One year? There hasn’t been another in my life that passed half as quick. I arrived in Germany last October and find myself again surrounded by changing leaves, autumnal air, low-lying sunshine, the full effects of fall in northern latitudes. A nice place to be in moments of mindful presence. Elusive as they may occur.
Been some of the same and some of not the same. Bike riding, walking, climbing on rocks, tending to flowers, taking a few photos. Lots of local travel and a few extended ramblings. Been a couple of planned weeks off and a sudden stint of unrequested free time. Been unhealthy levels of news consumption—and too many unprecedented home-country happenings to ignore. Serenity prayer on repeat.
Highlights of the past few months: Another several day section of the Mosel Radweg biking upstream this time. Pedaled out of the garage, down to the Lieser, swung right at the Mosel, spent one night in Germany, one in Luxembourg, and one in France before doing the train/bike combo back home. A two-week family visit full of activity. Tours of German towns, rivers, and trails. Lots of castles, lots of spots, lots of memories. A week in the Netherlands checking out North Sea beaches, Texel Island, and the Afsluitdijk dike. A couple days in Liege, Belgium. A day of walking in the High Fens National Park. A weekend trip to Saarland. And so forth… One year in and more anxious questions than predictions as to what the next one might deliver. Deep breaths and a day at a time.
Château de Sierck, France where we finished the ride.Boppard Via Ferrata on the RhineCochem on the Mosel Deutsches Eck, KoblentzNorth HollandLiege Stairs and High Fens NP, BelgiumAround Bad BertrichAlong the EifelsteigVölklinger Hütte UNESCO Ironworks Site. Amazing place.SaarbrückenErbeskopf, Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park
If a photo can be a metaphor this one fits the time. Thanks for checking in und Bis spater!
Springtime was a fine time and summer proves equally pleasant. Days of hot. Days of not. Light until 11 pm makes for dreamy sunset bike riding, late night porch sitting, Bitburger swilling, guitar strumming, hammock swinging… Only hard part is going to bed when you should. 8 months in.
In that time, I’ve been trying to focus on two things. Figuring out how to best do my job and gaining a basic knowledge of local surroundings. If we’re around long enough, the time will come for broader travels in neighboring countries, but for now I’m quite content staying within a limited radius from the backyard. Exploring the trails, learning the customs, trying to speak a little of the language…
Rhineland-Palatinate. Farmlands, Woodlands, Vineyards, and River Valleys.
Every day I am grateful for the house and community we ended up in. The town has less than 2000 inhabitants, yet still supports a bakery, a nice restaurant, a convenience store, and a gas station. Like all the smaller villages around here (hundreds of them) the town celebrates festivals, sponsors sporting teams, and hosts social events. There is a bus that comes through every couple of hours from which one can access neighboring villages as well as the nearest train station. And the trails! I’ve mentioned this already, but even after months of walking and biking from the house we’re still discovering more routes, different loops, new possibilities.
We recently took some days to go on an extended bike trip from the house, down the Lieser and Mosel Rivers, and ended at the confluence with the Rhine and the city of Koblenz. This trip was well over 100 miles of riding on signed and paved paths with only a mile or so of sharing the road with cars! Unbelievable to imagine that a good portion of the country is set up this way.
After spending the solstice in Koblenz, we hopped on a train with the bikes, shuttled most of the way back, and then rode a different route home from the train station. The last couple of weekends have been similar with bus-supported bike rides to various named routes in the local region. Miles and miles and miles of cruising through vineyards, along waterways, through tunnels, across bridges, past churches and castles, and into the hearts of centuries old downtowns.
Other highlights from the past few months include four-days of hiking around the Mullerthal region in nearby Luxembourg, a day trip to a medieval festival at the Sedan Castle in France, a beautiful spring day in Cologne, Via Ferrata in Manderscheid, stumbling across too many other castles to count, a short canoe trip on the Sauer, a few music festivals, and more. Jede Woche ein neues Abenteuer. A new something to appreciate.
Springtime in Cologne. Sunshine and cherry blossoms.Good times in the next town overMosel River ScenesWhole lotta Castles ’round these partsMullerthal Region, Luxembourg. A walking around wonderland.
We’re here if you want to see it for yourself sometime. Bis zum nächsten Mal, Freunde!
