A wayward e-mail wound up in my in-box by mistake. I’m glad I’m not in trouble for this one – lawyers make me nervous.
To: Officials of the Wildlife Conservation Society
Re: Invasion of PrivacyDear Wildlife Conservation Society Administrators,
I’m an attorney in private practice representing a number of parties whose images were captured by your organization on a video recording, and then distributed worldwide via the Internet without the knowledge and permission of my clients.
My clients, a severely endangered band of Cross River Gorillas, are, as you know, famed for being reclusive overall and distinctive among wild animals for the many ways in which they are NOT seen. That is their lifestyle and their choice, and also a matter of logistics and math, given that there are only about 250 Cross River Gorillas left in the world.
Your wanton and widespread distribution of the video, embedded below, violates the privacy of my clients and what is more, it severely diminishes what was their expected legacy – to vanish without being seen in the wild by most people, ever.
While it may seem harmless to you, this clandestine observation, recording, and then distribution without permission of the above images is embarrassing in the extreme, both for the aimless way my clients seem to be wandering around in front of the camera (naked!), and also for the humiliating sound made by the Silverback as he makes his charge about midway in the video.
I assure you that when he started pounding his chest in an impromptu display of exuberance, he was going for something more like an awe inspiring BOOM! BOOM! rather than the cartoonish pop! pop! he was able to produce. For a dominant male, this is humiliating in the extreme. I’m sure, had you politely asked for his permission to share these impulsive antics with the world, he would have broken your arm or thrown clumps of grass in your face as a way of saying “no”. But of course you did not ask!
We will not even discuss some of the other issues that rankle, such as the unflattering camera angle taken on one client as she rested against a tree and the blatant calling of attention to the disability of another. Have you no shame? What ever happened to dignity?
While I have not yet met with my clients (they are elusive), I hope to have a conference very soon, after which I will be in touch with a list of demands that, should you wish to avoid a costly lawsuit, you would be well advised to take very, very seriously.
Though I’m sure you had the best intentions, the mere ability to place an unobtrusive camera somewhere and record someone’s casual walk through the woods does not automatically make it the right thing to do. Though it my fervent hope that you will never, ever see my clients again, I assure you that you have NOT heard the last of us!
Sincerely,
A.P. Magilla, Attorney at Law
Where would you take a group of friends for a casual, if not private, stroll?
Trail Baboon 
Used to be Two Harbors breakwater and the Duluth Lake Walk. Now the Red Jacket Trail.
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Is this where you ride your bike every day?
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No the Red Jacket is five or six miles from our apartment, but the Sakatah is only 2 miles away. I ride the Sakatah some. When company comes to town who want a walk, we go to the Red Jacket.
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Any idea how it got the name Red Jacket?
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It’s named after the railroad on who grade it sits, a very short railroad from long ago. I have a book on it at home, which I assume must explain it.But I’m in Evan.
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“Originally, the name of a Seneca Indian chief (who lived from about 1758 to 1830), “Red Jacket,” came to be applied to towns and to several products, such as brands of stomach bitters and farm pumps. When a flour mill was built in 1866 on the Le Sueur River, near where it joins the Blue Earth, it took the name Red Jacket.”
http://www.co.blue-earth.mn.us/dept/parks/redjacket.php
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Good morning. The state park near Albert Lea would be the best place to take a group for a walk in our area. At this time of year I would take the woodland trail where there are many spring flowers including Spring Beauty, Hepatica, Blood Root, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Rue Anemone, Trout Lilly, Trillium, and Wild Ginger. In fact I should make time to get out to the park soon to see those wild flowers. I think I have already missed seeing some the earliest blooming spring flower found there.
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Myre-Big Island State Park!
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Rise and Shine Baboons!
Staring Lake Park near my home–lake with a 2.5 mile trail around it holding lots of wildlife and scenery. No gorillas that I know of. Once the stadium is built, I’ll take people there so I get my money out of that $970M investment!
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The mah da hey trail is 96 miles long and connects the north and south units of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. I isn’t what I would call casual, but goes through some really beautiful rugged badlands scenery. People bike it or ride horse through it. There are other, shorter trails in TR Park that would be better for a casual walk. I have become interested in the 500 mile pilgrimage trail to St. James Compostela. Wouldn’t that be interesting to walk?
