My Grandfather Elmer Hood was a man of many trades. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s he used his skills as a mechanic maintaining mining equipment in Colorado. Towards the end of one of his shifts at the mine he was called to the foreman’s office and told that a small gas engine/compressor that pumped [...]

It was a late spring weekend as we hiked up the ridge to our camp above Silver Creek. We set up our tents and with the whole day ahead we headed up Kachess Ridge to the high point around 5500 feet. Snow patches still remained on the ridge as we approached the rocky summit block. [...]

Bear Butte (Mato Paha) rises as a sacred forested hill from the flats of South Dakota. Visiting Native Americans making their pilgrimages leave bits of fabric tied to trees along the pathway. A cold fog settled on the ground as we hiked silently upwards towards the top.  An eagle flew over a tangled winter ravaged [...]

My father and I had driven his ford pickup truck and trailer to a small town north of Portland, Oregon. Sitting in a dilapidated barn was the WWII training plane covered in dust slowly decaying. We paid the owner the $1800 and somehow loaded the frame, wings and parts onto the trailer and headed back [...]

Nebraska- I grew up on a small farm in western Nebraska. The winters were cold and bitter but it did not stop a child. My best friend was a dog, half spaniel and half something else. I used to wander the 160 acre farm alone all day with that dog. One grey snow covered morning, [...]