Hazards of Extreme CampingWritten by J. D. Adams
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The priming of gas stoves typically produces a fireball that is great for trimming those bushy eyebrows, also giving a hard outdoorsy look to face. Working stove is always great fun, a bit like being an astronaut and firing afterburners. Some people get into character, shouting terms like “throttle up!” and “more power!” as they operate pump and valves to avoid dreaded “flameout”! Overcooking is result, like your mother’s pork chops. Periodic cleaning of stove hardware is necessary for easy starting. Backpacks have come a long way from L-shaped wooden frame and attached rucksack. The principle is still same, to explore limits of human endurance like Lewis and Clark on a bad day. The inner frame pack is more streamlined, allowing gazelle-like movement through wilderness. Skiing and climbing is easier with a pack that is closer to your center of gravity. The exterior frame pack is most comfortable for normal hiking conditions. Regardless of type of pack, choose a model with wide, firm padding on waist and shoulder straps. Prior to mastering telemark and snowplow turns, novice skier will tend to hurtle out of control across unsuspecting landscape; their approach marked by a cloud of forest debris and raucous cries of tormented wildlife. Elk and bear stampede fearfully. Cross-country skiing with a full pack combines grace of drunkenness with feel of a military exercise. Once mastered, expeditions can be launched into high country, where an altered state will settle in from oxygen deprivation, and annoying tunes may run through head. Often giddiness will persist well into later stages of hypothermia that can only be cured by fishing.
I have worked with avionics, communications, computers, and consumer electronics. I honed my skills in technical writing during this time. Yearning to exercise my creativity, I broadened my writing topics to include history, the outdoors, and travel. I have been published in local newspapers and several Oregon travel websites.
| | Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Drinking CoffeeWritten by Deb Voss Quail and Roxanne Vincent
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There is no morning without that first cup-of-joe. Hot coffee and cold cream are good for you. My 100-year-old grandmother says so. If you ask, “coffee, tea, or me?” be prepared for response: “a double, skim, with extra foam.” Decaffeinated teas and sodas may well have their merits, decaf coffee has none. The glass half-empty or half-full question is ridiculous. Never drink coffee from a glass! Lovers, desserts, coffee ... indeed many things are better rich. Given enough coffee, I conspire to rule world. Any romance begun in a coffee shop stands a chance of success; you are presumably both sober and lighting is better than in a bar. © Deb Voss Quail and Roxanne Vincent
Deb Voss Quail and Roxanne Vincent are coffee buddies and business partners. Reach them via their web site at http://www.vvvinsights.com.
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