2010

Lowell Thomas Awards at Explorer Club

As a member of the International Explorer’s Club, I had the honor of attending the Lowell Thomas Awards this weekend at the club headquarters in New York. It was a great event with several amazing people being recognized for their work all over the world. The Master of Ceremonies was Broadcaster Bill Curtis (see photo). […]

Don’t Worry Mom – I Am Not Going Back to Climbing

The reason I kayak is because I used to be an avid rock climber and then one day took a 40 foot fall and shattered my ankle. I was told there was a good chance I would not walk normally again and was definitely told I would never climb again. I thanked my Doc for […]

Siesta Time for Giraffes

The first animal I saw on Safari was a giraffe. Our guide said “look giraffes” and I being a naive person looked straight through the windshield and told our guide I didn’t see it. He smiled and told me to look to my left where 2 beautiful giraffes were standing about 20 feet away. It […]

Shooting Wildlife…With a Camera

Before my first safari in 2000 I had very little knowledge about how to shoot wildlife photography. My learning was by the seat of my pants. One way I learned was by going to the zoo several times to study elephants, lions and other animals and their behavior in the hope I would learn the […]

The Best of the Best

One of the most important components of great safaris are our guides.  While there are many guides who are knowledgeable about animals there is more to being a great guide besides knowing about wildlife.   You also have to speak good English, know how to spot leopards from hundreds of yards away as well as position […]

On Dry Land

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Utah to visit good friends who were kind enough to take me to Moab to go hiking at Arches National Park.  We went on a beautiful hike to “Delicate Arch.”  The park is beautiful in its vastness, its red rock and beautiful light. When I am […]

Why We Paddle in the Ocean and Not Fresh Water

Many people ask why we paddle in the ocean and not fresh water.  More people ask what about hippos and crocs?  Never a worry about those animals because we are in the ocean in warm water.  And safety is our primary concern. But there is another important reason.  For a week we travel seeing amazing […]

Confession – A Little Secret

Going on an African safari was not high on my list of “things to do”!  but an opportunity arose with good friends and the thought of all us hanging out together for a couple of weeks  – ANYWHERE – sounded like great fun and I didn’t want to miss out. Now I’m back and reflecting […]