Part 2 The Death Valley Nut & Candy Company After catching up with Lindsey and Jacob for the last hour in Lindsey's Beatty trailer, she asks us what Beatty attractions we're planning to visit today. "Hot springs, brothel, Rhyolite…" I start listing. "But I need some candy first." "Eddie World," Jacob says in response to my sugar-request. "Yeah, Eddie World," Lindsey agrees. We pile into Jacob's truck and head to a magnificently large building attached to a gas station a couple miles up the road. The Death Valley Nut & Candy Company, also known to us as Eddie World. Due to offering food and … [Read more...]
Beatty, Gateway to Death Valley: The Dusty Jewel of Nye County
Part 1 The Dusty Jewel of Nye County The first time I'd ever heard of a place called Beatty was on a trip to Death Valley with my father in 2005. While on our way to Scotty's Castle in the northern part of the national park, we passed a road with a sign marking "Beatty" at the other end. Pops and I kept driving, though in retrospect I wish we'd turned down that road instead, as Beatty was celebrating its one-hundred-first anniversary that year, no small feat considering nearly all of the settlements that sprung up around the same time in this area have since died out. Unlike most boomtowns erected in this area of Nevada and California around … [Read more...]
Support Kickboxer Mark “Fightshark” Miller’s Battle With Congenital Heart And Renal Failure (Sans Medical Insurance)
I met Shelby Jones in May 2012 in Ventura, California shortly after I arrived in North America post spending three and a half years training muay thai in Thailand. Shelby was among one of the first people to ease me back into Western life by virtue of simply hanging out and being non-judgmental of the re-entry shock I was facing (thank-you). It was through her that I learned of American kickboxer Mark Fightshark Miller. Shelby is both Mark's friend-meets-family and strength and conditioning coach. Mark's story: Mark has been training and fighting in combat sports for years. This was halted by open heart surgery in 2007 due to a congenital heart defect (CHD). In 2011 he … [Read more...]
Things To Do In Windsor – A Guide For People Who Hate Malls
I grew up in the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and from the time I was somewhere between twelve and fourteen years old I was intent on getting out. Windsor was a dusty, grey hole - its only redeeming factor was that it bordered Detroit, Michigan, USA. That says a lot, as at that time in history I believe Detroit was the murder capital of the U.S. Back then, I thought, "Well, at least Detroit's interesting. And has great bands". Windsor had air that tasted like fertilizer and various Tim Horton's littered throughout the city. It took a decade or two for me to realize the incredible in Windsor. I grasped this mostly while away. For a city of a little over … [Read more...]
A July Update
There's a blackout in my building. Thunder. Tiny explosions of water on the balcony. A distant mechanical hum. Today is a lazy day for me. The blinds are drawn and the white light of my laptop brightens the room. It's time for an update. I've been in Toronto, Canada for over a month now. This wasn't the plan. I arrived in late May to attend a conference for a number of days. Protocol was then to move to the city of Peterborough to live with three girls I'd never met. The thought of being surrounded by cottage country was appealing. It was there I planned to write my book. It can be crazy how life unfolds and if … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 5
- Next Page »