American Journeys: A Quirky Seattle That Won’t Blend In (Vladimir Lenin, Hattie’s Hat, and the Fremont Rocket Ship.)

Read about my latest adventure in the New York Times Escapes section. I had a big time up in Seattle earlier this fall. I especially loved the neighborhoods of Ballard and Fremont. Ballard has a maritime theme, and Fremont looks like a psychedelic fever dream. (although I am not saying that from direct experience.)Click here for a Ballard/Fremont mini slide show. By the way, I mentioned a seven-ton statue of Mr. Vladimir Lenin that was erected some years back right in the middle of Fremont. While in Seattle, I heard that the statue is on sale for approximately $250 K. Try to imagine how this might look in your front lawn. It’s a lot more original than pink flamingos.This is not the first time I’ve seen a controversial piece of public art or signage go up for sale. A few years back, while at the Santa Cruz Sentinel, I wrote…

New list of Cactus events — with Career Day info…

Here is a partial list of the latest events. I will fill in the blanks when more dates are confirmed. I will be reading and signing along with Kate Evans, author of the brand-new fiction book, For The May Queen, on Wednesday, November 12 at San Jose State University. Kate and I will read from 12 to 12:40 p.m.. We will be there in support of SJSU’s Poets and Writers’ Coalition. The event will be part of SJSU’s Career Day. There will also be a great selection of work by other SJSU-affiliated writers and faculty members. other upcoming events: San Francisco Public LibraryMission BranchSan Francisco, CaReading and signingDecember 10 (NEW DATE!) 630 to 730 p.m Sonoma County, CA Dec. 5private event (Rotarians) Also, I will lead a nature walk/writing class in the Santa Cruz area in early spring. So far, two of the slots have already been taken. Give me…

These outdoor photos are not workplace friendly (they might make you quit your job and hike the Pacific Crest Trail.)

It could happen. The following nature photos are eerily similar to the ones I saw in a slideshow that influenced me to leave my stable employment in New England and hike the trail from Mexico to Canada. In fact, those very similar photographs led me to quit my job during a previous national recession/depression-by-any-other-name. Yes — it could happen to you too. And don’t worry. After walking the trail, I did find other meaningful work. Eventually. Joshua trees in the Antelope Valley. Desert scene in the early morning. Frolicking in suncups under Forester Pass. Peaceful, alluring meadow under Mount Whatever. Cascades in northern Oregon. Cascades, adrift in clouds and fog. Pasayten Wilderness assorted fungus http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The California Academy of Sciences museum: Worth the Hype?

Monarch the Grizzly Bear: dead and in person at the Academy of Sciences The crowd was already a quarter mile long at 8:45 a.m. It was a total mob scene; after all, this was the first “free Wednesday” at a museum that normally costs almost two and a half sawbucks to get in. The people in the line were getting restive at about 9:15. Someone in front of me was trying to stay calm by practicing Tai Chi. People in back of me were glowering because they resented me for having a better place in line, while people in front of me were looking at me as if they feared I would try to steal their spot. A nervous-looking woman kept making calls from her cell phone: “Get here fast! Meet me at the Goethe-Schilling statue!” But the actual museum — when we finally got in — was astonishing. We…

World’s youngest pot dealer?

As you already know, I always see a lot of strange goings-on in Golden Gate Park when I’m in training. I mentioned the young couple I saw last month, trying to light up an enormous spliff with a magnifying glass. Well, it happened again during a recent training loop through the park. It seemed like every person in all of the park’s eastern side was trying to sell me something exotic — “sticky green bud”, ”skunk,” “pre-rolled fatties,” etc. These offers surprised me, because these are the kinds of products that you normally don’t try to sell to someone who is running right past you at six miles per hour in marathon-training gear, and is obviously in the middle of a big, sweaty workout. Anyhow, I made my way up to the famous Hippie Hill, and there, at the very top, sat a little boy, about 25 feet from two…

