On my way west, I dipped down to Oxford, MS to visit Johnny and Carolyn Lott (and his remarkable mother Ouida). Johnny is a longtime math education friend and colleague, now retired from Missoula. Their hospitality included Johnny's "Grits a Ya Ya" (Gouda, cream, portabello, and more) and Carolyn's tour of Cedar Oaks, a historic … Continue reading 12-9-18 →

More lingering oddities from the Great Smoky Mountains: (1) Southerners love their T-shirts, including a plethora of Christian-themed logos. Some are charming, some are clever, and some are about condiments. (2) Next door to the t-shirts, Ole Smoky is selling moonshine in Mason jars with flavors like White Lightnin', Apple Pie, Mountain Java, and Butterscotch. … Continue reading 12-8-18 →

A review of unique retailers in the Great Smoky Mountains: (1) Who could resist a shop with this much clutter? Of course I bought trinkets for my own "twisted sisters." (2) If you've been wondering "Where are you Christmas?" I found it! Or at least everything you need to celebrate it spread across 43,000 square … Continue reading 12-7-18 →

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge - I'd heard stories about the sheer spectacle of this gateway to the Smokies. Now I know they're true! I loved my timeshare in quieter Sevierville, but got out to experience the very sparkly streets, shops, and shows. The thousands upon thousands of additional holiday lights made for delightful Christmas chaos. … Continue reading 12-6-18 →

In addition to wide and deep natural beauty, the Smokies preserve the cultural echoes of the people who lived there (and in many scenarios were uprooted to make way for the national park). The east side of the park is also home to the Cherokee nation - more developed, but faintly reminiscent of a Montana … Continue reading 12-5-18 →

On this cold and blustery day, I crossed the Great Smoky Mountains. The wintry weather and hoarfrost greatly enhanced the "smokiness." At the road's summit I found myriad long views and virtually no other people - just the way I like it! I walked another short stretch of the Appalachian Trail, channeling Edward Abbey: "May … Continue reading 12-4-18 →

My Raleigh friends recommended two state parks in the Asheville area. Mount Mitchell (highest point east of the Mississippi) is an hour's cruise up the peaceful Blue Ridge Parkway and another 3 miles up a winding access road. Chimney Rock overlooks the transition as Appalachian mountains and ravines spill out into the Piedmont region. I … Continue reading 12-3-18 →

The Biltmore Estate was an all-day experience! I wandered the gardens and walked the trails in the morning - the conservatory was carefully curated chaos in red and, white, and green. I toured the house midday (less than 25% of the 250 rooms) and visited the museum in the afternoon. To wrap up the day, … Continue reading 12-2-18 →

On my way out of Durham today, I swung by the American Tobacco District - a wonderfully renovated tobacco factory complex now full of shops and parks but still retaining its history. Note the Lucky Strike smokestack and water tower. I continued to the west end of the state, arriving in Asheville in time for … Continue reading 12-1-18 →

I found some more Montana friends! Gary and Billie live in Durham now (Gary taught HS math in Great Falls), and Mary was visiting (she taught MS math in Helena). We had a nice meal, and the conversation resulted in attending the Messiah performance in the Duke chapel tonight. Three hours of music (it was … Continue reading 11-30-18 →

I had appointments in Durham today, so I took a walk around the Duke University campus. Wow - now I get what all the hype is about. The chapel commands the highest point on campus and is an architectural wonder of native bluestone. In contrast, the Duke Gardens  are a natural wonder of formal, native, … Continue reading 11-29-18 →

I took a midday break to meet up with Ashley, a young friend from FBC Bozeman who's in her first year as faculty at NCSU. We had lunch at the beautiful and brand-new State View Hotel on campus, then toured through NCSU's equally beautiful new library. Color and light everywhere (cue that workspace envy again!). … Continue reading 11-28-18 →

Today I gave a talk for grad students and faculty in the NCSU Education department - productive for me and well received by them! Hollylynne is a great coordinator - she also arranged lunch with doctoral students and interviews with faculty. Tonight we had dinner at The Pit, an upscale Carolina BBQ restaurant with some … Continue reading 11-27-18 →

This week I'm meeting with people and visiting sites at North Carolina State University. The most inspiring person is my colleague and friend Hollylynne Lee (center in this trio of math educators), who has her hand in half a dozen online projects for teachers. The most inspiring site is the NCSU Friday Institute, full of … Continue reading 11-26-18 →

I spent today preparing for this week's NC State site visit. That amounted to studying multiple Web sites, taking notes, and drafting interview questions - all fairly un-photogenic activities. So today's photos reflect back on two very unique, and possibly disturbing, icons of Myrtle Beach: (1) this mural at the Atlanticus mini-golf course, which defies … Continue reading 11-25-18 →

Back to the routine for everybody! The boys are headed back to college and final exams, their parents are returning to work, and I'm now in Raleigh-Durham, NC for a weeklong site visit at NC State. I think we all enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and off-season peacefulness of Thanksgiving at the beach. It's interesting and … Continue reading 11-24-18 →

Our last day in Myrtle Beach, we checked the remaining boxes on the standard list of must-do tourist activities: a stroll on the boardwalk, dinner at a beachfront restaurant, and 18 holes at one of the nearly 50 miniature golf attractions. (Seriously. Fifty. Even Atlas Obscura wrote about mini-golf in Myrtle Beach.) We chose to … Continue reading 11-23-18 →

Happy Thanksgiving! We were able to have an actual Thanksgiving feast, courtesy of my brother-in-law's niece who lives south of Myrtle Beach. She put together a turkey dinner with Southern-enhanced side dishes, which we thoroughly enjoyed as a prelude to naps, sports, fire pit conversations, and beach walks. I'm thankful to feel so welcome in … Continue reading 11-22-18 →

We chose the sunniest, warmest day of the week (about 60 degrees) to visit Huntington Beach State Park. Two people went running. Two took a nature walk along a lake. One (me) explored a marshland, where I observed that fall colors have a different way of expressing themselves down here. Then we all spent the … Continue reading 11-21-18 →

Kudos to my sister Jacquie for bringing along a few extras to make it Thanksgiving even in a beach-y condo! Who knew her choices would match the dishes and artwork so perfectly? We went to Barefoot Landing today, where I accomplished two non-negotiable goals: (1) piling on the seafood at Joe's Crab Shack and (2) … Continue reading 11-20-18 →