Category: The Moosilauke Letters

PittsburghPennsylvaniaJuly 1999 I dated Betsy three times.  The middle time, I parked in front of her house and walked up to the door, rang the bell.  When she opened the screen door for me, a white and brown spotted kitty cat ran past me, out of the house. Betsy and I talked on the telephone… Continue reading Walkin’ Cat

anywhere that’s not home You’re in the woods.  A bear shows up for its appointment.  What do you do? Essentially, don’t panic, but do what you do when you do panic.  Jump around, make noise, scream like a shrill little kid.  Especially if you are a shrill little kid.  Bears respond to sincerity. Also, stand… Continue reading What to do With a Bear

Hawai’iJune  2016 It’s warm in Hawai’i.  It gets warm at home in the northeast too.  But the Hawai’ians, to all appearances, are smarter.  “Formal wear” in Hawai’i can be an Aloha shirt.  In most of the rest of the country, “formal wear” includes a shirt too, but also another, thicker layer on top of that,… Continue reading What to Wear in Hawai’i

WikieupArizonaJune  2018 It is 103°.  We are driving US-93 in Arizona, 23 minutes south of Wikieup, the self-proclaimed rattlesnake capital of Arizona. At last count, 350 people live in Wikieup.  Or maybe it is 133 people.  Another source lists the population as 108.  Or it might be 190.  One source counts 6363 residents, but I… Continue reading Snoopy!

select U S statesFebruary  2018 Look.  I ordered a pair of Wranglers online.  They were distributed out of El Paso, Texas and then shipped to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  From there, they traveled to Hodgkins, Illinois, Saint Louis, Missouri and Youngstown, Ohio.  They were finally delivered to me in Pittsburgh. One of the challenges of traveling… Continue reading Travel by Jeans

United States of America2024 chickens     1 500 000 000 pelicans     250 000 cows     71 160 000 pigs     75 000 000 deer     36 000 000 pet cats     58 000 000 self-sufficient feral cats    30 000 000 ~ 100 000 000 dogs     89 700 000 prairie dogs     10… Continue reading How Many Live Here?

New MexicoJuly  2013 I don’t remember how I first came to know about our next destination but as soon as I learned about this rock, I knew I needed to be here.  Look at this thing! I mean, look at it! This is Shiprock.  Shiprock is magical, or at least it is sacred.  Legends abound. … Continue reading Shiprock

Center of the WorldOhioJanuary  2018 Center of the World is a town in Ohio.  The best part of this town is the sign you see in the photograph. Of itself, it is the lone tourist attraction, and unless you live here, pretty much the only attraction. In 1845 Randall Wilmot, a bit of an eccentric,… Continue reading The Center of it All III

RugbySouth DakotaMay  2015 If you’ve got a thing, there must be a center of that thing.  Right?  North America is a thing so it must have a center.  Have you heard of the “Center of North America?”  If so, you may have heard something about Rugby, North Dakota.  It’s a thing. Rugby, in north central… Continue reading The Center of It All II

Belle FourcheSouth DakotaMay  2015 Highpointers find great value in lists.  I mean, how else do you keep track of the number of state high points you have summited.  Highpointers, I surmise, are somewhat compulsive, goal oriented, slightly geeky and fact/trivia-oriented.  So not only do we seek high points and keep track of them, but some… Continue reading The Center of It All I