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I have read a few books about the Spain walk. Interesting. Lots of nuts of various kinds walk it. Right now it is terrorist country, I loved walking the northern unit of TR Park.
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Clyde, did you read “I’m Off Then” by Hape Kerkeling about walking the Camino de Santiago? Very amusing, wry 🙂 I can’t remember the names of the others I’ve read; Shirley MacLain’s was very self absorbed with a lot of complaining about her blisters. Have you any favorites to recommend for this armchair traveler?
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Yes, I have read it. It was wry. Have not read Squirrely Shirley’s. Not about to.
I am not home right now to look up titles. I have only read the one I think focused only on the walk. I have read several that make it a part of the book or people who walk by it, through it, reference having once done so. I have read about 500 travel narratives, some more than once. After a down-sizing I now have only about 100 travel books left. Kept ones I expect to reread. My favorite Spain travel books are Driving Over Lemons (are books about moving somewhere travel books?) and the woman who bikes around central Spain (not home to look up title). I will email you a list of my favorite travel books if you want. All by Paul Theroux will be on there. I am currently reading Worldwalk by Steven M. Newman and Between the Woods and the Water by Patrick Leigh Fermor. Fermor is amazing. Newman’s is passable, no pun intended. I always read two or three travel books at once to see what serendipitous connections will happen.
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Yes, we’ve read all the Chris Stewart books (Driving over Lemons etc) and have them all still. Loved them. Please do let me know about the “woman who bikes” since I don’t know her name or how to track the books down. Paul Theroux is classic, all of them. Bill Bryson. Redmond O’Hanlon (Into the Heart of Borneo, In Trouble Again, No Mercy) is hilarious. Oliver Statler’s books, “Japanese Inn” and “Japanese Pilgrimage”. “The Roads to Sata” by Alan Booth is a favorite. “Stranger in the Forest” and “Motoring with Mohammed” by Eric Hansen. Eric Newby is wonderful. “The Hacienda” by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran. Love, love, love all travel narratives. So many good books, so little time!
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Clyde, I always include books about “moving or living somewhere” as travelogues because they take me to another place or time. Recently read Geraldine Brooks’ “Foreign Correspondence” which tracked her childhood in Australia and how she came to be a foreign correspondent in the middle east. She had had a number of pen pals in her childhood, all of whom piqued her interest in far places. How these letters/friendships shaped her world view and how she eventually sought out all of these early contacts and met them in their homes/countries. Other good ones: “Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness” , Alexandra Fuller; The Crofter and the Laird, John McPhee; My Life in France, Julia Child; “The Wee Mad Road”, Jack and Barbara Maloney; “All the Fishes Come Home to Roost”, Rachel Manija Brown; “Casting With a Fragile Thread, Wendy Kahn; “The Coldest Winter”, Paula Fox; “A Fortune Teller Told Me”, Tizian Terzani; “The Bookseller of Kabul”, Aasne Seierstad; “Radio Shangri-la”, Lisa Napoli; “West of Kabul, East of New York”, Tamim Ansari; “The Lost Cityof Z”, David Grann; “Turtle Feet”, Nikolai Grozni; “The Witch Doctor’s Wife”, Tamar Myers. . . Any of these on your list? I want to see your list!
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Thanks. Some on thereI have not read.
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Here it is It’s Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels by Polly Evans
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I’ve read and dreamed about doing that walk for 15 years, but Clyde is right, it’s known to be quite dangerous in places and gruelling, too. Desert heat and mad dogs. Apparently, there are other pilgrim routes to Compostella from many directions depending on your point of origin.
Renee, do you have horses and do you ride?
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I don’t have a horse but I do ride in the Badlands at a stable that has really good horses and spectacular scenery to ride through. Our children learned to ride there quite young-age three-and treasure their time spent there. I wish we could go more often. There are lots of horses and riders out here, and actual working cowboys. One of our friends has a team roaping arena on his ranch.
