Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – MARION, Va. – Listening to a babbling brook running behind the campground in this state park just as the sun went down on Halloween, I could have sworn I heard a small female child crying off in the distance, moaning “hungry mother, hungry mother.” Back during the pioneer…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – My eyes and my soul are drawn to one event in nature more than any other. Autumn color. I could play the innocent and talk about this natural beauty like describing playing in mud puddles as a youth and wax eloquent about the uniqueness of…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – After realizing it was the 14th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, I rode the mountain bike to the College Park Metro station and took the train downtown. I decided to ride around the White House and see what new vantage points I could find to photograph. After hanging…
By Bob Wells – After a few days at the Grand Tetons it was time to move on. Because Judy and I had spent so much time here last year I had most of the photos I wanted, this trip was all about the wildflowers that were in bloom. Next up on my agenda was…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. – It’s cool in the mountains this Sunday morning at first light. The birds are singing and the does and fawns are starting to move around. A few drops of water are still dripping down on the canopy from the trees, remnants of…
By Glynn Wilson – HOGBACK MOUNTAIN, Va. – It’s officially summer now in the Shenandoah National Park, although you wouldn’t know it from the cool nighttime temperatures in the mountains, compared to the rest of the South. But it’s true. The summer solstice occurred Sunday, the longest day of the year. For a few weeks…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – Who knew Herbert Hoover was such a great guy? About the only thing most Americans know about former President Hoover is that he was in office when the stock market crashed in 1929, leading to the worst Great Depression in U.S. history. He was defeated when seeking reelection…
Photos by Jane Cappe – There’s an ancient Native American legend of dubious history about a Great Spirit which allegedly made the world and gathered the morning stars together on the shores of a quiet, silver lake bordered with blue mountains, the most beautiful place on Earth. Hovering above the quiet waters and lighting the…
“Oh-skan-ohn-doh in Oneida.” – Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – BIG MEADOWS, Va. – Finally. It’s 1:47 on a Sunday afternoon. Me and my loyal dog Jefferson are taking a break in the camper van, aided by a little afternoon air conditioning — and an April shower on the mountain in May. It’s been…
By Glynn Wilson – BIG MEADOWS, Va. — It started out Sunday afternoon Memorial weekend as a trip to the lodge for a few minutes of WiFi. On the way back to the campground, however, it became a “Bear Jam,” the term on the mountain for a traffic jam caused by a bear sighting. In…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Virg. — It’s an incredible feeling sitting here at 3,500 feet above sea level on the hill looking out over the Big Meadows campground, watching a spring shower roll through the mountains. I can’t think of a spot east of the Mississippi where I…
Secret Vistas by Glynn Wilson PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. — America is rich in secret vistas — little-known places that touch the heart and stir the spirit. Like quiet Gulf of Mexico beaches in the off season. Deserted Appalachian hiking trails and glistening streams thick with trout. Hidden forests with trees dating back to…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. – As the sun went down on Sunday, May 3, I was walking my dog Jefferson around the outer loop of the campground along the ridge top and noticed the full moon coming up over the horizon. It was so orange it looked…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – If you’ve been sitting around the house waiting on spring and thinking about getting outdoors to camp and hike or just sit by the fire under the trees and listen to the birds sing, this is a good week to do it. It’s National Park Week, and camping is “fee free” from…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — We made it into the city on Monday to catch the cherry blossoms in full peak bloom on the new green Giant mountain bike. Hope you enjoy and share the photos.
PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. – The earth has turned on its axis to just the right angle for spring to start breaking out in Maryland, finally, although there are more April showers and cool nights on the way. A screech owl made a special appearance in the campground Saturday night from the Maryland Department…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — It is almost too cold here to type. It was spring in Mobile, Alabama, last week when I had to pull out and head north for the season in the area around Washington, D.C. Upon arrival in Patapsco Valley State Park, which you may…
By Bob Wells – I just got back to Arizona after visiting my mom for three weeks in Florida and while I was there I went to a small gathering of East coast vandwellers that are all on the cheaprvliving.com forums. I was delighted for the chance to meet them and see how East coast…
By Bob Wells – While solar power has been around for a long time now, for most of us it was so expensive we couldn’t really afford it. And if we could afford it we found it too confusing to figure out what we needed and how and where to get it. Most of us…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — The United States and Cuba finally have a chance to normalize relations and benefit both countries from the exchange of cultures thanks to the recent announcement by President Barack Obama that the long and tragic trade embargo should be lifted, according to Cuban Ambassador Carlos Alzugaray. He spoke…
