In Search of the Frontier

Life in Crown King has been for me a search for a new frontier. In the past year I have been fortunate enough to live a life filled with moments somewhere between car commercials and national park highlight reels. On one coast, I have worked on a 30,000-acre National Wildlife Refuge. Somewhere in the Southwest I have dropped into canyons no wider than my extended arms. On my way to Crown King, I hiked the narrows of an ice-covered river. These were the stories that preceded my arrival to the town of Crown King, Arizona, located in the fourth state I have called home in less than a year.

The Beauty of Artistic Licence

In the 1920s if you wanted a photograph in color, it had to be colored by hand. Two artists took this approach and captured the beauty of the landscapes and wildlife around them. The first of which was Asahel Curtis located in the Pacific Northwest. NPR ran a story capturing the artistic licence he took with adding color.



The second was William M. Finley whose work helped create the west coast's first wildlife refuge.



Last but certainly not least in the worth a look and listen category is Lizzie Wright Super Spaceship's song capturing the soul of the Ozarks and the rivers that make it up in her tune Ozarkia.

At least we're not on Ellesmere Island

Yesterday, the weather in mid-Missouri felt like 70 degrees. Maybe it was. I went to Rocheport and watched the sun set over Moniteau Creek and the Missouri River.

Today the wind whipped hard enough to cause tears and dry out the thin-skinned, outside corners of my eyes.  Happy first day of class.  :)

To help me feel like a bit of a wimp, the New York Times ran this Arctic Adventure story. Granted, if I were Having An Adventure, weathering the cold would be more tolerable. And what a great lede:

To stave off a breaching 3,000-pound walrus from the cockpit of a small sea kayak, Erik Boomer recommends using the paddle. 

“Sort of like a Heisman stiff-arm, hit him in the face and try to feed him the paddle,” he said. “Then start paddling.”

The rest of the article reads quite newspaper-y for such an intense story. Of course, this is me being a snob. Of course, it is a newspaper. Of course, someone else can come along and write a book or a script from it. So thanks for breaking it, NYT.