3 minClimb A TreeThis morning I took a walk in the snow of northern Michigan. I took this picture as I entered the woods. The setting was beautiful and my...
3 minBackpack R.I.P. Today I said goodbye to one of the tools of my trade. Craftsman in every field have tools that are used in their trade. For the carpente...
3 minThe PuzzleEach morning I go for either a long run or walk. When we lived in Pennsylvania that morning run took place in Valley Forge Park. Every da...
3 minExploration is Messy!But just because a situation is messy does not mean it is exploration. I recently learned about someone who when talking about their work...
3 minThe Race to Space: Was it Exploration?The 20th of July 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the first man landing on the moon. Everything to do with the Ap...
2 minThe Uncertainty of ExplorationTrue exploration is painful and difficult. What’s more, when it’s truly exploration you rarely know what’s going on because what you’re e...
6 minMind the Gap YearI never thought I would use the words Gap Year when it comes to a blog post. Gap Years are times for seeking and discovering what might b...
1 minWhy was Rosa Parks' Detroit house recently moved to Berlin?Last week I was privileged to join Aaron Renn on his popular podcast. We discussed exploration, pragmatism, mass industrialization and o...
1 minPragmatism Killed MichiganAn insightful column this month at Governing.com by my friend Aaron Renn. Mr. Renn is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, author ...
2 minDiscovery Not WantedAwhile back I decided to rank the expeditions that The Exploration Group had been commissioned to guide since our beginning in 2008. I ra...
3 minDr. Thompson's Last AppointmentTrust isn’t something I spend time thinking about. It seems to happen over time, it can be lost quickly, or sometimes, maybe never gained...
1 minFamily Farming and Faith (video blog)On expedition with a new generation of re-pioneers at Palouse Colony in Washington state.
2 minHong Kong: My City of DiscoveryI first came to Asia in 1992. My visit included a stop in Tokyo and then on to the Philippines in Metro Manila. On the way home I passe...
4 minBrexit, hubris and the rediscovery of surpriseWith the United Kingdom’s unexpected vote to pull out of the European Union there is a sense that everyone seems surprised. Even the peop...
3 minFive Reasons California is for ExplorersEvery time I go to California I am inspired. I’m not sure what it is. I’ve talked to others who travel there and everyone says they come ...
2 minWish I were a SettlerToday I wish I were a Settler, not an Explorer. Exploring is wonderfully exciting. Especially on the mountain tops. But today as I explor...
2 minThe Efficient ExplorerWhile in Hong Kong I met with How Man Wong, the famed explorer, photojournalist and founder of the China Exploration and Research Society...
2 minThe coat off my backI was recently in Hong Kong, on January 24, to be specific. It was the coldest day in Hong Kong since 1957. Although I felt unfortunate t...
2 minThe beauty of not knowing what you don't knowThe books on my reading list have changed lately. I now have titles like “The New Practical Navigator being an Epitome of Navigation cont...
2 minExplorers benefit from unpredictable stormsI’m in a hurricane. Or a tornado. Or a typhoon. I’m so far off the map I don’t even know what kind of storm it is. Dangerous stuff has be...
