Key West FL’s old cemetery has a number of interesting and sometimes irreverent grave markers. Even in death, Key Westerners are mostly smartasses. Some photos from a visit.

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. Hemingway was born in a suburb of Chicago in 1899, the son of a medical doctor and a music teacher. As a boy he spent a great amount of time in the woods hunting and fishing, gaining an appreciation for natural … More Hemingway House

[NOTE: I’ve blogged all these how-to posts before, but am gonna re-run them on occasion, since folks may have missed them, and many of them have been updated or expanded since they were first posted.] “Can I bring my dog or cat along in the van?” is one of the most common questions asked by … More Life in the Van: Pets in the Van

Merry Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, or whatever other holiday it is that you choose to celebrate this time of year. 🙂

The Key West Butterfly Conservancy displays a variety of native and non-native butterflies. So join me for a nice relaxing afternoon of looking at skyflowers. (Alas, there were no signs identifying the butterflies, so I’m relying on Google.) 🙂 There were also some birdies:

Greetings from Key West FL. I’m visiting with a friend of mine from Tampa. Key West is one of my favorite places to visit—I love the laidback island atmosphere. But alas it is a frightfully expensive place to be. Some photos from Key West.

My friend Mike T and I spent the weekend in Key West, and Mike was starting to feel sick on the way back Sunday night. By Monday I had a runny nose, but I dismissed it at the time as just my ordinary winter allergies. But yesterday afternoon I developed a bit of a cough, … More Well, It Looks Like the Virus Finally Caught Up To Me

[NOTE: I’ve blogged all these how-to posts before, but am gonna re-run them on occasion, since folks may have missed them, and many of them have been updated or expanded since they were first posted.] For many van-travelers, finding a place to temporarily camp is not a problem: they stay out in the countryside (known … More Life in the Van: The Logistics of Living in a Parking Lot

Like Native American tribes everywhere, the people who lived in Tampa Bay before European contact (the Tocobaga) had to meet all their needs from locally-available natural materials. Because Florida is mostly sand and lacks widespread deposits of stone like chert or flint that are useful for toolmaking, the Tocobaga made many of their everyday tools … More Florida Bushcraft Bone and Shell Tools

I’m here with my friend Mike T for the weekend. Key West is one of my favorite places to be, but alas it is horribly expensive. We’ve got motel rooms for the weekend, sightseeing during the day, and crawling along Duval Street during the night. (Duvall Street has a shockingly high number of bars per … More Greetings from Key West