A Cold Beer in Passchendaele

World War 1 erupted 100 years ago.

About 50 years ago, I decided WW1 was a travesty. I remember my father's sadness and my mother's rage when I announced my (paternal) grandfather died at Passchendaele for nothing.

Teenagers are not known for tact, and I am not proud of that outburst.

Ignoring Barriers

If I'm on foot or bicycle, chances are I'll go round barriers like this one.

In recent weeks, barriers across trails all over the Twin Cities have become a fact of life. Flooding and fallen trees have made walking and cycling more interesting.

That got me thinking about a hike back in April on Sado Island, in the Sea of Japan.

I wanted to walk to the top of a snow-capped mountain. Trails at higher altitudes were still impassable, so this would be a road walk.  I figured it would be a quiet road, or at least it became a quiet road after I passed a gravel quarry.

Then I came to the locked gate shown at the top of this post.

I decided not to bother using my phone's Google Translate app to figure out what the signs were trying to tell me. I probably wouldn't have done anything with the information.

I climbed round the gate and continued my trek to the top. I wondered if I would be intercepted by the authorities, adding to the drama of my walk.

My senses were well-rewarded.

Note: Next day I hiked in the valley and wrote about this in Plain Views of Sado Island.

We're in This Together

When he saw I was bringing my backpack, the six-year-old decided to bring his. When he saw we were bringing backpacks, the five-year-old decided to bring his.

Three backpacks, each containing one bottle of water.

Fifteen miles, three happy guys, in this together.

Success Secrets They Don't Want You to Know

Success is too often defined as celebrity, money, or power.

Do Something

A colleague, an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, was about to deliver an early morning lecture. He stood in his heavy coat, and pronounced it to be a super frigid day.

The students groaned in agreement.

He then asked: "What are we going to do about it?"

Silence.

Then, everybody laughed as he removed his coat to reveal a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt.

Urban Hike: The Green Line

The Green Line, and stadium construction

June 14, 2014, the Green Line starts light rail service between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Back in December, when I hiked the Green Line, there was deep snow, no trains, and the Metrodome was still standing.

Green Line, under construction; Metrodome about to be demolished

I had planned to walk on the railroad ties, but realized this would be treacherous: the snow hid knee-deep cavities for control and signal equipment. It was wiser to take the adjacent streets.

Maps, Kids, and Adventures

What does this have to do with a map?

My nephews (5 and 6) have known about maps from an early age.

I've given them age-appropriate, map-themed books. I've mailed them maps on postcards from faraway places, along with postcards showing photographs of those places. 

In the process of finding a world map for them, I realized most world maps are centered on the Atlantic Ocean. This does not work well when explaining how to get to Japan. Imagine showing a little kid the route, falling off the left side of the map, only to reenter the map from the right side.

No, I had to find a Pacific-centered map.

Travel Gear: Headphones

I rarely use headphones when traveling. On a long-haul, I prefer to read, snooze, or watch a movie in silence with subtitles turned on. I have yet to find comfortable, compact headphones.

Back in 1980, when the Sony Walkman was introduced to the USA, the airlines were still handing out pneumatic headsets in Economy.

Urban Hike: Nordeast Minneapolis

Nordeast, looking towards Downtown.

Last weekend, the annual Art-a-Whirl artists' studio tour drew crowds to Northeast Minneapolis ("Nordeast"). 

Nordeast was a quieter place back in February when I went there on an urban hike.

It was a winter's day, but I took advantage of the shoveled sidewalks and warm, locally owned businesses for coffee and lunch. I felt a strong sense of place: each building had stories to tell; this is no Anywhere USA with its temporary cityscapes and mandatory car ownership.

As I walked, I played audio produced, narrated, and sung by the people who live in the neighborhood. These recordings revealed political, social, and historical layers I would otherwise have missed.

Traveling with Cherry Blossoms

It could be another week before the buds on our apple tree explode; spring blossoms come late in Minneapolis.

Back in March, I hiked up Kaimondake, a volcano in southern Japan for a day with Cecilia, a twenty-something from Sweden. She was traveling with the cherry blossoms, through Japan, from south to north. She would end up on Hokkaido in late April when the blossoms would finally be coming out in that northernmost of Japan's main islands.

Beyond that, she was living in the moment: no onward ticket from Japan, no concern her meager funding from an arts organization might run out.