My mother has always said that I’m a runner. When the going gets tough, I get going. She says I’ve done it ever since I was a little girl. And I have to say, I do remember a smaller version of myself, backpack fully loaded, heading out the door. Proclaiming to any who was listening …
Continue reading Things like love.
I’m sitting at a picnic bench, boiling quinoa, because that’s the hipster thing to do. Also, I’m a millennial, so I might as well act the part. A patch nosed snake slithers by and, despite the lack of venom, I get a funny feeling running up the back of my spine. It doesn’t help that …
Continue reading The things we seek…
The top of Saddle Peak. This is an optional portion of The Backbone Trail (wish I had known that before)—you can cut around it and take Stunt Road if you don't want to deal with the elevation. It was one hell of an uphill climb. But at the top, there are these wild rock formations. …
Continue reading The Backbone Trail
The past few days, I hiked the Backbone Trail. Not all 67 miles, but 37, which is enough if you ask me. And the whole point of this blog is to catalog my travels and sometimes, those travels aren’t so grand. In fact, they can be pretty pathetic. Because here’s the deal: I cried. I …
Continue reading Fear tastes different in the wild.
There’s a lot of beauty in the world. I forget that. A lot. As in pretty much every damned day. And there’s a lot of love in the kindness of strangers. I think that’s something worth celebrating. Everywhere I’ve travelled, I’ve met people with whom I’ve exchanged a piece of myself. It’s a little tradeoff, …
On April 29th, 1992, a Ventura County judge acquitted four LAPD officers of beating Rodney King. Reasonable force. More than 50 swings of a baton (a baton is made from wood, plastic, rubber, or metal; they function well in regards to breaking windows to rescue victims in driving cars or blazing buildings--imagine that force). Batons …
Continue reading A White Man’s World
Carrizo plains saw a lot of tourists this season, thanks to California storms that quenched our thirsty soils and watered the lands. And in the last couple of weeks, it's seen a lot of trampled flower heads, which is a little frustrating. Not that I didn't trample a few myself from the overwhelming excitement of …
Continue reading My Greatest Loves, and Greatest Losses
McFarland, California. A small town of about 13,010, located in Kern County, straddling the 99. McFarland is known for a Cancer Cluster in the mid 80’s, which took the lives of over a dozen children, and its Cross Country Team, which ought to tell you something. When the best sport is running, you can’t help …
Continue reading One Rose in a One-Stop Town
The Wild Heart of Life 