A Haunted History: Saratoga Lights, The Kissing Statue, and The French House,

Saratoga Lights:
As Halloween, pumpkins, hay-rides, and campfires become commonplace in Southeast Texas so do ghost stories. My childhood favorite is that of the Saratoga/ Bragg Lights. These glowing phantom orbs have intrigued and scared visitors for over 80 years. What is now a twelve-mile, long dirt road was, in 1902, a railway leading to Bragg Texas, a fledgling community founded on the timber industry.

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Nature+Adventure= less crazy

Do you long for an extinction level event? Have you ever fantasized about head-butting the annoying person in front of you at Star Bucks? Are you prone to full-tilt diva workplace meltdowns? Did “Chicken Soup for the Middle American Confused Middle Child Who Wasn’t Hugged Enough” not make a lasting impression on you? Read more

Zion: is the glass half full

What’s the top 10 luxury vacation spots? Don’t ask me, I normally sleep on the ground and skip showers. Most of our friends rent estate homes, embark on cruise ships, or stay in high-end ski resorts. Lauren and I, however, take our holidays like homeless, granola smoking, tree-hugging hippies. Read more

Walking on the Clouds.

My first skydive wasn’t with Skydive Spaceland Houston…… It was with a “Fly- by- Night“, operation, if you will excuse the pun.  As jumpers were paired with tandem “instructors,” I was like the cross-eyed kid picked last for dodge-ball. My “instructor” was a very kind, petite woman. I was a power-lifter who would’ve exceeded the weight requirements with a piece of gum in my mouth. Well Tinker Bell, let’s hope that chute is packed with Fairy Dust. Where’s the landing? “Second star to the right and straight on till morning. “UHHHHH, excuse me??? Read more

Texas State Railroad “Happy Hobo Express”

Setting up our campervan, the smell of BBQ was undeniable; the seductive scent of giant pits carefully preparing chosen cuts of meat. Meats slowly cooked into submission, seasoned to perfection, and smothered in homemade super-secret sauces. In the South BBQ is an art-form, a near-religion, and all preparations were being made to usher us into heaven. Read more

Why

 

I long to see people experience nature, not as a theme park, but as a sanctuary. To gaze upon the intertwined intricate cycles of it’s terrain, and to see their place within its balance. To sit near a campfire lost in the infinite shimmering lights of a night sky, a reminder of  how tiny and finite we are. Yet to be equally aware of our potential to do beautiful and amazing things. Read more

Old East Orange, The lost city of Casino’s ?

 

Paddling across the Sabine River, I couldn’t escape the feeling I had forgotten something important. One of those nagging feelings in the back of your mind which sort of makes your stomach turn, but you don’t know why. Shoving this down I looked back at times to check on Lauren paddling 20 or so yards back. I was raised on these waters, what could I have possibly  forgotten? Pushing my paddle under the washed out bank I hoped  if there were a nesting alligator it would choose the paddle over my leg. Read more

Like Father like Son

So how did I start backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, camping, caving, etc.. The short answer, my Dad. As a kid I struggled with Dyslexia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Asthma, add in very poor vision / depth perception, and you can imagine how much fun I had at school. At my lowest points my dad would pack my gear, check me out of class, and take me camping . Say what you will, but I learned more on those trips then I did watching Sesame Street in a Special Education department. Why did the cookie monster never swallow even the smallest morsel of cookie? Was he cursed to fiend for cookies like a crack addict, devour them voraciously, yet never be nourished? A Sesame Street version of Tantalus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalus Read more