I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been; Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were, with morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair. I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be when winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see. For still there are so many things that I have never seen: in…
Do you know where Mount Doom is? You probably don’t. In the books Mount Doom is obviously in Mordor, which is – thankfully – not a real place. In the films, Mount Doom is an amalgamation of Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand. Ariel and I actually got to visit the film location during our somewhat ill-fated Tongariro Alpine Crossing adventure way way back in 2017. Little did we know at the time, but while this location was…
When traveling, especially on a long journey, finding an inviting, comfortable, and safe place to get some rest is critical. During the pandemic, when we weren’t traveling as much, it was still important to search for places of refuge from the mundanity and quiet but omnipresent low level anxiety of virus-driven daily life. Regardless of the circumstance, finding an oasis of peace and rest amongst the chaos can go a long way towards restoring both mental and physical stamina. In…
Going to try something a little different for this blog and talk a little bit directly about J.R.R. Tolkien and his works. Generally this blog is focused on travel, specifically adventure travel that is often partially (and sometimes directly) inspired by Tolkien’s writings or adaptations of them. But with all the controversy about the new Amazon Prime Rings Of Power series (much of it in bad faith), I wanted to weigh in about the issue of Tolkien and race, which…
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king. JRR Tolkien So much to discuss about this poem that has been done to death elsewhere so I’m not going to get…
Where now are the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing? Where is the harp on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing? Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow; The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. Who shall…
Hey Ho to the bottle I go To heal my heart and drown my woe Rain may fall and wind may blow but there’ll still be Many miles to go… Sweet is the sound of the pouring rain, And the stream that falls from hill to plain. Better than rain or rippling brook, Is a mug of beer inside this Took. J.R.R. Tolkien Sometimes you just need a break from the road (or life in general). Whether at a local…
Oh you can search far and wide, You can drink the whole town dry, But you’ll never find a beer so brown, Oh you’ll never find a beer so brown, As the one we drink in our hometown, As the one we drink in our hometown. You can drink your fancy ales, You can drink them by the flagon, But the only brew for the brave and true… …comes from the Green Dragon! The Return Of The King, Film Edition…
O! Wanderers in the shadowed land despair not! For though dark they stand, all woods there be must end at last, and see the open sun go past: the setting sun, the rising sun, the day’s end, or the day begun. For east or west all woods must fail… JRR Tolkien Sometimes on a journey (or life in general!), it can feel like you’re trapped in the middle of nowhere. But all woods come to an end, rivers all flow…
When winter first begins to bite and stones crack in the frosty night, when pools are black and trees are bare, ’tis evil in the Wild to fare. JRR Tolkien