Unprecedented times and uncertainty all around for anyone paying attention. Hate speech, hypocrisy, and hyperbole on a ‘scale that the world has never seen before,’ to borrow one politician’s favored phrase from our country’s past decade. Though much of it seems historically familiar. Dehumanizing demonization of absolute enemies. Abolishment of empathy. Indoctrination of the not so innocent.
The poorest among us rally violently against their own self-interests at the behest of the Great Dividers. Manifest entitlement.
Nothing more benign, I suppose, than prattling on about it here. Suffice it to say the caged monkey between my ears has been shaking the bars like never before. Inevitable revert to monotonous daily mindset, asking myself the same questions I imagine posing to all those angry invisibles on the internet: ‘Is your life really that bad? Can you ever envision a time when you could be happy?’ We are all missing out on so much.
I spend more time than ever sitting at a computer in a windowless office responding to compiling emails without end—though apparently, according to these photos, I do manage to get out and do things still. From time to time. Or at least a body does even as deprived brain plays sulking teenager in the backseat. Without trying, really, the last couple months have found those separated someones wandering around German cities, riding bikes along little known rivers, and flying down snowy slopes in neighboring countries. A sampling of digitized snapshots they must have taken on their way.
Köln, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Koblenz
Cologne CathedralDüsseldorf. Abundance of interesting architecture.Decapitated saints in Bonn. More dead people stories.
Close In Bike and Hikes
Back to the Riding Board
Grindelwald, SwitzerlandSkiing in the Alps. More about the socializing than the shredding.Chamonix, France Montafon, Austria
For all the decent people out there who are still trying to take that high road. For everyone who cares about others less fortunate and the well-being of our shared speck in the universe. For anyone contributing to the positive—Danke für die Liebe.
Been three months now and I’m finally all moved in to a typical German house in a quaint little German town. A village so quintessentially German, in fact, it even has an ẞ in the name. And its own bakery. Two blocks from the front door. Alles gut hier in Deutschland.
In the previous post I alluded to the idea that I never before imagined visiting Germany, living in Germany, learning German etc. The idea of Western Europe as a whole was never all that interesting. No wild places, wild animals, endless horizons. Just a bunch of people sprawled out over centuries of civilization and occupation. Remnants of dead societies, endless conflicts, and past histories of human struggle, suffering, and survival… Whole lotta old buildings and a bunch of crumbling ruins. Constant reminders of senseless mortality and the undeniable fact that while our technologies continue to advance at a terrifying rate—humans as a species have not achieved equal evolution of conscientiousness.
We’re still up to the same divide and destroy games as always, now scaled to unfathomable ends. Base primitive. Obsessing over ever-factioning differences rather than aspiring to cohesive progression. Riches, religions, regions, and races. Killing in the name of…
Bastogne, Belgium and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. A giant war museum, an impressive collection of still-running WWII military vehicles on parade, and hundreds of French speaking ‘soldiers’ immersed in the role playing. What was once a historic event temporarily changing the course of civilization is now an annual party, the ironies lost in the revelry. Difficult to discern cautionary tale from glorification of never ending atrocities.
Painted portions of the Berlin Wall on display. Build it up. Burn it down. Repeat.
I was partially correct. There is all of that here in Europe. The constant visual reminders of past turned future. Of one’s insufficient influence in a greater collective destiny. People and more people and remnants of a lot of people before us. Now dead. Lots of them murdered by some other ones.
But, inevitably, there is a lot more to experience as well. There is beauty in the grandeur of synergy focused on positive pursuits. There is magic in those German Christmas markets held as they have been for generations amidst the bases of those old buildings. Humans at their finest. And there is beauty in the small things. The remnants of individual efforts to contribute to the cause. Art for art’s sake. Small expressions of the divine in the most unlikely of places. Door knockers, hand-carved carousels, the lay of stones in a sidewalk…
Christmas in Trier, Germany’s oldest cityPorta NigraSt. Peter’s Cathedral, Trier
And, thankfully, there are pockets of wild places as well, or at least immediate ways to experience nature on a daily basis. Woods and hills and well-worn paths weaving from one small society to the next. Paths that may well have been walked for centuries. Concavities in old stone stairways. And that’s kind of cool for sure.
There’s been a lot of exploring from the doorstep. Bike rides to an old abbey, hikes to a couple castles, loops upon loops and each trip only turning up more options for future excursions. Spazieren gehen. Mein neues lieblingsding.
