Category:Travel

Photo by Adam Patterson on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass the doorstop dog, picks up his report on the Keeper and Phyllis’ traveling travails on the mountainous banks of the Fraser overlooking Lytton, BC, a town totally burned up in a forest fire last summer. A flaw in the tracks ahead dictates the delay, and …
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A Note from the Editor Because Kickass and the keeper–our Mr. Stokes–have traveled far beyond the reach of modern technology, we will be without the pithy humor and all-encompassing wisdom of his daily pieces for a short time. He will be returning to The Pen in Hand soon.

Weixi Zeng, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the fourth day report of the keeper and Phyllis’ mountain /glacier quest for travel happiness, with the information that transitioning from a vibrating upper – bunk closet on Amtrak to a luxurious downtown Vancouver Hotel greatly improved their sleep …
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Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the door stop dog, refrains from passing judgment on day three of the keeper and Phyllis’s excursion to mountains and glaciers, except to know that the keeper managed the upper bunk of the Empire Builder roommette, but it was not pretty.  What was pretty, …
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Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that on day two of their mountain/glacier escapade, the keeper and Phyllis are adjusting to the verity that “when you reach the age where putting on your shoes in the morning is viewed as an accomplishment” it might be wise to think twice …
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Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on the first day—May 22, 2022, of the keeper and Phyllis’s train/ship, mountain/glacier adventure, noting that travel excitement tends to peak on departure day. And this one is special: though the keeper and Phyllis have both done extensive individual traveling, this is among …
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Mrbeastmodeallday, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s observation that humans are the only species that “packs”—and needs to, in preparation for travel, as he and Phyllis get ready for their train/ship tour of mountains and glaciers. With all other species, when they decide to go somewhere, they simply …
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Sbork, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper likes to stress that he–and Phyllis are no more than extreme examples of the natural world run amuck, and their activities are dictated by forces as naturally explainable as why a squirrel buries nuts, or a bird migrates; …
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Great Northern Railway, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, cautions the keeper not to assume that National Railroad Day is being celebrated this week just because he and Phyllis plan to board a train Sunday in Columbus as the start of a three-week excursion that includes a boat ride …
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Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that Phyllis’s weekend visit with her Ohio daughter Gina has put the keeper in a state of some discombobulation, but it has also given him an opportunity to suggest future travel plans for Phyllis that would include …
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