Few minds have been changed by debate, if social media is any indication. But sometimes the urge is overwhelming to try anyway. So, if you must engage your Uncle Jerry during the holidays when he starts on a particularly unpalatable tangent, here are some tips borrowed from the Greeks, who kind of invented formal arguing. …
Five Ways to Win Political Debates This Christmas Read More »
On the days that I hike, wearing light shoes that I can sense the ground through, I feel myself move differently than I used to. My legs are springs, and they cushion my dance uphill and downhill. I keep my body relaxed to conserve energy, and still I go, shot from the cannons of my …
I’m at Lucidity festival outside of Santa Barbara with my new friend Mary from Spokane, setting up tents. We’ve packed her minivan with sheepskin rugs, funky clothes from the thrift store, jugs we filled on the way down at the headwaters of the Sacramento River. As we set up for the four days we’ll be …
Where Urban Meets the Outdoors: The West Coast Festival Scene Read More »
Staying outside late into long-lit evenings is particularly enjoyable in July. Before fire season rolls around, smogging up the air and preventing outdoor burning of any kind, small backyard fires can provide the backdrop to many hours of social gatherings, family bonding, and open-air cooking of the on-stick variety. If you do not already have …
How to Turn Your Backyard into a Campfire-capable Hangout Read More »
Danny Clark stands two feet off the ground, balancing on the long end of a block of firewood. He wobbles back and forth but in a controlled, rhythmic way. “I went to a yoga class recently, and the instructor did a one-leg balance series to see if she could make me lose my balance. She …
It’s our second day in a row hiking in the high Pyrenees, and the French woman I’m with is still wearing the chic blue sundress and khaki canvas ankle boots with braid details she wore yesterday. Her bronzed arms are sculpted from roller derby, local meats and veggies, and life in the mountains. I’d almost …
Backcountry Fashion: Taking a Few Lessons from French Style Read More »
The Inland Northwest is nothing if not rich in water — Priest Lake, Pend Oreille, Coeur d’Alene, the Kootenay — and they rely on the tributaries running from the mountains to feed them. The health of mountain streams has direct consequences on whatever and whoever plays in the runoff. Stream health can make or break …
Whitewater Ski Resort’s Coldsmoke Powder Festival Is Always a Trip to Remember I make it within five blocks and 20 minutes of the opening social event at Coldsmoke Powder Fest in Nelson, British Columbia, and I realize I’m getting a migraine. To the point that I can’t see. Did I mention this particular event I’m …
The bears in the Inland Northwest usually keep to themselves high in the mountains, but this summer was hot, which meant the huckleberries expired more quickly than normal. Widespread fires have also pushed the animals out of their normal territory. One recent evening right at sunset, I was out hiking the Syringa Trail a stone’s-throw …
The day after completing a MovNat teacher training workshop in Santa Monica, Sandpoint-based Collin Beggs spotted an elderly homeless man passed out on the sidewalk in the full July sunlight, the dusky red sunburn on his skin obviously getting worse by the minute. Beggs went over, woke the man enough to ask his permission, then …
