June 6, 2023

White Rim Road 2023

See that little ribbon of road in the picture above? That’s the White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park. The picture was taken by my friend and neighbor, Lisa, one of eight of us who last week rode the White Rim by mountain bike, supported by two trucks carrying our gear, food, water and showers! We took turns driving the trucks, although many parts of the road were extremely technical and dangerous; more so than for mountain bikes, so the two owners of the trucks carried the laboring oars of driving, which was fine by the rest of us, since we were there to ride, not drive! The White Rim…

April 22, 2023

Third Act

Today is one of this Ripper’s favorite days, Earth Day! My work with young children allows me to embrace our planet on a continual basis, and especially during the month of April when signs of Earth’s reawakening delight the soul. Spring has unfolded slowly in Utah this year with our historic snowpack. Yet at the same time, smiles emerge on our faces when we think how each snowflake will help refill the Great Salt Lake. This brings me to the title of this short, but hopefully, inspiring post. This morning’s NY Times picked some of their favorite articles from their Climate Desk to share on this Earth Day. I recommend…

March 12, 2023

Staycation

Well, it’s been a while since I last wrote due to the voluminous amounts of snow that our mountain town has received this winter. For this reason and others, my fellow Ripper and I decided to stay put for my February school break. The skiing is awesome and relatives arrive shortly to take advantage of it, plus the ability to clean my desk has given me a chance to think about my next adventure while sleeping in my own bed. The dog also approves. After all, the concept of looking for adventures both near and far is part of our mission. I love our town’s motto, “Love Where You Live,”…

December 15, 2022

What a Winter (so far)!

It’s mid-December, not even officially winter yet, and this Ripper has been on skis for more than 20 days already. And I’m not talking about just a few groomed runs on man-made snow. We’ve been skiing terrain that typically doesn’t open until much later in the season. For those of you who follow Senior Ripper’s Instagram account, this isn’t a surprise. You’ve been following the kitchen deck bistro table for over a month (I figured it was time for the bistro table to be featured in a post!). I’ve gone through two tanks of gas in the snowblower already (and broken 3 shear pins!). This is why we are here!…