Swinged Cat
"South Dakota is a swinged cat, better than she looks."
Category: Travel
June 24, or, How I Arrived Here (Twice)
Twice on June 24, I arrived in Rapid City. I don’t think I even realized that until a couple of days ago. Obviously, the anniversary of our arrival on this date two years ago has been top-of-mind lately. But equally momentous—though I did not…
Into the Mystic
I was out running errands yesterday, and twice—the first time in Target, the second in the grocery store—an employee wished me a “Happy Father’s Day!” Nice gestures, and I thanked them both, but I’m curious why they assumed I was a father. Am I…
Capturing Lightning
Tropical Storm Cristobal will make landfall today, and I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m not referring to the high storm surge and possible destruction it will cause throughout the Gulf states. Of course those are bad; thanks again for yet another…
Obsessed with Croatia
I’ve recently become obsessed with Croatia. If this strikes you as peculiar, it strikes me as peculiar-er. I’ve never been there (or anywhere else in Europe, for that matter). I may have Croatian blood; though it’s generally been acknowledged in my family that my…
Burn, Beetle, Burn!
What an interesting getaway we had this weekend. Tara and I decided to check out the annual Burning Beetle festival in Custer. Back in the 1980s and 90s, there was a mountain pine beetle infestation in the Black Hills that wiped out a lot…
Sole Survivor
During our recent trek across Nevada, we were fortunate to stumble upon an elusive Nevada Shoe tree (genus: Pinus Adidas). This rare species is characterized by clusters of hanging fruit measuring roughly one foot long. Their rubbery texture makes them inedible (some say the…
Like an Eagle or Superman
Flying last week reminded me how much I hate flying. There’s something about defying the laws of gravity that feels…I don’t know, cocky, for lack of a better word. I’m no engineer, but I do understand the mechanics of flight. Lift and weight and…
Sleep Away Montana
Holy crap. It’s June. There have been a lot of milestone dates as we counted down to our move – January 1 comes to mind (“we’re moving this year!”), as well as March 15 (“99 days – we’re down to double digits now!”) –…
What’s Old is New Again
I have a coworker who just started watching The Office. He may be late to the party, but boy do I envy him right now. Imagine having nine glorious seasons’ worth of new-to-you episodes of a beloved, critically-acclaimed comedy series to watch? Actually, I…
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Now that it’s May, I can say we will be moving to South Dakota next month. Whoa. I’m pretty excited and anxious to get out there. Right now it feels like we’re living in limbo, standing on the precipice of a brand new life…
Read My Book
