Where I've been and what I've learned along the way…
Welcome!
Remain calm, be kind, and carry on regardless!
You've reached the online journal of Richard Rathe — online since 2004! In this iteration I'm trying a few new ideas: minimal markup, working with mostly plain text, and moving beyond the timeline. Some refer to this as a Digital Garden. I call it BLIS (BLog It Simple). Find me online…
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
― Rachel Carson
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
California Galleries Plants Travel
2025
We recently visited the Bristlecone Pines within Inyo National Forest in the White Mountains of Eastern California. While there we took a five hour hike on the Methuselah Trail amongst some of the oldest trees in the world!
Road Trip West 12, Wyoming, South Dakota, & Home
Galleries History Panoramas Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
And so we headed home via Myton and Rock SpringsWY. The roads were mostly deserted. We crossed the Flaming Gorge Dam after dark—which was surreal. The next day we stopped and took a hike around Independence Rock where thousands of pioneers stopped and etched their names in the 1800s.
Road Trip West 9, Green River Utah
Critters Galleries History Road_Trip_2026 Rock_Art Travel
2026
We decided to get a room in Green RiverUtah for two nights so we could: visit nearby Dinosaur Track and Rock Art sites that day, return to have a real cooked dinner, head out early the next day for Arches, then on to Nine Mile Canyon the next day.
Road Trip West 2, New Mexico
Flowers Galleries History Road_Trip_2026 Rock_Art Travel
2026
I established my campsite and went for a walk about an hour before sunset. It was a magical time to be out in the desert. Some of the rocks are volcanic in origin. I think that may be a cinder cone in the distance. There is a large abstract petroglyph on the right (click to enlarge).
Road Trip West 11, Nine Mile Canyon
Birds Flowers Galleries History Road_Trip_2026 Rock_Art Travel
2026
We left Green River heading north to Wellington and the Petroglyph megasite known as Nine Mile Canyon. The backway road went over a small pass before descending into a beautiful flat-bottomed canyon. This is the best map I could find on the web. [source: National Scenic Byways Program]
Road Trip West 5, Arizona
Flowers Galleries History Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
I originally ventured into Arizona to visit the Crane Petroglyphs Site so I took in other sights as they appeared. The first of these was Montezuma Castle—a Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwelling site.
Amusing Ourselves to Death (Review)
Books Commentary Reviews Technology
Neil Postman (1985)
This important book helps explain the current state of our society, media, and education. Postman begins by contrasting the two great futurist novels, 1984 and Brave New World. He concludes that Huxley made the better prediction—no need for a police state when we have television!
Wisdom in Space (Python/Mastodon Project)
Projects
2023
No regrets! Mastodon has been so much better! I decided to try my hand at creating an automated robot to post quotations alongside some of my photographs. And this is the result…
Sand Island Camping Trip (Gallery)
Apostle_Islands Galleries Travel
2025
This year we boated to Sand Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is the western-most island where camping is allowed. It also has a historic lighthouse and was the site of a small fishing village. We took the campsite overlooking Justice Bay and a small set of sea caves.
Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright)
Galleries History Photography Travel
2023
Taliesin was the home and architectural school of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is located near Spring Green in southwest Wisconsin. The area was originally settled by his grandfather and Wright returned to the area in 1911 with his then mistress, Mamah Borthwick. The family and buildings suffered many disasters over the years—including two fires, a mudslide, and the murder of Borthwick and six others. The current site is referred to as Taliesin III and is a canonical example of The Prairie School of architecture.
Duluth Panoramic Postcards (1914)
Bookhouse History Panoramas
L. P. Gallagher (1914)
I came across these rolled-up postcards (yes, they have a place for a stamp and address on the back!) in an old collection of regular postcards that had nothing to do with Duluth or Minnesota. After some research by friends and family we came up with approximate dates. Based on the early automobiles and horse-carts we dated the downtown view before 1920 (Full-Res Image).
The Fireless Cook Book (1919)
Bookhouse Books History Reviews Technology
Margaret J. Mitchell (1919)
When I first saw this book I thought it was about making meals for a camping trip. It turned out to be much more interesting. Cooking with Insulation is a mostly forgotten technique with great potential. (The author knew this over one hundred years ago!) The concept is very simple: after heating food to the desired temperature, hang on to that heat and make it do some work!
