what they will do.”

I think these thinks are coming from someone else. I’m not that smart by myself. It’s probably not a panda. We just think about bamboo. I wonder if it is a China person? Does anybody know who thinked these thinks first?

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Bob and Claire Rogers, The New Bohemians

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We chose the New Bohemians moniker as descriptive of our unique lifestyle: adventure travel, creativity, self-reliance and frugality. For twenty years, we have lived life as if our time here is limited, has an end unknown to us. Many give the idea fleeting thought, but fear the idea and push it aside. We embrace it.

We are not the anti-social hedonists many associate with the name Bohemians. Anyone who has followed our adventures knows we don’t avoid challenge or discomfort. We get our high by pushing our bodies and minds in pursuit of creative living, travel, and intimate connection with the World and it’s peoples. That is the New in New Bohemians. Many people searching for our site found instead a folk rock band, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, since they had the .com long before we conceived of a web presence. They’re a laid back group with a great sound and meaningful lyrics you can actually understand.

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Lucky Ponders His Return To China

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They said no, my passport was the take on my butt that says, “Made In China.” Bob was working on that funny long bicycle with two seats they have out in the 108 degree heat today. He said he had lots of work to get, Zippy he calls it, ready for the rigours of Asia travel. Hmmm. I wonder if I’ll like that thing he calls rigours?

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Precipice Trail in Acadia National Park

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The Precipice Trail in Acadia National Park has the reputation of being a very difficult trail, almost a technical climb. The Park Service paints it as such. However, anyone who has a normal sense of exposure to heights, a moderate level of fitness (be honest) can achieve a significant goal by climbing the trail. The view from the top is fantastic, and much more rewarding than Cadillac Mountain, for the individual having got their by muscle power. Give it a go!

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Lucky Helps Cook Dinner With A Solar Cooker

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I helped cook dinner in Claire’s solar cooker yesterday. Today I’m watching cookies bake in her solar oven, but that will be another blog. It’s a hot job, but better me than Bob and Claire, because they sweat and stink if they stay out too long in the 105 afternoon heat. et up the solar cooker (Claire made hers from a windshield shade and Velcro) in a funnel shape in full sun (duh) and out of the wind if possible. Put spelt, water and salt in baking dish, place inside a baking bag and close tight with twist tie; set in solar cooker. Check spelt after a couple of hours (bad choice, other whole grains cook much quicker); when done, add vegetables and spices. Adjust liquid with chicken broth or water, cook until vegetables are getting tender. Add salmon and cook until opaque.

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Another Lucky Think

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Another think came to me. This one is long. I think I like it. When I told it to Bob and Claire, they looked at each other, smiled and hugged a little hug. I think they know about wheresoever and go and heart too.

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Lucky Has Another Deep Thought

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My head fluff is acting up again. I’m doing more of the think thing. I kind of like this one, since I’ve been seeing really pretty country lately. But I know I didn’t think this by myself. Somebody really smart thought this first. Bob and Claire think I’m a smart panda, but I think I think these thinks are coming from another place. I wonder where?

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Lucky and the Cumbres Toltec Scenic RR

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We sure have been having adventures in Colorado. Bob and Claire wanted to ride up some big hills they called passes, and they promised a surprise for me at the top. At first I was scared. It was loud and made lots of noise and black and white smoke. Now I want to ride a train.

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Lucky’s Blog: First Thoughts (A Continuing Tale of a Panda’s adventures)

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“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” a person (or panda?) really do stuff, rather than hear about it or see it. He said it is the reason they travel, and hike and bicycle, instead of watch other people do stuff on television. I think I remember such a thing from my other life. The people were always sitting in front of it and not talking much. They might have doing this thinking thing, but I couldn’t tell.

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Lucky’s Blog (A true tale of one panda’s adventures in serial form)

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They have hinted that I will be going with them to China to ride their tandem bicycle, Zippy. First they say I need to learn a little about riding a bicycle. We’ve been practicing. They breathe hard a lot, and go scary fast sometimes. They helped me make this video to show you. Do you think this looks like fun?

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Lucky’s Blog (A True Tale of One Panda’s Adventures, In Serial Form)

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Bob and Claire told me my life with them would be adventurous. The next day they began to show me how to ride a bicycle. Something about China and bicycles seems to go get them all excited, and it looks like I might be a part of what they have planned.

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Lucky’s Blog (A True Story Told In Serial Form – Stay Tuned)

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as she and Bob sped past in Turtle, that’s their motorhome’s name, and she announced that a bear rescue was required. Bob and Turtle reponded with a fast U-Turn and the next thing I knew, I was looking out Turtle’s windshield and feeling safe.

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The Wave, and Beyond

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We spend most of the day scrambling all over the drainage that contains The Wave, which is itself quite small, and added another couple of tough steep miles. There is a small arch high on a cliff above The Wave, and we determined to get to it for our lunch spot. After a few dicey moves and an hour or more of climbing, and pausing for photos, we made it

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Birthday Ride to Cape Royal

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Claire and I rode our road bikes to Cape Royal at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on my birthday. It was a hilly 45 miles ride all at 8000 feet or more. We were the only bicyclists on the road, but there were many motorcycles. One group of three guys from Italy were impressed that we were managing the ride.

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We are sad for Gori, all of Georgia; we were there…

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In another small town to the west, we were welcomed into a graduation party by a group of teens, watched them dance traditional Georgian folk dances, enjoyed the beauty of the town and surrounding countryside.

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