Yesterday, I received the December issue of Highlights for Children. My article about a scientist who trekked through the rainforest in Brazil to study beautiful golden lion tamarins, was published on page 16 and 17. That article was submitted in 2005 and I had given up ever seeing it in print. Needless to say, I was quite pleased. Time has improved the piece.
At yesterday's Appalachian Mountain Club Annual Gathering, my presentation was after one that included live birds, a tough act to follow. There were twenty-two people in the room, which was a smaller crowd than I expected. It was the first time I had ever stood in front of a room without my heart beating fast and furious. I was calm, and as a friend who was in the audience said, "I interjected humor." The only issue I had was that I was unable to connect to the internet and play two short videos. This did not surprise me. Thankfully, I had downloaded four sound clips to my laptop and was able to play those. Aside from the videos, the talk went really well.
When we got off the cable car, we strolled down wide trails through a rich green meadow.
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While we were in Italy, we spent two nights in Castelrotto (the Germans call it Kastelruth) in the Dolomites. It was not nearly enough time to explore the vast spring-green meadow high in the mountains. There were many ski lifts that allowed easy access to peaks that would wear out the strongest hiker. We got up to the top later than I would have liked. By then the gray clouds had rolled in. We walked in the gloomy rain and fog, down paths that smelled of hay, past cow bells tinkling and horses grazing on wet grass. The clouds had cleared when we arrived at a 200° panorama at a lookout called Engelrast. What a phenomenal view! As the sun sank lower in the sky, shadows on the jagged limestone peaks became more pronounced. Light on the mountains glowed on the pink coral of an ancient sea.
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The Dolomites are a hiker's paradise. The Alpe di Suisi is better suited for those who like walking on rolling hills versus the steeper inclines at Cortina D'Ampezzo.
