Christmas Eve: On ice, ghosts & dreams

December 24, 2013 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

Ice is art when painted on a living canvas: A perfect curlycue of clear crystal clings to the tip of a wisteria tendril, hanging down from a beam of the […]

Winter Solstice: In which we are home.

December 21, 2013 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

At 5:00 p.m. it is solidly dark on Wolfe Island. At 5:00 a.m. it was also solidly dark. I was driving the long, straight stretch of highway 401, between Windsor […]

I am cold: And other news from the Canadian Rockies

November 26, 2013 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

The Canadian Rockies are spectacular. The bony plates along the spines of sleeping dragons, frozen in place under Jack Frost’s spell, curled head to tail in a pile of jagged […]

Notes from BC: Four days was not enough

November 19, 2013 in Canada, North America

The islands off of the northeast coast of Vancouver Island are not well traveled. A double handful of people live on the little dots of land that honeycomb the inlets […]

Re-Entry is kickin’ our butts: Or, the shortest post in the history of this blog

November 15, 2013 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

Re-entry is officially kicking our butts. We’ve been on terra firma in North America for about 63 hours now, following the worst red-eye flight ever. Here is the short version: […]

Etihad Airways Flight 140: Toronto to Abu Dhabi, seat 53A

May 25, 2012 in Asia, Canada, North America, Thailand, Travelogue

The view from 37,000 feet is wide and we’re flying over an ocean of sand. The lines that mark the porous sandstone, carved from countless years of erosion by water […]

The Calm Before The Storm

May 22, 2012 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

This is what’s known as the calm before the storm. This island is always a quiet space for us, but more so this week. It feels a bit as though […]

Nothing Says, “Welcome Home,” Like A Dead Turtle

May 16, 2012 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

Nothing says “Welcome home,” like a huge dead turtle, lovingly collected and artistically laid by Gramps in the driveway as a gift for his boys. There was much discussion over […]

I am a Rock Star: Photo Essay from the Alberta-Saskatchewan border

February 20, 2012 in blog, Canada, North America, Travelogue

In case you were wondering… I am a rock star. Yes, it’s true. Just ask the Montalvo children. The past four days I’ve spent on the border of Alberta and […]

Party on the Prairie: A Surprise Trip To Lloydminster, Alberta

February 17, 2012 in Canada, North America, Travelogue

It’s cold at 34,000 feet. Ice crystals are forming on the window beside me and the clouds below look like mounds of snow. I keep watching for some sky-sprite on […]