Stink-off: Quantifying and comparing foul odors

This article attempts to quantify the human smell, and compare it to the smells of other smelly creatures — namely stink bugs and skunks. A selection from this piece appears on page 238 of The Cactus Eaters, but some of you asked to see the article in full. WHO SMELLS THE WORST? A skunk, a stinkbug, or a Pacific Crest Trail Through Hiker SKUNK (yes, I drew this field sketch. What can I say? Skunks are hard to draw.) MEPHITIS MEPHITIS POTENCY Noxious spray can render dogs temporarily blind There’s a compelling reason why Pepé Le Pew is condemned to a life of celibacy. The chemicals in a skunk’s spray are so potent that one of them-3-methyl-1-butane-thiol-is on the EPA’s hazardous substances list. A natural-born sharpshooter, the skunk can nail predators-or you-from an anal gland with surprising accuracy from 10 feet away. Similar to tear gas, skunk spray is one…

Outdoor tortures, part II: deafening, snoring tentmates

Have you ever tried to sleep in a tent with someone who snores just like a foghorn? Have you ever wondered how one unconscious human could make such a racket? A while back, I wrote a magazine piece in which I tried to quantify — and compare — the loudness of snoring backpackers to the hideous noises made by cicadas and loud, shrieking barred owls, using scientific methods. The results appear below … Showdown: Who’s the Loudest? Backpacker versus cicada versus barred owl. CICADA Latin name: Magicicada SeptendecimSound and fury: Can drown out the roar of a revving power mowerThere’s a very special place in hell for the male periodical cicada. Its screeching “song” may be irresistible to potential mates, but it’s pure torture for humans. This nectar-sucking bug owes its distinction as one of the noisiest insects to its tymbals, ribbed vibrating membranes that stretch along its abdominal cavities….

Hike Pine Mountain, Channel Daniel Boone (my adventures in wild Eastern Kentucky.)

Read all about my latest backpacking adventure in the New York Times. I loved touring the Pine Mountain Trail and Whitesburg, one of the friendlist small cities I’ve ever seen. I call it the Santa Cruz of the Southeast. I had a great time talking to documentary film makers and broadcasters at the legendary Appalshop, and listening to its excellent old-time/bluegrass/Americana station — WMMT — as I explored the backroads from Glomar to Hazard. I also hiked to a waterfall, hung out at the general store where parts of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” were filmed, and talked to ecologists who are trying to fight off the deadly woolly adelgid, an aphid-like creature that is slaughtering the state’s historic hemlocks. To mark my emergence from the Pine Mountain backwoods, I bought two bottles of top-shelf bourbon in Lexington, Kentucky, and wrapped them very carefully in brown bags and newspapers to survive the…

Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello in the park (for free.)

We backpackers love cheap thrills. Free ones are even better. That’s why I saw so many backpacker types at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Golden Gate Park’s legendary free music festival. It’s hard to pinpoint the greatest moment: Ralph Stanley serenading the crowd with “O Death,”; Robert Plant and Alison Krauss trading vocals on “The Battle of Evermore,” with that eerie mandolin riff echoing just behind them; Elvis Costello doing his barnstorming version of “Friend of the Devil” — my third-favorite Dead tune — and a rave-up of Merle Haggard’s “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down,” with Jim Lauderdale harmonizing. The legendary Emmylou Harris motored right past me and waved to the crowd as event staff rushed her from one stage to the next. It was an unforgettable day in the park. Also this weekend, I took part in the Bridge to Bridge 12 K run, on what must be the loveliest…

Fixin’ To Do Something Dumber’n Hell

This week’s San Francisco Bay Guardian compared me — or at least my younger self — to Llewelyn Moss, the none-too-bright protagonist of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country For Old Men. In the movie version, directed by the Coen Brothers, Llewelyn Moss is played by Josh Brolin, who also plays a major role in the upcoming biopic of real life SF hero Harvey Milk, who lived in the Castro, where I am speaking Thursday evening at Books Inc on Market Street. And the real-life evil psycho played by Josh Brolin in that very movie just so happens to have the name “Dan White.” (who, I should add, was in no way related to me!!!!) A creepy coincidence, to say the least … The SF Bay Guardian review isn’t online but here is the cut-and-paste version.“I’m fixin’ to go do somethin’ dumber ‘n hell, but I’m goin’ anyways.” These were not the…