Himmerod AbbeyManderscheid Castles and the walk there from the front door.Geierlay Suspension BridgeAround Burg Ramstein on old Roman footpaths.
Life moves on. Fortune, circumstance, and opportunity find your humble narrator residing in Deutschland for the foreseeable future. A scenario not previously imagined or directly desired, but accepted openly when presented. I was out of Arizona in late October and have been in Germany for a month-and-a-half. Details aside, I’m settling in and still trying to find semblance of schedule and intent.
Memories of SE AZ. Disappearing water, 100° fall hikes, ‘Patriotic’ Dystopia.
The last weeks in Arizona were chaotic and marked by constant movement. Also, still infernally hot. It was a final scrape down the Gila River, a visit with family, time with my sweetheart, packing and shipping, shedding of excess, goodbyes at work, and busy, busy. The days went by way too fast, but it was better to have lived them than missed them. The first weeks here have passed in equally rapid succession. Hard to keep it all straight. Hoping that once the work is figured out and major tasks completed there might be some time to breathe deep and take a look around.
There hasn’t been much time to explore or enjoy, though snapshot experiences provide inspiration for potential. I spent one weekend riding big loops on endless farm roads through rolling hills from one village to the next, and another in Dresden for my first Christmas market, reportedly the originator of all. Scattered memories and a few photos:
Too many towns around here to keep track of. Bitburg and Wittlich the bigger ones.New to me Euro hoopty. Czech built VW—Skoda Fabia.Meissen Porcelain Factory. Surprisingly interesting hours spent.
Dresden
Christmas Markets = Street food, Glüwein galore, happy crowds, and communal holiday cheer in abundance. Watchful apes and creepy cupids.Kiss me you big baby!FrauenkircheNighttime on the Elbe.
Life seems to be happening faster than I can keep up with. Chaotic logistics, amendments, adjustments, car things, health things, other things… It’s been difficult to maintain semblance of presence through any of it due to necessitated focus on a foreign future. I try, but the days do blur.
A highlight of recent entropy manifested as impromptu trip to Mexico. No plans, no real objectives. The first week was traveling around the state of Hidalgo. The second was Mexico City. Wandering, walking, eating. Ruins, museums, parks. Buses, bikes, and the subway system. A more touristy trip than most, but memorable all the same. Most likely my final venture south for a long time to come. A summary:
Tula de Allende y Los Atlantes de Tula
Massive carved warriors overlook the Tula River valley from atop a pyramid in what was once the center of Toltec civlization.
Mineral del Chico y Parque Nacional El Chico
Established in 1982, El Chico was Mexico’s first national park.Cool weather and lots of rain made the time in Chico extra special.
History and mystery define Teotihuacan. When the Aztecs first discovered the abandoned city they thought it could only have been built by gods. You can’t climb the big pyramids anymore, but can wander for hours trying to imagine what kind of world it must have once been.
Xochimilco
High-pressure tourism in a captive environment. Pena que decirlo, pero estafa al maximo!
Coyoacán
Meeting up with Isaac and stumbling upon a Saner mural. Un gran día en la tierra de los coyotes!
Bosque de Chapultepec y Ciclovía de Los Domingos
Chapultepec Park is one of the largest city parks in the world and worth a full day (or more) of exploring on bike or foot. On Sunday mornings the city also closes down around 24km of main thoroughfares allowing bikers, pedestrians, rollerbladers, etc. full access to cruise the streets in a safe environment. It’s reported that over 50,000 people each week take advantage of the access and it’s been getting stronger for a decade now. I got to do one of the prototype rides back in the day and have wanted to get back ever since!
Todo el Resto
Scenes from ‘Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central’ by Diego RiveraEl Zócalo decorated for Mexican Independence celebrations.Vochol Beetle. Over 2 million beads and thousands of artist hours. I wanted to check this out years ago when it was in Denver but missed it. Cool surprise when we walked into the popular art museum!Ay, la comida. Chilaquiles, pastes, chiles en nogada, tacos y más tacos, cócteles x La Torre LatinoamericanaLas cosas más sencillas. La lluvia, una vista, buena compañía…
Truth be told I had hoped not to spend another summer in southern Arizona. But here we are, first week of August, and here I am, still simmering in the Sonoran desert. Looks like I’ll see the full season a third time through in spite of concentrated efforts to abscond. As some guy sang in the 60s, ‘You can’t always get what you want…’ Though I tried.
We’ll see if I get what I need. Change is on the horizon. Slow progress and counseled patience.