Our local college has a rodeo team, and sports the US #3 National goat tying champion, among other strange rodeo event champions. The college rodeo grounds is on the campus, about 4 blocks from our house. it isn’t unusual to hear lots of winnying and cheering on Saturdays and Sundays during rodeo season.
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No! Not Goat Tying! Not allowed on the Trail. Let ’em frolic freely.
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i love teddy roosevelt. the rugged out of nowhere beauty that pops up coming across north dakota on route to montana is always so welcome. i find you need to hit it on the way out. if you hit it on the way back it feels small but on the way out it is majestic. it is sad to say i do most of my walking when i am away from my regular routine. this morning i went to a meeting where i was going to arrive just 5 minutes before it began so there was no sense in bringing the laptop to the room where the meeting was to be held. i was not presenting today and the extra 5 pounds for the 5 block walk was unwelcome. i got to the meeting and discovered i had also left my phone with the laptop 5 blocks away and i was in the unique situation of sitting with only my brain for company. that doesnt happen anymore, ever. for me or my children or much of anyone i know. i was in a waiting room with other parents 20 minutes before our kids got out of acting class a couple of months ago and noticed that every single one of the 20 people in the room had a gizmo in their hands to keep them occupied. there were 4 kids in the room 3 had gizmos to allow them to paly a game and the one who didnt was flitting around the other 3 looking at their gizmos, no one takes time to wander through the woods anymore just being apes. i think i need to plug in this time for perspective check. i love the river by my house, the paths around the parks in the city where i live are convenient but not often used by me. como park greenhouse is wonderful, up north in the woods by any lake is fantastic, but i almost need to be on vacation to put an x on the calendar to remember to do the meditation thing. a group… forgetaboutit. i have a hard enough time organizing myself. minnehaha falls is wonderful too. nature is often just 500 feet from where you park but to get to that 500 feet you need to be gong there on purpose.
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Would we stroll near my home? Every day for ten years I took my buddy Katie for a 1-2 hour walk in the Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park, a magic bit of land along the river between Fort Snelling and Minnehaha Falls. The land down there is remarkably wild and varied, with bluffs, river flats, a waterfall and a creek that the Sioux regarded as the center of the universe. The park is big enough that people can get lost in it. There are some steps carved in a cliff in 1820, and you don’t find many man-made things from 1820 in Minnesota.
If you wanted to take a walk up by my cabin, I’d take you to Meyers Beach. We would hike some craggy land that is rich in flowers, following a trail along the edge of the 60-foot cliff that drops off to Lake Superior. After a challenging hike we would sit at an overlook to admire the famous sea caves that attract tourists from all over the world. While sitting there you would puff gently and think of the return trip. I would puff hard while remembering the most wildly romantic moment of my life, something that happened on that trail in a violent thunderstorm.
And if we could take our stroll in September along the North Shore, I’d love to return to certain stretches of the Superior Hiking Trail that I hiked in 1994 and 1996, trying to make it from Canada to Two Harbors. I’d sure want to share the view from Mount Oberg, the pathways along the Temperance and Cascade Rivers and the magnificent views from high country southwest of Tettegouche Park. We would need to stop a lot to let me catch my breath, and then I would tell many boring stories about adventures I had on that trail with Spook, my English setter and hiking partner.
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We’ve never been to Meyers Beach so thanks for the suggestion, Steve. Agree that Mt Oberg and Temperance and Cascade River trails are wonderful as is every inch of the North Shore. It’s beautiful up by Reservation River and Grand Portage where the forest crowds up to the shore. Best stones in the world 🙂 We could probably challenge you to a boring story contest over a bottle of wine some time. Don’t we all just love to tell our stories?
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You and Bill are cordially invited to come up to stroll the Meyers Beach trail, or perhaps you’d like to try your luck finding Lost Creek Falls. I plan to start visiting the cabin soon and always enjoy intelligent company.
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How long have they been lost? Is there some kind of incentive or reward for finding them? Just the thrill of the hunt? How far up the shore is your cabin? And remember, I promised “boring stories”, not intelligent company.
