The Golden Trumpet of the Crackerjack Adventurer
by Wiley Davis
Planning a route using a topographic map is an innocent and potentially dangerous affair. With a keen eye for contours, and a lust for adventure a topo map becomes more than just a jumbled collection of curvy lines and cryptic symbols, it becomes a blueprint for epic journeys. The planning of routes on a map however, has inherent dangers that are difficult to avoid. The problem has to do with scale and environment. Read the rest of this entry »
by Wiley Davis
Non-maintained roads, and non-maintained plans, share a similar end. Both converge on the unexpected, and create adventures in the process. Our plan last weekend was straightforward. We would drive to the Mojave desert in California, and pay a visit to the now famous (and now non-existent) phone booth in the middle of nowhere. There used to be a phone booth situated alongside a lonely stretch of dirt road in the middle of the Mojave desert. Not only was this phone booth isolated, but it was fully functioning as well. Word about the booth leaked out, and soon websites began springing up, paying homage to a simple Pac Bell telephone, that due to it's locale, had taken on mythic proportions.The interesting part is what happened next. People from all over the world began to get word of the Mojave Phone Booth, and demonstrating that innate curiosity which makes us human, began calling the booth on the off chance that someone might actually answer it. Our mission for the weekend was to be there…to answer the world's call. The world however, with the help of a dusty old stretch of historic route 66, and a one-horse town called Goffs, had it's own call, the call of adventure in unexpected places, and we answered it obediently.
by Wiley Davis
It is hard to do the good bars justice. A skillful craft with the words is necessary to capture the magic that hangs like the secondhand smoke over a torn, dimly-lit felt, quarters at the gates. The table is never level, but in this twisted landscape of depravity and brotherly bond, this is a pleasant sprinkling of character. The truly good bars are all dives, holes in the wall, places that you wouldn't take your grandmother or a client of any sort other than the illicit. This is the tale of my journey to a place of confusion and intrigue made possible by the Palo Verde Lounge. Read the rest of this entry »
By Neil Zawicki
I think I became a journalist because I was too much of a punk to become a pilot. In truth, I'm a certified geek about aircraft – especially military aircraft. So when the 517th Airlift Squadron offered to take me along on a re-supply mission, I hopped on board. Read the rest of this entry »
Dear Steve,
By now you've received the packages, and I can say with confidence that you'll be tickled when you pry open the blue can. It's got mints. Further, I wish to thank you, Steve, on behalf of the expedition for all your warm-hearted letters of well wishing. It's people like you, Steve, that make this business of charting the crags of southeastern Vermont all the more enjoyable. Read the rest of this entry »
Grand. That is the only word to describe it. One year in Tunisia, I had occasion to share a foxhole with one Neville Newberg. We fought side by side for 12 days as those dastardly Italians came, wave after wave, with their absurd plumage flailing about in the smoky air. At one point, Neville was shot clean through the shoulder, causing him to shout, "Egad! Bit hot isn't it?" Read the rest of this entry »
by Wiley Davis
Adventure is the buzzword these days. People no longer go on vacations, instead they spend their money on lavish, guided jaunts into the wilds of places like Antarctica, or the rain forests of Costa Rica. Adventure travel is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry in this country and it show no signs of slowing down. There is however, a darker side to all of this premeditated adventure business. Read the rest of this entry »
by Wiley Davis
I have recently started a new company. My new company manufactures trekking helmets and is called the TrekSafe Corporation. We stand behind our motto which says: trek hard… trek safe.
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