Elk Cove, Part 2

View from our room, Elk, California. Nice way to spend Thanksgiving!

Sunset at Elk, California, south of Mendocino.

Elk, California, on Turkey Day, Part 1

Steve and I spent Thanksgiving at the Elk Cove Inn, south of Mendocino, on the coast of Northern California. No cell-phone coverage, no T.V., just two days of hiking, reading, eating and sleeping. Part 2 tomorrow!

Sustaining Life on Earth

Stewart Udall, a former Arizona congressman and secretary of the interior from 1961-1969, spoke to students at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, circa 1984. Steve was a wildlife biologist at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge then, and he had the opportunity to take Udall on a tour of the refuge, where they did a little bird watching and pipe smoking. Even today Steve calls Udall "one of the best secretaries ever."

On March 31, 2008, Udall wrote an essay for High Country News, "A Message to Our Grandchildren," an excerpt of which follows here:

Foster a consciousness that puts a premium on the common good and the protection of the environment. Give your unstinting support to all lasting, fruitful technological innovations. Be steadfast enemies of waste. The lifetime crusade of your days must be to develop a new energy ethic to sustain life on earth.

Be steadfast enemies of waste. This, more than anything, resonates as we fill our landfills with cell phones simply because they're dated. (I've taken a lot of ribbing over my own cell phone, which is so old it's now "retro." I've refused to buy a new one, because this one still works...even if it means my friends and family abandon me each time I pull it out.)

I want to continue to strive to be a better steward of our land, which means I've got to do a better job in areas where my commitment is lacking: continue to reduce my use of plastic; take shorter showers and shallower baths; and eat the lettuce in the vegetable bin before it turns to mush.

Over the Pass on Amtrak

Here's a shot Steve took from his Blackberry while riding over the Sierra Nevada; he loves traveling by train, hooking up his laptop and staring out the window. I traveled with him once, from Washington, DC, to New York City. Depending on where you're going, the scenery is quite spectacular -- including all that grafitti on the buildings just outside Philadelphia. The mountains, he assures me, are prettier.

2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

I'm entering my historical novel in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, competing with 10,000 other hopefuls. Last year's winner was Bill Loehfelm, who wrote FRESH KILLS, a "powerful mystery debut."

Contest submission period begins February 2, 2009, at 12:01, Eastern Standard Time.

Check out the details here.

Obama Leans in for a Hug

Here is my good friend, Lynn Straus, posing with Barack Obama in Chicago. Thanks to Lynn's tireless efforts -- and so many people like her -- we've got a good man in the White House, and a chance for significant change.