Building a House is HardRSunday, May 4th, 2014 I am so tired of fighting to keep things dry on our land… It's a never ending battle, and we pretty much always lose. I have forgotten what it is like to see a forecast for rain and not be filled with dread. I know that everything...
Workshop Slab Concrete Pour: Part OneRFriday, July 26th, 2013 The day we've been preparing for is finally here. The workshop foundation is being poured! Our masons, Pete and Chris are the first to arrive, at 6:30AM. Next comes Rick, and then the concrete trucks, right on schedule at 7AM. Though we've only ju...
Race to the Station: Part ThreeRWednesday, January 26th, 2011 Tyler: Headlights fly by, momentarily blinding us, adding a hefty dose of disorientation to this impossibly hectic ride. At last long, we pull into the bus station, a crowded, chaotic parking lot, filled to the brim with motorbike touts, taxis a...
Race to the Station: Part TwoRWednesday, January 26th, 2011 Tyler: Hanoi's traffic is worse than Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh combined. It is manageable only because it moves slowly, a seemingly inevitable consequence of the complete anarchy which composes it. Still, riding safely in this unholy mess...
Race to the Station: Part OneRWednesday, January 26th, 2011 A cold draft blows through the open door of the travel agency, causing a slightly kooky receptionist behind the counter to shiver in her fur coat. I sit on a chilly plastic chair, hands shoved beneath my thighs, eyes affixed to the clock on the op...
Finding a Truck: The Jimny Saga, Part TwoRSunday, September 12th, 2010 It has been an hour and a half, and still no one has come to help. I am journaling and Tyler is working when Freddie leans over to us and asks, "Could you drive me back to town to ask about the guy with the truck?" Tyler is is so far gone in prog...
ExhaustingRSunday, September 5th, 2010 I knew the roads in Mongolia would be bad. I've seen pictures. I've heard first-hand accounts. I've even watched documentaries about people traveling over them! I was prepared for river crossings, giant potholes, deep ruts, car-eating sand, hug...
Driving With EvgeniyRSaturday, July 31st, 2010 We're in the back seat of Evgeniy's car; he is giving us a ride to Moscow's Red Square, a straight shot, ten kilometers from his apartment. His wife, or as Evgeniy prefers, "pussycat", Svetlana, is in the passenger's seat. She is wisely wearing a...
Crazy RussiansRFriday, July 30th, 2010 Traffic into Moscow is a non-event this afternoon. So is finding the home of our Russian contact, Evgeniy. What a relief! We've just pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex; Tara is sitting next to me, turning off the GPS and the la...
Morbid CuriosityRWednesday, July 28th, 2010 Just a few days ago while staying with our friend Mia in Finland, she mentioned that someone she knew had seen a gruesome collection of dead babies in jars while on a trip to St. Petersburg. This seemed outlandish to us, but as Tara was flipping t...