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I love boring stories, as they give me the right to retaliate in kind. The cabin is 40 minutes east of Superior. The reward for finding Lost Creek Falls is the charm of the place. A photo of it graces Jacque’s newly decorated offices.
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This time of year, the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary is one of my favorite places to visit. I love the meandering paths through different landscapes and growing conditions, from boggy wetlands to drier, upland hillsides. Sitting quietly on one of the many benches there’s ample opportunity to watch birds and enjoy the birdsong of so many different species. Critters are everywhere; in one spot, I been lucky enough to see a litter of fox kits frolic on the hillside under mama fox’s watchful eye. I prefer going to Eloise Butler on weekdays when fewer people are there, but it is large enough that even on weekends there’s plenty of room for a leisurely stroll through a peaceful and lovely setting. A very lovely place indeed.
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I love it there too, PJ.
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Yes, PJ! Even though last year’s tornado damage is still pretty raw around that part of the park. It’s changed the whole atmosphere on that end of Theo Wirth Park to sunny! It’s not bad, but different and will take some getting used to. It still feels ragged and raw to me when I drive through there.
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I haven’t been there subsequent to the tornado. I hope that not too many trees came down within the wildflower garden itself.
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No, the damage is more along the driving road and by the lake on the edge of Bryn Mawr.
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The usual place I take people is our little Sochacki Park almost next door. There is a main road/trail for bikes or walking, no motorized vehicles after the parking lot, and a good sized slough with lots of water birds, etc. Lola (my 9-year-old neighbor) and I biked down there recently, and she wanted to go on what I call the deer paths – adventure! There are a lot of them, but I’m here to tell you they’re better for walking than biking. One leads you to a series of moguls the kids have created…
I still like to walk around Lake Harriet in S. Mpls, and if you come to Winona, where we also used to live, I’d walk you up on the levee over the Mississippi.
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Minneopa State Park here is not a walking park, but it does have an area of restored prairie, rather restoring prairie. But that gives a person lots of solitude. I like to meander the bits of trails and draw. I cannot hike much any more and my wife not at all. There is a nature center here with some nice paved trails so I can bring her there.
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Clyde, when you go to these places with your wife, do you use a wheel chair?
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Sometimes or sometimes awalker. Wheelchairs are available and easy to get in many places, such as MOA and another favorite for us to walk together, The Arb. She always wants to walk with no aid. She has to be convinced of it often. In places like MOA I prefer the wheelchair because she can be kind of oblivious of what she is doing. A small percentage of people are astoundingly rude to someone with a walker.
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Yes, it would be good to know some places that we could take someone who isn’t ambulatory.
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Lakewood Cemetary–the last time I was there, we saw a trio of whitetail deer browsing among the headstones. I love the little Egyptian-inspired mausoleums (I suspect those were largely Masonic; anyone know for sure?) If my friends were a little too squeamish for a graveyard, Eloise Butler or the Arboretum in spring-through-fall, the Conservatory in winter.
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Conservatory in St Paul is my go-to place when I’ve had too much winter and need the smell of warm earth and greenery…and I bet if you ask one of the staff at Lakewood they would know about the mausoleums.
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I like walking in cemeteries too, especially the ones with older gravestones. Roselawn Cemetery is one of my favorites. And let’s not forget the Sculpture Garden by the Walker Art Center. That’s always on the list of places I take visitors from other places.
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Oakland Cemetery on Jackson St is really nice, too, PJ. Lots of old grave stones and statuary.
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I agree, Steve. It’s a good place for taking photos as well.
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The Lakewood Chapel with its mosaics is an incredible treasure.
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Do any of you stop at little country cemeteries when you’re driving in southeastern Minnesota? We’ve often done that. Just us and the bumblebees and the land that time forgot.
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I did a guest blog about our visits to cemeteries.
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http://daleconnelly.com/2011/10/10/deeply-grave-issues/
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a favorite
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Love it!
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I have been to the Eloise Butler Garden and look forward to making more visits to that wonderful place. A book I have about Eloise Butler covers a lot of information about her work on developing the Eloise Butler Garden. It is a book authored by Martha Hellander titled The Wild Gardener. I would be glad to lend it to anyone who would like to read this book which I found to be very interesting.
