autumn The C-Store Round Two On the last day of my annual North Dakota trip, I was riding in the car with my three other travel buddies. We'd spent the week wandering around the prairie, and on our final night my male friend realized, we were out of tonic water. "Did you
autumn Why Are There So Many People Here? Recently, I was in a small town in North Dakota. I'd visited it the previous several years, always at the same time of year, late October, and this year, there were a lot of people in town. I mean, we drove into town just after dark, down the
nature What Does the Full Moon Do? Recently, I went on a trip to a resort that had sprung up around a natural hot springs. When I was a kid, the place had allegedly been a bit podunk, but now, it is built up. It's got a spa with offerings like blueberry body wraps and
horror The Wild West One summer night, my friend invited me up to his town to watch their local rodeo. This was about two and a half hours north of me, just over the state line. It seemed like a good idea to me, so I got in the car, and made the journey,
food Everything Has a Recipe Years ago, while on vacation with my family, I convinced my dad to help me bake a desert. My dad, who at the time didn't have the best working hearing aides, agreed to help but was very dismayed when he found out I needed him to knead some
food The Idiot Who Didn't Pack Pants I live where it is hot. It's not the hottest place I've ever lived, but it is still hot. One summer I flew to San Francisco. To do this I wore a T-shirt, shorts, and slide on shoes. The plane ride was fine, other than I
nature Carnie Abe Back in my college days, I worked as a river guide. Kelp Journal was lovely enough to publish my non-fiction essay chronicling a brief look at that time. Please go check it out. It'll be under Issue 11, Carnie Abe. Literary Adventure Journal | Kelp Journal | Pebble Beach, CaliforniaKelp
nature Dimes v. Biceps Back in my river guide days, I was the different one. I was five five, female, and one hundred and twenty-five pounds soaking wet, which was pretty common while I was training. Learning how to pilot rafts involved a lot of falling into the water, hiking boots, work pants and
cats Paradise Found Every year for the past few years, a group of us get together to go bird hunting in North Dakota. My husband found a pretty good short term rental on some farm land. It has a kitchen, sweeping views, and this past year, cats. We showed up and there were
beach Two Can Play This Game There was a time when I worked on a Hawaiian island. I loved it, but the job I had wasn't a year-around job. I went to the island on one job appointment, and when that one finished another job opened up, but there was a gap between the
travel BOI-C I recently went on a work trip to Boise, Idaho. I thought I knew about Idaho. I had been to Twin Falls, Rexburg, Pocotello, Idaho Falls, those kinds of places. I assumed Boise would be the same. It was not. What I found was a very vibrant downtown area. The
history Fourteen Hour Road Trip Recently, my husband and I did a fourteen hour drive in a single day. Two of the states included on this drive were Wyoming and North Dakota. For this trip, my husband selected one of his typical outfits, flip flops, faded pink shorts, a green T-shirt and a bright orange
desert More Man Once I started work at a new place, and I was in that new job fog where I was learning a lot and entirely behind on what needed to get done. I was tired. I had finally made it to the end of the day, and I stepped outside to
food The Sound of Silence In my twenties, I worked on Maui. I lived in a housing unit controlled by my employer, and in general it was pretty nice. There were several duplexes all in a row, and everyone in the little 'neighborhood' knew each other. One rainy night, as was typical for
desert The Price of Honesty In the desert of California, I would go to the local farmer's market. It usually involved a man in a tie-dyed onesie and an alien mask playing discordant tunes on an amplified guitar, at least ten women in high waisted shorts and floppy hats, a minimum of two
travel Phoenix Invades One year for my birthday, my husband booked us a cabin on a little guest ranch outside of Prescott, Arizona. The ranch lay off a twisting of Forest Service roads in the Pinon/Juniper forest, and in the dead of winter we were some of the only guests. The ranch
travel Animal Behavior... This is a story about more sharks. There I was. Enjoying the beach. Crystal clear waters. And then, a shadow... And another shadow. The water was filled with sharks. Which was pretty neat. I'd been coming to this beach for over twenty years and in that time I&
nature I Don't Think That Happens A mentor of mine and I were playing phone tag. I needed advice. I was at the cusp of possibly of getting a big break into the industry of my dreams, and then the entire industry came grinding to a halt. Not that I was surprised. I mean, the 2020&
desert Vegas, Baby I went to Las Vegas recently. I've got friends who live there, and on Saturday afternoon we went to a park. While in the park, I took a photo of the lake and sent it to a friend. #Vegas, I said. To which he responded, That can'
travel Overheard in Escalante I went "glamping" in Escalante. I'm not usually a glamper, but I was invited, and it actually was pretty fun. It was hot, probably close to 100 out, and this glamping situation had a pool. There were three other women at the pool with us, two
summer Hair that Transcends Time It was a hot summer's afternoon. The temps were in the low hundreds, and the small town in which I was in was sleepy with Sunday energy. Two of my friends were passing through and we went out to find lunch. We ended up at a brewery, sitting
desert It's Hard To Be So Famous My entire life, I've wanted to see a book I wrote on store shelves. This dream has yet to come true, but I hope that one day it does. My husband has never had such a dream. He's not a writer, and that's great.
desert Water is Always Relaxing One spring, I could feel the hot weather coming, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little stressed by the on-coming heat. The months of triple digit days, and the lack of access to any sort of pool or river had lodged themselves in
horror Just Nope I got invited to pitch a horror movie once. Which was cool, but a little outside of my wheelhouse. First, I didn't know how to pitch, so learning how to do it was a big deal, but more frighteningly, I had to watch a bunch of horror movies
summer Mountain Biking I'm not very good at biking. I know that sounds weird, but I've never been great at it. I'm fairly athletic, but biking and throwing things have never been my jam. Once, I had a job where I had to ride a bike. Often,
