Tag Archives: Andre Stojka

  There was one less whale ship butchering whales in 1820. A rightfully angry whale turned on the wooden ship, rammed it below the water line and sank it. Some called it poetic justice. The ship was called the Essex and the story of how some of the crew got to safety from the middle  Continue Reading »

The world’s most famous sailor struggled by himself in his 35-foot sloop against winds that shoved and buried the bow and him under water. Crawling on the bowsprit, trying to adjust his sails, the rolling sea shoved him under water 3 times. It was a dangerous situation especially being alone; there was no one on  Continue Reading »

Three men of the John Wesley Powell Colorado River Exploration party had enough! They would go no further! It was August 28, 1869 and behind them was nearly 3 months of hardship, struggle, poor food and near death. Now, they were faced with what they considered certain death, as described by John Wesley Powell in  Continue Reading »

  At 7:30 on a cold and rainy morning, April 15, 1865, Dr. Charles Augustus Leale sadly pronounced dead Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States. Then, Leale walked across 10th Street in Washington, D.C. from the Peterson Boarding House, where Lincoln’s lifeless body lay, back to Ford’s Theatre, where the assassination had taken place  Continue Reading »

  The first Presidential Election in California was in 1852, pitting Democrat Franklin Pierce against the Whig Candidate, General Winfield Scott. California’s 4 electoral votes went to Pierce. According to Horace Bell in his book “Reminiscences of a Ranger,” political campaigns and elections in early Los Angeles, California were often wonders to behold. Los Angeles  Continue Reading »

There is something about a dog that affects me emotionally. Like most people, I anthropomorphize the actions of my dog as if he were  literate, intuitive and highly philosophical. That’s why I love John Muir’s wonderful story about a stray dog who changed his life.         John Muir was an early explorer  Continue Reading »

    Now is not the time to explore Death Valley landscape. On Sunday August 16, 2020 Death Valley registered a temperature of 130 degrees, Fahrenheit making it the hottest place on earth. But it’s been hotter. In 1913 Death Valley registered a temperature of 134 degrees. William Lewis Manly At times like these, I  Continue Reading »

The second most famous whale in the world had no name. We don’t know when it was born or when it died. We just know what it did. On the morning of November 20, 1820, in the Pacific Ocean 2000 miles west of South America, this sperm whale bull, around 85 feet long, attacked a  Continue Reading »