Wonderoom

I went on a hike into Soda Canyon at Mesa Verde before it burned. I was a ranger at the time, and it was one of the perks that we could go backcountry. What you see above is a not very well preserved picture of a small cliff dwelling in Soda Canyon that was damaged in the 1996 fire. Read more »

I was supposed to write an essay about Aikido in my daily life as part of my sandan promotion. I was also supposed to make a post on my blog (according to my own internal taskmaster). So in order to address these imperatives, I am going murder two birds. Or at least take pot shots at one bird while sort of smushing the other. Or at least I’m going to mangle a proverb.

Lately I’ve been pondering the integration of the upper and lower body, mainly because I have to teach it. I think it might be automatic for me at this point. My arms are conduits for my whole body, every technique is executed with alignment. It feels good, because there was a long, hard road to this point. Read more »

I worked at Mesa Verde for two seasons as a ranger. Some of the best times of my life: adventures, mysteries, shenanigans. I saw places forgotten, places forbidden. The backcountry of Mesa Verde has been closed to the casual visitor for decades. It is difficult to gain access to anywhere not open to the public even for determined photographers, archaeologists, etc…. They fear that the sites might be damaged. Mesa Verde is kind of like that giant government warehouse in the Indiana Jones movie- amazing treasures all locked up where no one can ever see them. This fact is what made it so delicious that when I worked there I could fill out a backcountry pass and go. I went on bird counts. I went on back country hikes as part of training. Sometimes I just went backcountry because I felt like it, and I knew that there would be no one else because there never was. All I wanted to do was look, catch a glimpse behind the curtain. And I had the back stage pass. Read more »