John Weisheit grew up with a love for the Colorado River and has worked as a river guide for more than four decades. In the year 2000, John co-founded Living Rivers, an advocacy group that seeks a path to restoring the ecology of the Southwest, balanced with meeting human needs. I interviewed John in the cool shade of his backyard boathouse in Moab, Utah just … Continue reading John Weisheit
Last week after my talk at Easter Lutheran Church, someone asked the question, “How do you take care of yourself?” It’s a good question. We have a strange schedule. A lot of uncertainty in our lives. We spend time with some difficult issues and we encounter stories of pain along the way. If you do it right, you carry some of that with you. What … Continue reading Self-care
Jeff Rennicke is a writer, a photographer and a storyteller in Bayfield, Wisconsin. He is the Executive Director at Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. “Pay attention. Things get really interesting below the surface. Wherever you are, there’s more going on than a superficial glance will reveal to you.” “I was a freelance writer for 20 some years and traveled to six different continents, … Continue reading Jeff Rennicke
Neal Moore is a journalist, an adventurer and an expatriate. He is in the midst of a two-year journey, paddling 7,500 miles across the United States. I met him in a coffee shop—by chance—in Columbus, Mississippi and we found time the next day to do an interview. You can follow Neal’s journey at https://22rivers.com/. “There’s this strange phenomenon that takes place, when you realize that … Continue reading Neal Moore
I’ve been around a lot of water lately. We traveled to the mouth of the Mississippi River, where sometimes there’s too much water and humans have tried to tame its power and flow. Just two months later, I was more than 1,000 miles to the north, near the headwaters of that same river, where Indigenous voices are trying to stop an oil pipeline from passing … Continue reading Water
“Every now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” That quote by French poet Guillaume Apollinaire was posted behind the ticket counter at the ferry dock north of Chelan, Washington. We were on our way to Holden Village and it’s a journey to get there. A 1,529 mile drive west. 20 miles by boat up a wilderness … Continue reading Holden Village
Taylor Bond lived the life that he thought was expected of him. He worked as an electrician for 10 years before, he says, he “freaked out,” sold all of his possessions, and bought an RV. Now he lives in Moab, Utah, works for just over minimum wage at a local climbing shop, and climbs rock towers in the desert. “Everybody wants what they can’t have. The … Continue reading Taylor Bond
In the summer of 2008 our family backpacked on an island off the coast of Maine. A small boat dropped us off, motored away, and retrieved us three days later. Our kids, Brenna and Jordan, were 10 and 13. We spent our days picking wild blueberries and wandering the rocky shoreline, imagining we were castaways, with really nice gear from REI. We watched the waves … Continue reading Time to shed a layer
Chris Brixey works as a paramedic, a ski patrol, and a wilderness EMT. He says that’s how he puts bread on the table and beer in the fridge. Some of Chris’s earliest and fondest memories are of pulling into a campground with his family and spending time outdoors. He says that a lifetime of satisfying experiences in the mountains have driven him to want more. … Continue reading Chris Brixey