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Near my house: Minnehaha Creek. I live by a stretch that (normally) goes under Lyndale Avenue – the stretch west of me where it meets up with a small tributary from Lake Harriet to about where it goes under 35W is a stretch where you can feel lost in the woods in places even though you’re in the city. I have seen heron, woodpeckers, a fox, neighbors have seen deer…
Another spot that you have to hit at the right time – and when you do it’s glorious: the rest stop just north of Milaca on 169. Hit it at the right time in the spring and their little walk in the woods behind the park building (which has the restrooms most folks stop for) is chock a block with trillium. They are everywhere – it’s breathtaking. I think it’s already past its prime this year with the warmer spring, but normally mid-late May is a great time to stop there (it’s on one of the routes to my aunt’s house). Will probably still check it out on the way north this Memorial Day weekend, but my aunt said they looked almost ready to bloom when she stopped through in late April.
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I’ll tell my sister who lives outside Milaca in case she doesn’t already know of this place! Thanks, Anna.
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There is a sort of trail along Minnehaha, Anna, in the short stretch below the Falls as the creek rushes to empty itself in the Mississippi. There are some nice old stone bridges over it. This is a popular spot with SE Asian bank anglers.
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I have been on that trail, but it has been several years since I was there last. Will have to wander that direction again, soon.
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Everyone’s suggestions are great and I’m going to write them all down so as not to forget.
We used to walk in Barbara’s Sochacki Park when we lived a block from there. So much wild life and very secluded and quiet. Now in S Mpls, we walk along the River Road. At 36th Street, you can head down onto the bluff to a little clearing where people bring their dogs and celebrate mid-summer/mid-winter solstices. It’s very secluded from the Parkway and I’m afraid I don’t know the name of it.
Other urban walks I love are across the Stone Arch Bridge, looking up and down the River in all seasons. And across the River by Highland Park is Hidden Falls reserve, very quiet.
And always biking across town on Minnehaha Creek is green and scenic.
We do live in a beautiful and accessible state, don’t we?
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Robin, just downstream from Hidden Falls is the Crosby Farm area. It has long, looping trails that include a boardwalk over a marsh. There are two small lakes down there and a pleasant mix of flood plain vegetation. The first time I was there I saw the only gray fox of my lifetime (a fox that climbs trees!). A pack of coyotes used to live down there, and twice I saw bear scat on the trail.
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Cool, Steve! And somehow bears feel familiar; not as scary as the trail to Compostella with its wild dogs and predatory humanoids. 🙂
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Almost forgot — I used to volunteer at Noerenberg Gardens, a county park on Lake Minnetonka. It’s an old estate that was granted to the county with the stipulation that the house be torn down and the gardens be maintained for the public. It’s free, NEVER crowded, and a true work of art. Arla, the head gardner, is a wealth of plant information and an artist in her outdoor canvas. When she first succeeded the original caretaker, the gardens were lovely, but traditional formal rectangular beds. Now it’s a gorgeous organic free flow of plantings and paths overlooking the lake, with a little boathouse seating area, always breezy and cool even in the midsummer heat. It’s like wandering into a little time warp. I like to see the seasons change there — RIGHT NOW, there will be a huge bank of azaleas, every color of peach, pink, yellow and white. The azaleas there are 8-10 feet tall, biggest ones I’ve ever seen!. When they’re in bloom, it’s dazzling!
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When they were old but still ambulatory, my parents used to walk from their home on Crystal Bay (where my sister now lives) to Noerenberg Gardens. You describe it beautifully, Robin.
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Had never heard of it, Robin, but will definitely have to check it out. Sounds wonderful.
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a place of meditation rather than a hike but what a place. magnificent 14 on a scale of 1-10
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yes!
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Slightly OT: here is a little PSA about upcoming weekend events. This weekend, of course, is Mother’s Day and the MN Fishing Opener. If you catch a cute lil’ walleye, kiss it and gently release it. That works with mothers, too, for those of us who still have ’em. On 5/20 the Blevins Book Club meets at Tim’s place. Then on 5/27 some of us are heading up to Blackhoof in hopes of seeing a goat. Just a one-day trip. There’s room for one more Democrat in my Outback.
