Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

We will not go back.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

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On The Road – way2blue – TSAVO NAT’L PARKS, KENYA IN JULY [8 of 8]

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way2blue

[Last OTR submission of a 10-day trek along the Tsavo & Galana Rivers in southern Kenya.  Whew.]

We began to feel the influence of the Indian Ocean in the change of vegetation during the final days of our walking safari.  The mornig after we finished our last walk, we drove to Malindi.  Driving out, the landscape shifted from open land, to small huts, to small farms, to villages, solar panels…  Graceful women in lovely colorful skirts walking along the side of the road to fetch water, with yellow, 5-gallon containers balanced on their heads (~40 lbs when full).  From Malindi we flew to Lamu Island in the Indian Ocean.  An OTR for another day… 

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MORNING CATTLE.

As we moved further east, we saw evidence of (illegal) cattle grazing in the park.  Given the dryness of the terrain and the sparsity of grass, the cattle were competing with wildlife for food.  And wherever they grazed, the fragile soil turned to sand.  Desertification.  Alas.

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CATTLE.
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LAJORI SYLING.

Lajori posing for a photo at an afternoon rest stop.  We hiked all day our last day (16.8 miles).  Stopping for a picnic lunch and a very brief siesta (too windy)…

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RESTING.

Washii, Ekutan, and Chui.  Washii was the spotter who held my hand during river crossings so I wouldn’t lose my footing, and also helped me along one hairy, canyon traverse (narrow uneven ledge, impressive drop to the river…  )

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RESTING.

Lokori before the final river crossing.

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ELEPHANTS.

Across the river.  A few miles later, we spotted a group of lioness with cubs lounging by a fallen tree.  We spooked them—since they didn’t know what we were—and they moved away.  But our guide said if they’d spent some time observing us, we’d have shifted from being classified as potential predators to prey.  And they’d have moved closer… 

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ELEPHANTS.

Two guys on the left have spotted us…

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TSAVO EAST GATE.

Our last full day of hiking, we crossed the river four times.  First in the morning to start the trek, then back again for lunch at a temporary camp, then back across the river to continue the trek, and finally back again for another few miles to the park gate.  I made the mistake of keeping my Tevas on after the last river crossing rather than taking time to switch back to boots.  

We covered 110 miles in 10 days of hiking.  After a soda pop break at the gate, we climbed in the field vehicle and headed back to camp.

Reader Interactions

7Comments

  3. 3.

    JanieM

    Thanks again for sharing this adventure. You’ve brought something very far away (in distance *and* in imagination) right to my living room.

  5. 5.

    way2blue

    Thanks to all.  It was a trip that I’d been pondering for about 10 years.  Ever since a geology friend from undergrad years had urged me to go.  He & his wife had undertaken the ‘great walk’ twice.  Just took a while for me to find a space to pull it off…

    So unique to walk through the park for days—becoming part of the landscape in a region where animals rarely see humans.  Tuning into the animals (& geology) around you in a way that’s not possible sitting in a land rover.

  6. 6.

    J R in WV

    I’m curious about the rifles some of the guides carry, what caliber round, specifically. Pretty obviously bolt-action, which is probably a good thing.

  7. 7.

    way2blue

    @J R in WV: I’m not the right person to ask.  The guide simply called them ‘elephant’ rifles.  Although he said if he ever had to shoot an elephant he would quit these safaris.  (His rifle was custom, with a hollow stock to lighten its load.)

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