Category Archives: hiking

Holiday Snowshoe Trek

Posted on December 26, 2018 by

We, and quite a few other folks, spent part of Christmas Day snowshoeing Empire Bluff in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Here are a few of the inspiring images from our trek. Advertisements

Posted in entertainment, Environment, family, fitness, fun, geography, hiking, recreation, topography, trails, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Front Grills That Can Kill

Posted on August 24, 2018 by

A sadly growing trend in American transportation has been an increase in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. There are several reasons for this, but one that is not mentioned as often as it should be is the increased size and altered … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, Biking, cities, civics, consumerism, deregulation, government, health, Health care, hiking, history, human rights, humanity, planning, politics, recreation, Statistics, transportation, walking | Tagged | Leave a comment

Planning lessons from Tucson

Posted on February 25, 2018 by

My wife and I just returned home from an amazing week in gorgeous Tucson, Arizona. Unlike many places visited, it was easy to come up with many more than ten planning lessons from this beautiful desert oasis. While we adore … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, Cities, civics, colleges, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fitness, Food, food systems, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, sprawl, third places, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Explorer cities of North America

Posted on May 26, 2017 by

Below is a list of cities across North America known to be named for famous land and sea explorers.  Frankly, I’m rather surprised there are not more. Please feel free to pass along any corrections or additions.  Peace! – Vasco … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, geography, hiking, history, North America, place names, sailing, topography, transportation, Travel, walking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Michigan’s ‘skyscraper’ coastal sand dunes

Posted on April 25, 2017 by

Michigan is blessed with some of the most beautiful and tallest coastal sand dunes on the planet. Below is a list of the tallest dunes as measured about the level of the adjoining lake elevation, many of these freshwater dunes … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, geography, Geology, hiking, historic preservation, history, Maps, nature, place names, planning, Statistics, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, walking, weather, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

From protective to active – repurposing historic city walls

Posted on March 23, 2017 by

When we think of city walls, some of the first images that come to mind are imposing structures erected as a protective or defensive barrier. More often than not, city walls were constructed from stone, masonry, brick, and/or concrete. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Canada, cities, culture, economic development, entertainment, environment, Europe, fitness, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Cool” vibes Up North in Boyne City, Michigan

Posted on October 29, 2016 by

Several weekends ago we ventured to Boyne City, Michigan to take in the vibrant fall colors of Northwest Lower Michigan. Beyond the standard driving tour, we stopped at a park/preserve that was once a busy ski hill in the winter … Continue reading →

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Happy 100th Birthday to the National Park Service!

Posted on August 24, 2016 by

The National Park Service is easily my favorite federal agency and the one that deserves so much more funding than Congress has been willing to give in recent years. If I were able to be transported back to the threshold … Continue reading →

Posted in civics, environment, fun, geography, Geology, government, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, nature, peace, recreation, sustainability, topography, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Awesome Acadia turns 100

Posted on August 12, 2016 by

I have had the distinct privilege of visiting 72+ of our national parks, historic sites, battlefields, lakeshores, memorials, seashores, trails, and similar units of the National Park Service. Similarly, I have had the pleasure of visiting a variety national parks … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, bridges, civics, culture, environment, fun, geography, Geology, government, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, nature, peace, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Kerouac’s eloquence in “The Dharma Bums”

Posted on June 2, 2016 by

I love reading books penned by Jack Kerouac. Somehow, his freewheeling eloquence with the written word just lifts imagery and wisdom right off the page and into your soul’s deepest crevasses. Earlier today I finished reading The Dharma Bums and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, art, Asia, book reviews, books, civics, Communications, culture, entertainment, environment, geography, hiking, homelessness, humanity, literature, nature, peace, politics, tourism, trails, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments