I don’t think much of him at first. He isn’t big or even that muscular. He just stares at the ground, swaying gently from side to side. What’s so intimidating? He looks up, and I make the mistake of holding his gaze. He doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like that one bit. Instantly, I feel […]
06
Sep
Sep
Standing on the hill above the ancient nursery, Wendy Sloboda squints into the afternoon sun, her mane of blonde dreadlocks resembling an elaborate tribal headdress. Her short, muscular frame is adorned with tattoos and her lips are pierced. One of many tattoos, an illustration of the parrot-beaked Wendiceratops pinhornensis she discovered and is named after her is […]
29
Aug
Aug
People do the craziest things. Just look at reality television. But who am I to judge? I joined the ranks of over 74,000 other nut jobs who’ve downed the famous Sourtoe Cocktail in Dawson City. (If you haven’t heard, that’s a whiskey shot garnished with a desiccated human toe.) What can I say? I’m a […]
22
May
May
As soon as I get out of the vehicle, I’m hit by the baritone wails coming from dozens of distressed heifers. Their calves have been moved to an adjoining pen—and they’re not happy about it. Some pace while others stretch out their necks, raise their noses to the sky and mooooooooooo. (click above to hear the cows that morning) Spring […]
03
Apr
Apr
We were stumped. The ceiling and walls of Cabbage Key’s breezy back patio were dripping with dollar bills. Where on earth would we leave our “donation”? Affixed with gobs of masking tape and mounted with the precision of a leaf blower, I couldn’t see an inch of available space. Thousands of travelers had been here over the years […]
31
Dec
Dec
I’m not that much for big crazy parties. Don’t get me wrong I have my moments. But normally I’m pretty low-key, preferring an intimate dinner to a raucous evening out on the town. But on a trip to Asia, I gleefully indulged in one of those aforementioned “moments” with a group of Kazakh Mongolians. And when […]
01
Nov
Nov
It’s milking time. Again. All hands on deck. The women of the Kazakh nomad community in Western Mongolia are in all-out commando mode. Their tongues click and arms wave as they chase their herds of goats and sheep into a pen. Hundreds of hooves dart this way and that, swirling and spinning, trying to avoid what’s […]
31
Aug
Aug
I remember musing that an American wedding planner would think I’d lost my mind. Wrestling? You want wrestling at your wedding?! Her shock giving way to complete bewilderment and horror when I followed up with…..and, we’ll want a horse race too. A Kazakh Wedding Tradition: The Wrestling Begins I scanned the celebration and grinned. This […]
12
Aug
Aug
We sit on the ground around a low wooden table waiting for the day to begin. It’s overcast, threatening rain, and the ger is dim, throwing everything into monochrome. A pot of boiling milk sits on top of a battered wood-burning stove in the center of the room, and I watch as steam rises into […]
29
Jul
Jul
It’s been a while since my adventure in western Mongolia with photographer Timothy Allen and seven fellow photography lovers, and yet I still think of it all the time. We camped in the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, a vast and profoundly beautiful and pristine expanse where we met the world’s most tolerant and gracious […]