Mountains are the coolest. Created by the most dramatic of geologic forces – the clashing of tectonic plates or the volcanic uprising of lava from the Earth’s interior – mountains are perhaps Mother Nature’s best geographic gift to the world. They are playgrounds for adventurers, landmarks for explorers, protectors from invaders, metaphors for the human […]
April 28, 2015: Argentina Part III (Bariloche, Mendoza, Valapariso (Chile), & Buenos Aires)
The bright, pulsating lights attract my eyes; the smell of moving, sweating bodies assails my nose; the air tastes like thick clouds of smoke until the crisp, fall breeze wipes it clean. But my senses struggle to distinguish between touch and sound, confused by noise so powerful it is a physical force, a collective heartbeat […]
April 3, 2015: Argentina Part II (Southern Patagonia & El Chalten)
When we’re traveling, there are moments that don’t seem real. Granted, most of the time I go along in my own world, disorganized thoughts drifting happily from the vapid to the existential and back again. But then I look up from the trail and everything stops. The world grows still and a part of me […]
March 8, 2015: Argentina Part I (Bariloche, El Bolson, & The Frey)
It’s past 8 o’clock at night and the warm summer sun is just starting its lazy descent behind the serene mountains. Seemingly tangible rays of light are reflected on the surface of the crystal clear water of Rio Azul, flowing down from the mountains and sustaining the city of El Bolson far below. Fish dance […]
February 3, 2015: Japan (Tokyo, Nagano and Kyoto)
Michael: I think today was my favorite day in Japan. Taylor: Really?! Why? Michael: Because it wasn’t so bad… not like the other days. …… My scarf blows in my face, obstructing my vision. It’s too cold to take my hands out of my pockets so I just wait for the gust to die down. […]
January 26, 2015: Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son Loop, Crazy Horse Buttress)
I am not going to die here. This I know. Well, I’m at least 85% sure. I tell myself that the slimy creatures brushing against my legs are just fish… just huge cave-dwelling fish… and fish don’t eat humans. But that huge yellow snake that we saw a moment ago, deftly slithering through the water […]