Finding Your Listening Point with Rolf Thompson Let’s Go Deep in the Woods! “Let’s go deep in the woods!” Rolf would say to his mother and by his tone you might think he was about to enter the Yukon. But the three-year-old was standing in his back yard in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis just a few miles away. Rolf, bundled up in his snowsuit, was about to venture off into a relatively small collection […]
Anything you see. Anything you hear is worth singing about in the blues.
Bradley Rutherford knows his mangroves. And his turtles, barracudas, kayaks, caves, estuaries, needlefish, sharks and much more! And if you can’t find him at the water’s edge on Grand Bahama island he’s probably nearby somewhere filling up a garbage bag with the litter that other’s left on the trail or taking care of the home that he loves. His work with container ships as a younger man prepared him for a long run as a tour guide for Grand Bahama […]
Melissa Constanzer, a professional broadcast meteorologist with AccuWeather, will run for miles in temperatures ranging from 9 degrees above zero to 97 degrees above zero. That wide spectrum of commitment to getting outside combined with her thorough knowledge and passion for weather is why she is our Wonder Guide for episode 14. Stories that Help Everyone Despite her vast knowledge of math and science, Melissa knows that her main job is to tell a story with weather. A story that […]
Wonder is the way.
The Spectrum of Experiences Josh Daugherty’s desire to connect to nature is palpable. He’ll do anything possible to immerse himself in a rainstorm, wade into a river, throw a frisbee barefoot and all along remind himself that ego is the enemy. He also might be skinny dipping in that lake so – fair warning. Necessary Stillness He also might be simply standing still and appreciating the quiet. This kind of stillness is hard to find these days. For Josh, a […]
Doug Wallace is eighty-four years old going on fifty-five. He’s up by 5:30 am and if his wife, Peggy Hunter, isn’t up by six, he’s going to wake her because it’s time to get in the canoe. They canoe every day (weather permitting) from ice out in May to closing up the cabin in late September on Lake Vermilion. You’re Gonna Canoe How Many Miles of Shoreline? Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota is big. In fact, it’s the 5th biggest […]
Not many people in this world know that a loon is one of the few birds with solid bones, which makes them heavier than most birds of similar size. Still fewer would know what to do when a loon can’t take off from a lake that’s just beginning to freeze over entirely.
Camping is for Everyone Michelle, Julie and Courtney are back to share their wisdom and tips on camping with their families. From meal planning to realistic expectations to unplugging from devices to navigating the many personalities in any family, these Wonder Guides have a lot more value to offer all of us. People Want to Help You One of the most important themes to emerge from my conversation with Julie, Michelle and Courtney is that the barriers to getting outside […]
Courtney Brown, Julie Pearl-Slater and Michelle Silver are our Wonder Guides for Episode 7 and boy do they know how to camp! And with kids! When Courtney moved from the ample and beautiful beaches of Orange County, California to Utah she embraced the opportunity to ‘stretch out’ and explore the mountains with her children. All FIVE of them. When Julie left Chicago for L.A. she had no idea she’d go camping ‘overnight’ let alone take regular camping trips to Joshua […]
Kristina Haddad is our Wonder Guide for episode six. If you’re looking for some motivation, passion and commitment when it comes to the preservation and celebration of wild places look no further! If you’re looking for someone thoroughly versed in environmental activism and justice, you’ve come to the right place! Kristina is currently the program director at the environmental non-profit organization, 7th Generation Advisors. And while this job alone would be enough she also is an actor, teacher and life-long […]
Enrico Colantoni is back for the second half of our conversation in episode five. If you like ghost stories then look no further! We’ll touch on some of the rather spooky and unexplainable events that occurred in the mountains in the Lake Arrowhead area of Southern California. But since I get scared easily by ghost stories we’ll turn our attention to other topics including Canada, hockey and planting potatoes based on the cycles of the moon. One of the more […]
Bryna Campbell and Mike Murawski keep the joy of exploration at the center of what they do: providing useful, engaging and fun outdoor trail guides and activities for kids and families. They created Super Nature Adventures out of a need that many parents face when going outside: to keep children engaged and not hear them use the dreaded “bored” word. As they say, “…as parents of a boisterous seven-year-old we also know how daunting family hiking can be…especially at that age […]
Enrico Colantoni has a passion for the great outdoors that is difficult to measure. And that’s because his awareness of his place in the world is both deep and wide. He’s not an extreme explorer but in our conversation he offers countless insights and stories about nature, perspective, meditation and mindfulness that are certain to help anyone who is listening. Part of the wonder of someone like Rico is his complete vulnerability combined with his ease of expression. There […]
It’s that time of year, everyone! Get out to the coast because the odds of seeing whales during their peek migration season are really good!
Unless you’re in Patagonia, the Alaskan interior or Antarctica, someone has probably enjoyed the same view and camped close by. And you’re job isn’t to blaze a new path, it’s to find who blazed the last one and basically follow suit.
Leave no trace. It’s obvious. Mostly. But there are several steps involved. Of course, it’s good to remember the core principal which is simply stated, “LEAVE NO TRACE.” Which means when you are on a trail or sidewalk or at a park that you pick up after yourself. Seems obvious as that kind of thing is what we teach to children starting at very early age. But as evidenced nearly everywhere we travel as humans, there are plenty of our […]
Kids are closer to the ground so that helps on beach clean ups.
L.A. is a great big freeway. NOT! Yes, there are lots of freeways here with the famous “the” preceding them. Take the 405 to the 105 to the 5! But I say get off the freeway and you’ll see all around are huge, magnificent, amazing and diverse areas of flora and fauna! And once you’re there, let’s engage those wonder muscles! L.A. is a great big freeway…NOT! I’ve canoed, kayaked, hiked and otherwise explored much of the Boreal Forest and BWCAW […]