June 24, 2013 I’ve been a little bummed out about losing the Roy Rogers Restaurant over in Union Township. Well, actually it is still there–with the same menu and ownership and memorabilia–but with a different name, Roney’s. Maybe the roast beef tastes the same, but I feel as though I would be disloyal to Roy and Dale if I ate there now. That loyalty to Roy and Dale goes all the way back down the trail to my childhood. Every Saturday morning I would be in front of the TV, toy pistols loaded and holstered …

June 9, 2013 There is the hard-core hiker who keeps an eye on the weather channel, waiting for the worst possible conditions before heading out to the trail. He might be heard saying, “Hey, an ice storm is coming! I can try out my new contour-hooded sleeping bag with Techloft Insulation good to 20 degrees below zero and my ice cleats with tungsten carbide studs.” Or maybe, “They’re predicting 12 inches of rain. Great! I’ll break out my 20 denier nylon rain jacket with 15.5-inch pit zips and my downpour wide brim rain hat. Just …

April 17, 2013 We never know to what heights a friendship may take us . . . We were three days into our annual fall BTA (Buckeye Trail Association) backpacking trip. Children again–five strong–who still loved to hike and camp in the woods with our buddies. Our fall hikes take us off the BT into new territories. This year John was leading our little band of explorers on the North Country Trail through the Allegheny Mountains of northern Pennsylvania. This far into the journey, we explorers were noticeably tiring. The valleys and vistas were exquisite, …

March 29, 2013 As far as I know, there were no deaths when the school-bus sized meteor rained fireballs and stirred up a massive shock wave in the atmosphere over central Russia. That’s a huge relief. I’ve seen videos that were captured–that was no puny asteroid. As I watched the news reports, I was reminded of another amazing celestial event, one that I witnessed decades ago. Come to think of it, it was served up from that same side of the planet. It happened on a warm and carefree August evening. The year was 1986. …