I do love the desert, even in the summer, though the constant heat grows oppressive after months on end. It got hot a lot earlier this year, with daily temperatures in the 100s since late May and no signs of forecasted relief. Weeks of ‘Excessive Heat Warnings’ and records breaking in steady succession. All-time highs and ‘longest streaks above’ and continual river gauge readings of ‘much below normal’ or more dismal yet. Inadvertent daily doomscrolling in simply checking the weather.
Some people have big plans to fix things though, if they get their way. It’s simple, really, just get rid of science, abolish organizations like NOAA (always with their bad news), and move back to medieval times all around. What need hath reality to be objective? Things were great in the Dark Ages. Revel in these post-truth times. I digress and won’t continue in this vein. Don’t look up. Must be the sun.
Suffice it to say that it’s kinda tough to do a whole lot in the extreme heat. I walk a few miles for work once or twice a week, but big adventures in southern Arizona summers have little appeal. One must find alternatives to outdoor recreation with which to occupy mind and muscle and imagination. My excuses, that is, for not having more to report. Since spring there have been a few walks, a couple nights outdoors, a week to visit family in Texas and friends in New Mexico, several construction projects, and more recently a quick trip to Silver City. Photos and musings below.
Me and Billy Boy boatin’ the Taos Box in May
Aravaipa Canyon
I’ve written a few things about Aravaipa Canyon before. It’s one of the wilderness areas within the field office I work at, and I’m out walking the canyon several times a month regardless of the weather. Most of the time I’m out there on my own, but back in May I went with several of the office staff so they could check out the area. It’s common to see a lot of wildlife out that way, and this day did not disappoint. The following wildlife and saguaro photos were all taken by Clara Gauna. Thanks Clara!
Summer Projects
Shifting focus, as mentioned, in an effort to feel productive and fulfilled in the absence of normal activity. I love the challenges and rewards in learning new skills—though failure and frustration inevitably both disrupt and enhance (in aftermath) the process. For several months we’ve been working on a guest house/rental on Krissy’s property and finally finished everything up last week. One of the major efforts involved building a breakfast bar and pouring a concrete countertop in place—a literal blood, sweat, and tears endeavor. Other fun projects have been making wooden signs, refinishing a picnic table, and fermenting various beverages.
Tepache and Kombucha
Silver City, NM and the Gila Wilderness
Went over to Silver City, New Mexico for a couple of days to visit the Gila Wilderness and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The Gila was the ‘world’s first designated wilderness’ receiving said distinction in 1924. We walked the path at the dwellings the first morning and hiked a nice loop into the wilderness that afternoon. The protected area encompasses the headwaters of the Gila River, which is the river I boat at work when there’s water in it, and it was cool to walk down several miles of the Middle Fork. The following day we took a trail east of town to a petroglyph site featuring images of dragonflies located next to a picturesque creek that buzzes with the same in the right seasons. The town of Silver City was also fun to explore and offers a variety of art, restaurants, and historical sites. Top picks would be the Little Toad Brewery and Whiskey Creek Zócalo—an awesome space with wood-fired pizza, live music, lots of art, and even a plant nursery! Good times.
Just for Fun
Blooming cactus, bird’s nest in a cholla, and a friend I made while driving around at work a couple days ago. Hope you’re all enjoying the summer wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing. Until next time…
Springtime and some river trips. Short section of the San Francisco, several overnights through the lower Gila Box, seven days on the San Juan in Utah. Sunrises, sunsets, sunshine. Thunderstorms and dust storms. Side canyon scrambles. Star-filled nights. Days of easy miles. Days of big wind. Life like we like it.
Eagle CreekGila Box, AZGoosenecks of the San JuanMost days are more about the walking than the floating.Small step. Big commitment.Moki Dugway and the drive back home.
Months of messing around. No big trips, but plenty of little ones. Difficult to remember what all’s been going on and not a lot of photos to show for many pleasant days and numerous local outings. Revisited a few regional sites from past posts and found at least as many new ones. Spent a week in Southern California and the rest of the time right here in Southeast Arizona—day hikes, backpacking trips, weekend BnBs, working on personal projects, and plain ol’ work. Disjointed recollections:
Gila Box RNCA
Tucson and Surrounds
Spent a week in Tucson checking out a couple state parks as well as hiking in Saguaro NP. Were scheduled to spend the time on a Mexican beach in mid-December, but the border crisis shut the crossing down for weeks keeping us close in. Appreciated the reduced driving and enjoyed the cabled route up and down Picacho Peak, a big loop around and across Wasson Peak, and a beautiful day in Romero Canyon in Catalina.
