by kimqi | Mar 1, 2020 | Spring Hiking, Starved Rock
The trails got busy midafternoon at Starved Rock. It was 60 degrees and sunny on March 1. It was a perfect day. I smiled at a couple sitting on a bench watching three kids play. The oldest was balancing, heel-toe heel-toe with airplane arms, on the trunk of a fallen...
by kimqi | Dec 30, 2019 | Michigan, North Country Trail, Winter Hiking, YinYang, Seasons
Yesterday I was hiking in Northern Michigan. Without the magic of a blanket of snow, the forest seemed dead. Dead. Bleak. And beat up. Visiting the forest was like showing up unannounced at a friend’s house on Sunday morning after the friend had been on a weekend...
by kimqi | Nov 14, 2019 | YinYang, Seasons
Tuesday night, I headed east with the full moon acting as my guide. My goal was clear. This wasn’t a solo hike. It was a quest of sorts, a mission. There was a schedule. There were specific parameters to work within. I intended to release an idea by speaking words...
by kimqi | Aug 4, 2019 | Kayaking, Manistee, Michigan
Yesterday I rented a kayak. I love to take pictures while hiking and thought kayaking photography would be like hiking photography, only on water. It was not. Usually, I walk around the subject to find a good angle. That’s tricky in a kayak. And by “tricky,” I mean...
by kimqi | Jul 27, 2019 | Kindness, Texas
Wear shoes and be nice. That’s what I learned last week. I spent a few days in Texas getting my nephew married. I was stunned by how kind Texans are. I spent my formative years living in Boston, so I think people in the Chicago area are friendly. And we ARE friendly...