Adventure-ish

The recent book   Nature and the mind: The science of how nature improves cognitive, physical, and social well-being by Marc Berman does not really require a review since the title is already basically a 3 paragraph synopsis of the book, but I will provide one anyway as there is a wealth of information in this book. T he author studies environmental neuroscience, a term he came up with. Trained as an environmental psychologist, his research looks at how our environments impact our behavior. Berman does an excellent job describing the interplay between nature and nurture in an approachable manner, and explaining in detail the impact of the environment. Image credit: Simon and Schuster The key focus of the book, in a finding that is likely surprising to exactly no one, is that our collective attention spans have been decreasing. Berman explains how time in nature, or even viewing nature, can help to restore our attention spans if the natural environment feels comfortable and saf...

  Photo Credit: Metropolitan Books Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser is a biography of the author of the beloved children's Little House series. It is also largely a biography of her only child, Rose Wilder Lane, who appears in the final book of the main Little House series.  Wilder Lane is featured in the biography because of the unique and often combative working relationship she had with her mother. Prairie Fires documents how Wilder Lane wrote portions of the Little House books, with the two collaborating on editing each other's work to the point it was unclear who had written portions of works published under their name. In some circumstances, the author of Prairie Fires found it difficult to document which Wilder had written specific works, including portions of the Little House series.  This biography reviews the actual events in Ingalls Wilder's life that parallel the Little House series and discusses how the books have...

Image Credit: Garth Williams    The classic book Little House on the Prairie depicts a period of Western expansion into a wild frontier in the recent past, which was rapidly disappearing during the time the book was published. It shows the fortitude, strength, and frequently luck required to survive in the harsh frontier. In the book, Laura Ingalls Wilder describes situations similar to ones she experienced and observed, attempting to create a realistic portrait of what it was like to live in the mid 1800s.  How would this writer hold up in similar circumstances? Let's compare.   Step 1: Leaving Wisconsin. I actually completed this step! For pretty much the same reasons as Pa Ingalls - basically just a general restlessness and inability to sit still, likely masking some deeper psychological issues that neither of us wanted to explore at any length. Verdict: I'm on track with the Ingalls so far!   Step 2: Build a log cabin. My attempting this would have...

  Photo Credit: Andy Lenartz, South Mountain Park Riding to the towers on top of Phoenix's South Mountain Park is a local tradition. It is a solid climb, covering over 15 miles round-trip from the Park's Visitor Center to the recently remodeled Gila Valley Lookout, which is the closest point to the towers accessible by bike and the traditional end to this ride. Over these miles, you will climb about 1,600 feet.  From the top, you can take the road back down or use several downhill trails for a mountain bike ride. This also makes for some great long shuttle rides across the park.  Or you can attempt South Mountain repeats, those taking it a level beyond Adventurish do multiple laps up the mountain.  One of the best times for this ride is Silent Sundays at South Mountain, when the park roads are closed to motorized traffic, only visitors on foot, non-motorized wheels, or horses are permitted until 10am on Sundays. There is an expanded version on the 4th Sunday of the ...

Seeking a gift for that person who has everything? Everything except the top half of their pinky finger, severed while cutting potatoes next to the campfire? TopExer has you covered with their 20 piece suture practice kit. It contains all of the equipment needed to practice stitching up hiking companions, relatives at a feisty Thanksgiving dinner, or people who make the mistake of falling asleep next to you on an airplane.  Photo Credit: TopExer The kit includes a reusable silicon practice pad, 6 different tools, and several types of thread. All you need to practice setting proper stitches, you will be able to maim your friends and random strangers for life in no time. Or may get good enough to leave only a minor scar with a couple hundred hours of practice. Which still won't give you the skills to sew a button a shirt, so family members need to stop asking. Not wasting these skills, it's reattaching a body part or nothing. Affiliate link available from somebody else whose g...