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. I call it BLIS (BLog It Simple). Find me online…
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Food for Thought
No one wants advice, only corroboration.
John Steinbeck
Featured Photo
Panorama, Sunset, Lake_Santa_Fe, Florida
Social Media (Mastodon)
Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)
Feb 08, 2026
#SuperbOwl #BarredOwl #Owls #Birds
"Keep looking up!"
I hear these guys/gals every day, often in the late afternoon. 🙂 🦉
Picket Wire Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite
Critters History Travel Video
2019
On my trip west this year I made sure I had time to visit this unique area. The Dinosaur Tracks are located within and along side the Purgatoire River within the Comanche National Grassland. It is located 35 miles south of La Junta, Colorado off the lightly maintained County Road 25 (upper left in the map above). The last few miles are on a primitive forest service road that ends at the Withers Canyon Trailhead and Campground (four sites with fire grates and a pit toilet).
Bicentennial Thoughts on the Semiquincentennial
Books Commentary History Music
2026
I put out my American Flag today. 🇺🇸 I only fly the flag on special days and this is one of them. Thinking about what makes this day special is what gives the act meaning. One cannot be patriotic every day, but that's not required. We need days like this to think hard about history (those actions and actors who mattered), the present (our current situation and how it differs from what it should be), and the future (the history we might make during the time remaining to us).
Road Trip West 1, Westward Bound
Birds Flowers History Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
I was called to California for a family wedding. The first part of my journey took me through several southern states, the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, & Arizona. I left about two in the afternoon so I arrived in Pitcher Plant territory after dark. Fortunately I knew where there was a patch just off the shoulder of a county road.
Sick Around the World
Commentary Medicine
T.R. Reid (2008)
This PBS Frontline Documentary from 2008 explores the healthcare systems of the U.S. and several comparable countries.[1] The corespondent T.R. Reid visited five capitalist countries that provide affordable, nearly universal coverage for their citizens. How do they do it? He observed that here in the U.S. we have the British model for veterans (socialized medicine), the Taiwanese model for seniors (single payer), the German model for some workers (private insurance), but for the rest we are just another poor country. His conclusions…
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 10, Arches National Park
Birds Flowers Galleries History Panoramas Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
We entered Arches National Park about 8am the next day. This was a great time for photographing the rock formations in the southern part of the park (near the entrance). Our plan was to take a leisurely drive north—exploring along the way—until we reached the Devil's Garden area. This is where the majority of the notable arches are. You might also like to view photos from My November 2024 Trip.
Sailing Kayak Mods & Camping
Boats Camping Everglades How_To Projects
2024
In 2018 I acquired a used Hobie Adventure Islandsailingkayak. It came with trampolines that fit between the outriggers. As I learned the particulars of the craft it became obvious that getting out of the cockpit and sitting in/on the tramps wasn’t going to work for me. They also make it impossible to paddle the craft in any meaningful way.
Everglades Trip 2018
Birds Camping Everglades Galleries Travel
2018
This is a quick-and-dirty gallery of my Everglades photographs. Only a placeholder for now while I work on converting my older sites. See my Everglades Wilderness Guide for more trips, maps, & photographs.
This is a quick-and-dirty gallery of my Everglades photographs. Only a placeholder for now while I work on converting my older sites. See my Everglades Wilderness Guide for more trips, maps, & photographs.
Everglades Trip 2003
Camping Everglades Galleries Travel
2003
This is a quick-and-dirty gallery of my Everglades photographs. Only a placeholder for now while I work on converting my older sites. See my Everglades Wilderness Guide for more trips, maps, & photographs.
BWCA Fire & Canoe Trip 2011
Birds Bwca Galleries History Travel Video
2011
Just back from a challenging trip to the BWCA with my friend Ross. We had intended to start on the Sawbill Trail, but were told to evacuate just as we got to the entry point due to the rapidly expanding Pagami Creek Fire. (Satellite photos show this plume forming in less than two hours!)
Everglades Trip 2008 (#2)
Camping Everglades Galleries Travel
2008
This is a quick-and-dirty gallery of my Everglades photographs. Only a placeholder for now while I work on converting my older sites. See my Everglades Wilderness Guide for more trips, maps, & photographs.
Stockon Island Camping Trip
Apostle_Islands Birds Camping History Plants Travel
2021
We made an amphibious landing to offload our gear and then moored the boat about a mile away at the pier. I pitched my hammock tent right on the beach between mature white and red pines. The level of Lake Superior had recently gone down so there was a more normal amount of beach exposed.
Everglades Kayak Trip 2022
Everglades Galleries Hammocks Travel Video
2022
The plan for this year was a clockwise tour around Whitewater Bay, with options to go out to the Gulf of Mexico and explore the Watson River. My cousin David Rathe and nephew Theron Pray decided to join me.
Santa Fe River Day Trip
Critters Galleries Nature Travel
2016
I was itching to go kayaking somewhere new, so I headed over to the Santa Fe River. There was a little park and boat launch near the highway 47 bridge. While getting ready to go I spotted what looked like green leaves stuck on the sides of two trees. They turned out to be Luna Moths, which I think were newly emerged. Beautiful!
May Day Anti-Trump Protest
Commentary Protest
2025
May 1, 2025
Road Trip West 4, Crane Petroglyph Site
Birds Flowers Galleries History Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
My target for this segment was inspired by a used book I came across while working at my local Friends of the Library—Sinagua Sunwatchers by Kenneth Zoll. At first I had a bit of trouble finding the site online because the name has been changed very recently to better reflect its Native American origins. [The old name V Bar V referenceed the now defunct ranch on the property.]
BWCA Canoing & Hiking 2023
Birds Bwca Camping Travel Video
2023
This year's trip was a return to a familiar locale. Our goal was to establish a basecamp and take day trips from there. We started at Bearskin Lake and paddled across to the Duncan Lake portage. After exploring options on the north shore of Duncan we decided to stay on the campsite closest to the portage on the south shore (conveniently vacated by the prior group as we waited).
Julia Belle Swain & John Hartford
Books History Music
2006
While vacationing on the Mississippi River we noticed this small steam-powered riverboat called the Julia Belle Swain. That name seemed very familiar. Then I recalled a John Hartford song by the same name (from his 1976 album Mark Twang). Sure enough, this was the very boat he piloted and sang about!
Flashlight Thoughts
Camping Commentary How_To Reviews Technology
2020
I'm not too fond of headlamps for a few reasons… they are generally too bright when you are working close, shine in people's faces when you look up, and kill your night vision. And what about your hat?!
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.