Outdoors

Encounter the choice between taking the stairs or the elevator. Be aware that you might have to do some sleuthing, first. Stairs are usually less obviously located, since fewer people use them. This is a good thing! Less traffic and more peace of mind.) Check how much time you need…

14ers, water filters and everything in between — “That was definitely a Class 3 Scramble.” “I’m more into frontcountry camping than backcountry.” “We’re doing a 14er this weekend.” If you’re confused by statements like that, you’re not alone. I first started hiking in May 2022, and back I didn’t even know what hiking meant — not kidding! I…

The context behind my Silent Sunday blog post on WordPress. — Each Sunday for the last five years, I’ve written a Silent Sunday post on my WordPress blog, The Apples in My Orchard. It’s been immensely popular with my readers. Last week, I started adding context to the pictures I chose each week, based on my chosen theme. Here, on Medium…

Three weeks in photos — I spent my junior high, high school and college years in Tucson, Arizona. When we moved there from Upstate New York, where I was born, I had no idea what to expect about living in the Sonoran Desert. …

It’s a scramble, but the view is more than worth the effort — When my husband and I first started exploring Sedona, Arizona, in the mid 1990’s, it was not uncommon to find miniature desiccated cobs of corn, left behind by the Sinaguan Indians, amongst the tumbled ruins of ancient cave dwellings. The locals all knew not to take anything from these ancient…