Don Pogreba is a current writer and retired teacher of English, Social Studies and Debate, and a loyal, if often sad, fan of the San Diego Padres and Portland Timbers. When he is not traveling, he is working on his classroom web site or dreaming about another adventure.
Given that this is my third trip to Iceland in as many years, people are always interested to know what I love so much about the country, and I’m not sure that I have ever been able to give a complete answer. As I was driving with a new friend from France today, though, I think I started to stumble towards an answer. We were talking...
While my friends back home are battling heat and smoke, here in Isafjordur the climate is a bit different: it has been raining and snowing (a bit) since about 4:00 p.m. yesterday. That’s led to a quiet day of visiting museums, the library, and a bakery and coffee shop that has been open since 1871. In a delightful cultural...
Don’t worry. Day 1 does not suggest that there will be a post every day and you’ll need to unfollow me lest I drive you mad with travel images and musings. Given that today was landfall, though, a few thoughts come to mind. After clearing from the incredibly quick customs at Keflavik Airport, my first two experiences...
In his Travels with Charley in Search of America, John Steinbeck writes: When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He...
When I think about travel, it’s hard not to think about the friends who first inspired me to realize that I not only could, but certainly should, see more of the world. The picture at the top of this post is on a tree outside their door, a constant reminder that they are explorers, and while I will never quite match their travels...
Dock at South end of Waterton Lake National Bison Range Highline Trail St. Mary’s, Glacier Waterton, Alberta St. Mary’s Highline Trail Prairie near Pincher Creek, Alberta Near Ronan, MT Prince of Wales Prince of Wales Many Glacier Lodge Granite Chalet Highline Trail Granite Chalet and Hikers in the Distance Highline Trail
After the modern bustle of Paris, the charms of Rome were an entirely different experience. What I most loved about Rome was the feeling of simultaneously being in 44 BCE, 1500 CE, 1950 CE, and 2015 CE. In the course of one block, you could see a fragment of an ancient column, a church constructed in the Middle Ages, and the most absurd...
Tomorrow, we’ll be discussing one of my favorite articles, Dehumanized by Mark Slouka. In it, he writes, The humanities, done right, are the crucible within which our evolving notions of what it means to be fully human are put to the test; they teach us, incrementally, endlessly, not what to do but how to be…. They are thus...