Author Archive | mrode

The word summit has two meanings: the highest point, or a meeting of leaders. Sometimes a gathering of leaders also represents the apex of an upward climb, and that’s what the 2015

In the early summer of 1959, my family moved from Utah to the western suburbs of Denver. There was a park with craggy bluffs and a wide  creek at the end of our street. I thought all kids grew up with wilderness at the end of their streets. Cottonwood trees

My landscape is once again familiar and dear. Three weeks away has cleared cobwebs from my mind, soul, and spirit. I loved every moment of my UK adventure (well, maybe except for that one hotel room), down to the very last day, when Mary Reynolds Thompson and I taught “Writing

My near-fortnight on the Isle of Cumbrae came to a gentle release last Friday, when we unwound the circle and (nearly) all hopped on the same ferry to the mainland, where we boarded the train to Glasgow Central train station, then

The Isle of Cumbrae is surrounded by the Firth of Clyde, Ballochmartin Bay, and various other bodies of water that eventually merge with the Atlantic Ocean. It is a lovely ecosystem with delightful and often sudden changes in mood. “Ay, there’s a change comin’ in,” the locals will say with

My landscape today is the gorgeous Isle of Cumbrae off the coast of Glasgow. My journey to this moment started Sunday afternoon, when I flew to Reykjavik for a

I am sometimes accompanied on my walks by a coyote, and a few times his mate has been with him. The animals have never been aggressive, although they are watchful. Sometimes we surprise each other at a trail intersection. We both freeze, and then I relax and wait for Coyote to