Down the Backside. Picacho SP.December Sunshine. Wasson Peak overlooking Tucson sprawl.
Time Travel
The Southwest is rife with relics of past lives and cryptic human histories. Realities we can scarcely imagine. It’s amazing the things one may come across without meaning to. With effort, whisperings of remnant artifacts may be pondered in proximity. I don’t prioritize visiting vestigial fragments of other cultures, but confess a curious nature when it comes to finding little known sites in difficult to access areas.
Randomly encountered internet article, some rain, and a little luck led us to these Gila River petroglyphs.Pictographs elsewhere.Backpacking trip from Johnny Creek to Pueblo Devol cliff dwellings.
Salton Sea
I recently spent a week in Idyllwild, CA brushing up on some wilderness medicine skills. There were many reasons I chose this particular class, not the least of which was its location in potentially wintry elevations. I’m getting right tired of being hot all the time—especially in the wintertime. Packed up the lighter layers of my Alaska gear and was pleased to spend a few days lying around in deep snow, often covered in fake blood and occasionally feigning injuries like heat stroke—though with slim chance of suffering the same. On the way there I spent a night beside the Salton Sea, which was both interesting and entirely uninteresting at the same time. Interesting for the anomaly which is the body of water itself; not interesting for the uninspired squalor of subhumans dwelling in barely habitable shanties along the shoreline. The inverse of freedom presents as autonomously imposed oppression.
A few enjoyable artistic musings and a town of straight trash. Bombay Beach, CA.
This was one of those ‘best of’ trips comprised of reimagined alterations to past itineraries. Sunset wildlife show at Whitewater Draw, a night at the historic Gadsen Hotel, a few miles walk to the border in Coronado National Monument, a steep climb to cave descent, an afternoon meal in Mexico, a couple chilly nights in an old mining town, stair climbing the Bisbee 1000, backroads out of Tombstone, a walk into the Dragoons…
Whitewater DrawConquistador Clowning.Unexplained 1/4 mile of border wall with nothing for miles on either side?Coronado Cave
Local Local
Or maybe. There is much to be discovered right out the front door around here. Though perhaps more like out the front door, into a 4×4, onto the highway, off the highway, down some dirt roads for a good while, and then… No trails means no people, rugged terrain, secret spots, and seldom seen landscapes in abundance.
Swamp Springs, Redfield Canyon Wilderness.Orange ButteWandering around Mt. Graham.PeloncillosOkay, we did walk here from the house. Nice.Speaking of backyards… Gratuitous food photos.River cleanup and wildlife viewing.
Bonus Tracks
Rainbow over Aravaipa Canyon.Sunset from San Pedro RNCA.
The traditional time to reflect. What’s good. What’s lacking. What happened. What’s next. Time for appreciation and introspection. Resolutions and intentions. What’s working and what we want to work on. Another year. New beginnings.
As mentioned a few months back, I’ve been focusing on creative endeavors as time, motivation, and limited natural ability allow. The world has arrived at a point where putting personal art on printed products is easier than ever. I have finally arrived at the moment where I can fulfill a forever intention of making a few items myself, along with offering them to anyone that might be interested in or amused by the effort.
It’s never been my objective to monetize or grow this site. I have a nearly non-existent online presence, and am hesitant to alter that reality or spend any more of my life focused on screens than I already do. So we’ll see if momentum is gained in this effort, but as a beginning I wanted to initiate the process somehow and figure out what’s worth it and what’s not to both myself and the greater audience of the internet.
For starters I took a bunch of designs and put them onto the Redbubble platform which is a print-on-demand site dedicated to allowing artists a stage to advertise their efforts. As this is an entirely new endeavor, I can’t yet vouch for services provided. But I will share the link to my ‘store’ below for anyone that might care to browse or support. Would be grateful for any honest feedback with regards to the products (quality, color, durability, fit…) and the process (shopping, shipping, receiving) if you do. I am not privy to the names attached to any orders, so if you happen to get a shirt or something I’d love a message/photo.
Will leave it at that for the time being. Happy New Year and sincere appreciation to anyone and everyone that checks in here on occasion. All the best for 2024!
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