Tell me if you can’t sympathize with Tom Bol. Here he was, gallivanting around the country doing odd jobs, climbing, hiking, biking, basically living at the moment’s whim, when the next thing he knows, he’s married with kids. As Kurt Vonnegut might have written: So it goes. So now Tom has a son named Skyler, and as he writes in this wonderful story about tackling a river trip with his family in tow, things can be more complicated, but not necessarily less fun. The Bols headed to Moab, Utah and then to Mineral Bottom, where the trip would begin. Then, after five days of paddling, they’d find themselves at the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. The rapids were small, but the floating life was easy. A blissful retreat from the day-to-day suburban drudgery. If you’re in serious need of some outdoor bliss and are worried about having the kids in tow, give Tom’s article a read. It might help make the whole idea seem a bit more possible.
The Paddling Glass Artist
What do paddling, glass and breasts have in common? Why, they are all the passion of the artist Steven Wrubleski. known as one of the best glass artists in the Northwest today. Glass art is such a Northwest thing. I don’t know why that is, but it seems to be the case. When I lived in Seattle, there were several stained glass shops there that taught the Middle Ages, um, age art of stained glass making. And of course, Seattle is home to the world famous, and famously irascible Dale Chihuly.
Well, Mr. Wrubleski (rhymes with Trubleski) is as I say an avid paddler, and manages, in addition to lovely breasts, to work water and paddling iconography into his work. He is also a big-time avid paddler, hence the reason why he made it in to the pages of Canoe and Kayak Magazine.
The story here talks about Wrubleski’s life, how he ended up in the San Juan islands, the boats he likes to paddle, his disdain for the fast-paced lifestyle and why he has selected glass as his artistic medium: “its similarity to water”. Good answer. It’s a nicely done profile about a guy you’ve probably never heard of but will be made slightly better for, well, having heard of.
The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh
Some folks here might remember the trip I took to a while back and the series of dispatches I filed from that lovely, wonderful country. Armenia is one of those lesser-known gems in the world, a place you can go to not only see centuries-old historical sites, but also to get s glimpse of modern history as well, since the country was for several decades under communist rule, and there is still a marked, somewhat brutal feel to much of the architecture there. Of course, what may be brutal in some ways is today’s kitsch, and so many of the places in , and in particular,
All this is to bring up a wonderful new guide book that is out that I recommend you consider if you are thinking about a trip to . Soon to be released by Matthew Karanian, Robert Kurkjian and their Stone Gardens Productions, the book: Armenia & Karabagh is one of the best guides you will find on the region (the guide includes not just Armenia, but the disputed territory of Karabagh. I used the earlier version of Stone Garden Guide during my trip and found it immensely useful. The book provides ample history and context for its recommended sites and is both lively and informative about what you should see and do. As I mentioned in some of my dispatches, Armenia is not just a great place to experience history, it is also lovely and very appealing to the adventuresome. There are rivers and mountains and lakes all perfect for hikers, climbers, bikers and paddlers.
Anyway, I recommend you take a look at the guide if this fascinating little country happens to be on your life list of places to visit.
Kayaking Photos
I love to post people’s random kayaking photos when I come cross them, and being on several listserves here in town, I get lots of emails with people’s photos. This one from David Gottlieb shows some wonderful shots of his recent paddling excursion on the Saguenay River.
Circumnavigation of Manhattan Paddling Gallery
Just a heads up, looks like some folks did a circumnavigation of Manhattan island ths weekend, and they posted some photos about it. Wish I’d gotten on this thing. That’s been a goal of mine since I moved here, to paddle around the entire island. The trip can take a single day if you go balls out, or yo can take your time and smell the roses, er, sewage, if you like. I actually did get out on the river this weekend, and paddled over to the Lackawanna pier, which was surprisingly old and broken down up close .For some reason ,looking at it frmo across the river on the Manhattan side, I always figured it was in some kind of working order. It’s not, but it’s really cool anyway.
So check out the pics here by Mo Fridlich.