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Post-Tenure Meditations (The River to River Trail)

Wed, Jun 10, 2015 @ 08:15:10 | Permalink

River to River Trail R2R map
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Meditations
Just after the spring semester ended my son and I backpacked for twelve days across Southern Illinios, starting at Elizabethtown on the Ohio River, and ending at Devils Backbone on the Mississippi River. This journey caused me to question how I could lighten my load both literally and figuratively. It also reminded me of just how little I actually need, yet we live in a society always wanting us to acquire more stuff. We learned to trust ourselves as a result of this trip, and we trimmed down to the essentials. Going on a diet from electronic communication was also very liberating.

titanium alcohol stove

Titanium Alcohol Stove
While hiking we depended on this small titanium alcohol stove which is the simplest of technologies with no moving parts. The design has been reduced to it’s essential requirements with nothing extra added. Every day we used this stove to heat up hot drinks and meals, and each day I thought about what this technology and design was suggesting.

Selected Images of River to River Trail Journey

Elizabethtown, Ohio River
spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15

spahr river to river trail spring '15
Devils Backbone, Mississippi River