Winter Camping in Yellowstone Park
Camping Galleries Travel
1986
We were three college buddies with lots of skiing and camping experience between us. So when I moved to Wyoming we decided to take a little winter trip inside Yellowstone National Park.
Sweetwater Wetlands 2026
Birds Galleries Nature
2026
Photos from our recent visit to Sweetwater Wetlands Park. Not sure I've been there in January before. There were the usual denizens and one surprise (Roseate Spoonbills). It was a bright shiny day and it warmed up quickly.
Mono Lake
Birds California Galleries Travel
2025
This is my second trip to Mono Lake and the good news is it hasn't changed much. In fact, the water level has stabilized (it was drying up) after agressive water management action by California. A large amount of water had already been drained for watering lawns and golf courses in Los Angeles. We visited the Tufa State Reserve on a sunny afternoon and saw many cool plants and birds.
Advanced Elements Expedition Kayak (Review)
Boats Camping Reviews Technology
2022
I’ve used a “traditional” inflatable kayak for several years, mostly in special situations such as houseboat camping or floating down rivers. They can be very practical and lots of fun in these settings. They are bouncy and sit high in the water, more like life-rafts than kayaks. The one thing they are NOT good for is a windy day on open water! So I was intrigued when I read about newer designs that approximate the capabilities of hard-sided kayaks. Advanced Elements produces several models including the Expedition Elite reviewed here.
Action Journaling (Tasks & Projects)
Projects
2022
AJ focuses on Action Items defined as discrete activities that can be performed, decided, or otherwise resolved (aka a todo list). This is the lowest level of organization—a shopping list for example. The higher level Task is to go shopping. The shopping list is an aid to complete this task. If you are planning a party with food and guests you must complete several tasks to ensure a successful event. Let's call this top level outcome a Project. As an outline it might appear something like this:
The Wave & Coyote Buttes North
Galleries Photography Southwest_2024 Travel Video
2024
The entrance to The Wave is a long curved corridor of twisted stone stripes with no real floor. The stripes vary in both color and indentation. It’s a remarkable visual/tactile surface! The actual Wave is tulip-shaped, looking a bit like a skateboard park designed by Dr. Seuss. There was an ephemeral pool at the lowest point.
Duluth Aerial Ferry Bridge (1905)
Books History Technology
Thomas F. McGilvray (1905)
The northern city of DuluthMinnesota is famous for its Lift Bridge connecting the Canal Park area with the long sandy beach of Minnesota Point. However, the current bridge was not the first. The original structure was a more exotic Ferry Bridge. There are only a few examples left in the world. I found these images in a digitised book from that time.
Santa Fe River Day Trip
Birds Galleries Travel
2025
Out with friends to canoe down the Santa Fe River in north Florida. We saw many large turtles sunning themselves along the way plus a juvenile bald eagle! Stopped for lunch in the outflow from Blue Spring.
Ephesus Museum Turkey (Gallery)
Galleries History Travel Turkey_2016
2016
In 2016 we had the privilege of touring the ruins at Ephesus and the associated museum a few miles away. The photo above is the symbol-rich Statue of Artemis, which at one time was the centerpiece of the temple to the goddess. That temple is now in ruins but it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World!
There is No ‘I’ in AI
Commentary Technology
2026
My Critique of: Your Voice, Your Choice — A Guest Post by Claude Sonnet 4.5
The ELIZA Effect is a tendency to project human traits—such as experience, semantic comprehension or empathy—onto rudimentary computer programs having a textual interface.
Good Morning Doctor!
Books History Medicine
W.A. Rohlf (1938)
This little book was conceived neither as a medical history nor as a technical discussion of surgery. It is instead a story of people, of friends with whom I have shared joy and sorrow, in short, bits of the day-to-day drama which is the life of a country doctor. Many of the incidents are trivial, in one sense of the word, yet each has had in it something which appealed to me enough to make me remember it as a highlight in my forty-five years as a country doctor.
You've reached the online journal of Richard Rathe — online since 2004! In this iteration I'm trying a few new ideas: minimal markup, working with mostly plain text, and moving beyond the timeline. Some refer to this as a 