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thanks, Steve – i haven’t even been lurking until this morning when i decided to check in. i’ll put the 27th on our calendar. all the kiddos will be here yet. if the weather is nice we can picnic on the front lawn. thanks for the heads-up. you’ll need a map – have my email address or is VS coming along == she knows the way??
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I’ll write you for a map. I have your email address. Lookin’ forward to it.
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Hey all… when I looked at my calendar I realized that I already have a commitment on the 27th, so I won’t be able to join the crowd. Boo hoo hoo hoo!
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Oh, for heaven’s sake… what is Word Press’s problem?
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Good to “see” you, BiB.
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Almost any street in Paris-especially along the Seine
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I think that’s cheating, Beth-Ann.
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Mais non, it is not cheating…just a chance for a stroll avec mes amis and maybe a little pastry or vin before returning.
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Or Pere LaChaise? 🙂
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I really like River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. I’ve hiked there since the late ’70s, before it was even a Nature Center. Sakatah Lake State Park is closer to home now, and I hike there often. I like it better during the week because I never see anybody else there. It gets busy on weekends from early spring through fall. My family is coming this weekend. They usually don’t like going outside too much. My brothers used to spend a lot of time outdoors but they have changed. Neither of my sisters-in-law like the outdoors at all. My mom enjoys it but can’t walk as far as she used to.
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Good luck with them all, Krista. 🙂
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I am jealous of all you Babooners who have so many lovely, natural areas available to walk in. Florida is not a great place to walk. We do have a few wooded areas here and there, but they are usually quite buggy and snake-y and generally unpleasant. There’s always the beach, but that’s not usually too peaceful or private. But we do have the gardens at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach. There are several different Japanese-style gardens there, with bridges, water features, trees, flowers and sculpture. You can get pretty Zen in there, if that’s your thing. I love visiting there whenever I can. They have some terrific pictures of the gardens online. Not quite the same effect as being there, but still very lovely. http://asoft478.accrisoft.com/morikamimus/index.php?submenu=Gardens&src=gendocs&ref=Gardens&category=Main
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Oh my gosh, this garden is lovely! I grew up in Kyoto, Japan which has some of the most beautiful gardens in the world and these photos take me right back there. So many “Japanese” gardens here in the States try to crowd too much into too small a space and they lose the spatial proportions, just feel “wrong” to me. When you have lots of acreage, then go for it all, but otherwise must make choices. Less is better. (PS My own garden doesn’t follow this maxim, but it doesn’t pretend to be a Japanese garden. More English cottage garden.) Thank you for sharing these photos; I’m going to bookmark the website so I can go back and visit again 🙂
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Glad you liked it, Robin! Nice to hear your perspective since you have seen proper Japanese gardens, and you know what they really look like. I have to say, I don’t have any basis for comparison, but I do love the gardens at the Morikami. Going there is really like being on vacation, even though it’s just a little day trip. You just feel very transported and renewed after spending the afternoon meandering around the grounds!
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This morning my walking path has been in my daughter’s living room.
She is now in the recovery room, light a kidney. All 3 donors and 3 recipients are doing well. When it all got cancelled two weeks ago they all met each other, which otherwise does not happen because of patient confidentiality. So last night all six of them and available spouses went out and had a party for the woman who just got Becca’s kidney, quite a birthday present. She’s a quite young woman from Montevideo, MN.
Now I will go bike ride.
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Wonderful news, Clyde. Thanks for sharing.
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What good news that everyone is doing well, Clyde; enjoy your bike ride and this gorgeous day. Everyone else, too, to the extent you can, whether you are riding a bike, walking, sitting in the sun or looking from the window.
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Fabulous Clyde – glad all are doing well.
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Terrific news, Clyde. Speedy recovery to everyone.
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How wonderful that your daughter was an organ donor, Clyde, and that all involved are recovering nicely. Glad to hear it! 🙂
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Great news, Clyde! Glad to hear that it all succeeded and everyone is doing well.
