ofglobalinterest Videos

To the tune of the "Ballad of Argo Dam" by Dave Barrett, this is a photo essay of Argo Pond, the recreational waterway the dam creates. Fall, winter, spring and summer - it is one of Ann Arbor's most beautiful places. Destroying the dam would eliminate what has become a well-loved highlight of our town. Rather than starting over, let's enhance what we already have. Pedestrian bridges over busy Main Street and the railroad tracks would better connect our neighborhoods to the Huron River....

Tags: save argo dam hiking paddling rowing canoeing argo pond ann arbor michigan outdoors recreational

Mother Nature is busy with her earthworks around Mt. Everest Base Camp. On this last trip, I caught a few avalanches on video. Here's a small sample of the powers she wields.

Tags: avalanche Everest base camp Nepal Himalayas snow mountain rocks ice

For the 100th anniversary celebration of the Model T Ford in 2008, several Model T owners drove their old cars down Michigan Avenue in Southeast Michigan. At one of Henry Ford's old mills in the area, they gathered for lunch.

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I carried my tap shoes to Mt. Everest base camp at 17600 ft., thinking I might be the first to tap dance there and at that altitude! This is my 30 second world record performance.

Tags: Tap Dancing at Everest Base Camp 2009 Nepal trekking Himalayas shoes altitude mountains peak

There was a little Nepali band playing down below the temple cafe in Bhaktapur. This was in celebration of Goat Head day - a Newari festival where families sacrifice goats.

Tags: Nepal Nepali band festival music drum procession kathmandu bhaktapur himalayas

This is a glassblowing class I took at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine in July 2007. Our teacher was Amy Rueffert. I made 29 new glasses during this two week course.

Tags: glassblowing class haystack maine glass blowing hot glass

When in Kathmandu, be sure to test out the local forms of transportation. A rickshaw ride will be a highlight, day or night. At some point, I hope to bring one of these rickshaws from the streets of Kathmandu to the streets of Ann Arbor - plastic flowers in the handle bars and all. Plus I hope it will have a big old fashion bicycle horn that instead has a shampoo bottle taped in place for forcing air through the horn. Donations for rickshaw shipping project accepted.

Tags: rickshaw bicycle ride kathmandu nepal himalayas trekking bicycle taxi katmandu

Although I had to sign pages of fine print and wear a silly helmet - my surfing lesson in Bali was fun! I miraculously managed to stand on the board a few times. Bali is the best place to learn to surf since the water is shallow, the waves are huge and the sea floor is sandy (soft in case of falls).

Tags: surfing adventure bali Indonesia ocean waves travel beach sand swimming

If portering were an Olympic sport, Nepal would get the gold. Since it's not, these athletes get little credit for their amazing feats of strength. They have been seen carrying loads of 120 lbs at altitudes of 15-16-17000 feet.!

Tags: porters himalayas nepal adventure trekking everest loads strong sherpa

Gloria is a spider who has moved in on the back patio by the trash dumpster. I've been watching her for weeks and plan to post the full story on my website in the Adventure Journal Archives.

Tags: insect spider web spinning weaving nature