< more recent | 1-9 December 2021 | older >
9 December 2021: Left the neighborhood in the darkness of early morning, the city still asleep. It was a strange goodbye to a favorite place and though I am unsure when I will be back, I hope it will be soon — “au revoir Paris!”…
7 December 2021: The rough-hewn edges of the urban spaces leave little room for nature, but along the canal a few trees still shed their last autumn leaves, and one seemed to pose on the pave waiting to be noticed…
6 December 2021: Took a favorite walk down to the Canal St. Martin and passed some good street art en route. I think the vibrant colors are extra welcome in contrast to the city’s winter grey tones, and I look forward to the unexpected surprises hidden in plain sight as I make my way through the urban landscape …
5 December 2021: Got out of the usual neighborhood today for a Kafka-esque day of frustration with the modern machine-based society where it is impossible to buy a ticket for a suburban train on a sunday because there are no humans working in the ticket office and the automated machine vendor does not accept a US credit card without a “code” and will not take cash. So back to the 10eme with a brief stop to change metro lines and a pretty view down onto the river from the elevated track …
1 December 2021: A little bit of rain on a grey winter day in Paris doesn’t change anything much for our neighborhood. The streets are still busy as folks are starting to prepare for the Christmas holiday. In the 10eme there is always some interesting street art to attract the eye and make us think…
THIS MONTH:
Return to Paris for a few weeks to connect with friends and favorite places, with a bit of urban exploration in between. Looking forward to familiar locales and fun times in the city of light once again…
COMING UP SOON:
Every Day Is a Clean Up Day in 2021. Ladies Offroad Network has partnered with TreadLightly! to create a year-long program that encourages members to pick up trash on the trails whenever they are out off-roading. Participants simply pick up the trash, weigh it, take a photo, and log the location and time it took, then upload the details. At the end of the year there will be a series of prizes based on pounds of trash removed from the trails as well as participation in other TreadLightly! initiatives. This is a great way to do some good on a local level and make a larger impact via the national program…
Advanced sand dune training with Barlow Adventures at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California. This three day driving and navigation program focuses on moving safely and effectively through large dunefields. Skills-building exercises are intended to improve pace, line choice and vehicle control, as well as developing precision map and compass navigation technique…
Trail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience fundraiser event running in March. Each day will feature a choice of runs to some famous, some infamous and some secretive points of interest within Death Valley National Park. The runs will depart from Furnace Creek and from Stovepipe Wells. Some of the points of interest we will visit during Death Valley Experience 2021 include Zabriskie Point (famous), Barker Ranch (infamous) and the Racetrack (learn the secret of the moving rocks). Other points of interest include Dante’s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists’ Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo, Titus Canyon, and Darwin Falls. All of the trail runs are suitable for novice drivers and SUVs with high clearance and 4-wheel drive…
Stay tuned for a new kind of exciting adventure coming up in Summer 2022. Details will be released early next year…
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
16-30 November – Paris
1-15 November – Roadtrip East
25-31 October – Roadtrip East
17-24 October – LON Top Ten
7-16 October – Rebelle Rally
1-6 October – Rebelle Training
24-30 September – Rebelle Training
16-23 September – Roadtrip West
1-15 September – CT Training
August – Paris
July – LI & CT
June – LI & VA
16-31 May – Long Island
8-15 May – Return to NY
1-7 May – Southeast Utah
23-30 April – LON Bogi’s & 5+
16-22 April – LON Navigation
8-15 April – Sedona
1-7 April – Nevada
16-31 March – New York
8-15 March – Death Valley
1-7 March – Arizona
22-28 Februay – Alabama Hills
15-21 Februay – Mojave Road
8-14 Februay – Death Valley
1-7 Februay – Glamis
15-31 January – Roadtrip Southwest
1-14 January – Long Island
22-31 December – Holiday Roadtrip
15-21 December – Holiday Roadtrip
7-14 December – Holiday Roadtrip
1-6 December – Long Island
Archive
SPECIAL REPORT
All about exploring ghost towns and abandoned places in the USA and beyond, with tips, and information on the many different types of sites to be found across the globe, including detailed guides for eight specific sites… [read]
RE-OPENING
Report from the first trail run with the Off Road Consulting group at Rausch Creek Off Road Park as the post-pandemic phased re-openings begin in Pennsylvania and some of our favorite local trails re-open to the public after the two-month shutdown… [read]
REFLECTIONS
EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS
A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]