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My daughter just posted very good news about the woman who got her kidney: Mostly hurts in my back, but my left kidney is now doing its old job in its new home, so the pain is worth it all!
Did not know it would happen that fast.
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That is unclear. Becca said, “Mostly hurts in my back, but my left kidney is now doing its old job in its new home, so the pain is worth it all!” She means, of course, the kidney is working in the woman who git it.
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Congratulations all around!
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Last update–all three transplanted kidneys are working well. All 6 people are good.
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Such good news!
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Just the news I want before going to sleep. Thanks for keeping us posted, Clyde. You go get some rest now.
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Morning all. Reading through everyone’s comments this morning makes me realize what a city girl I am. I do love walking along the creek that Anna mentioned (although currently no bridge to go under) and I love walking around the lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, Isles) but I don’t think of any of these walks as solitary walks. For me, the best way to have alone time is to have an EARLY walk in my neighborhood… if I take the dogs out at 6 a.m., it’s usually pretty quiet.
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This is me.
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OT but happy coincidence. For anybody who watched the Stephen Colbert interview w/ Maurice Sendak that was posted yesterday….. I just picked up an email from Barnes & Noble entitled “Books Readers Are Talking About”. “I Am a Pole (And So Can You)” is listed front and center. $15.99!
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Just saw this book in the store this very morning! I took pictures of it on my phone and had gone back to yesterday’s thread to post links to the pics , but for anyone who missed it and would like to see this new masterpiece of children’s literature in all its glory, you can click here:
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BTW, I looked inside and they had changed the story just a bit from the one Colbert read in the interview. They did keep in the bit about the stripper pole, which I was delighted to see. But they added some other things (the character even tried being a tadpole!) which were all pretty funny. Don’t know if I’d pay $16 for it, but next time you’re at the bookstore, check it out! 🙂
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I walked the Superior Trail a lot. But Dale’s question was where to bring guests for a walk. I do not have many walking friends. Many of our friends in Castle Danger bike, loving the new bike trail there. I had a great hiking partner for the Superior Trail. Perfect except for one flaw–he was in perfect shape for hiking, much better than me, despite being 11 years older. I have hiked in 35 state parks, mostly alone in the early morning while others slept. Split Rock is great, especially by the river. Cascade River. Sibley Provincial Park in front of Thunder Bay, the Sleeping Giant, is a wonderful park for many things, including hiking. The park by Winnipeg, where they hold the Folk Festival, what’s its name, is very good.
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Is MB a hiker? Must be good trails in Switzerland.
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🙂
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Nice touch, Holly, with a goat finish.
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so glad you noticed!
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excellent!
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If the people involved like dogs I would bring them to the Crow Hassan Off Lease Dog Park 3 miles from my home. I do look forward to checking out the dog park at Minnehaha Falls.
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Looks pretty… maybe we’ll have to have a field trip this summer!
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The composer Percy Grainger lived out his life in New York. He preferred to walk wherever he went, even if it meant walking miles and miles from White Palins, NY to New York City for a concert. He was a genius and a sad, tortured soul. I wonder what walking did for him?
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Moving in silent desperation
Keeping an eye on the holy land
A hypothetical destination
So who is this walking man?
Well, the leaves have come to turning
And the goose has gone to fly
And bridges are for burning
So don’t you let that yearning pass you by
Walking man, the walking man walks
Any other man stops and talks
But the walking man walks.
– James Taylor
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so good.
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I haven’t been there for a long time, but the trails around Taylors Falls and Interstate State Park are lovely. Nice place to put a few miles on your hiking shoes.
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Yes.
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Evening–
Clyde, I was in Mankato this morning. Went to a lighting demonstration at Mankato State.
So glad to hear your daughter and all involved are doing well!
I’d walk more if my feet didn’t give me so much trouble. I have a bad foot anyway and back in December I jumped out of the pickup– apparently because I thought I was still 20 yrs old– and twisted my ankle and it’s been giving me problems ever since.
But, before that, I enjoyed walking along the creek and through the pasture to a place where there’s been a large rock slide into the creek (slabs of limestone) and then back up the hillside and through the fields and back home.
It’s not so much fun when the deer flies and nettles are out…
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