Meredith Monk makes the case for the voice alone as a window on the soul. Using language in a choral work is no less revealing. Here is a Greek women’s choir, and a Shira Men’s Choir singing at a Bar Mitzvah. The women’s choir video opens with a performance art piece followed by singing. [Click on Full Screen icon in the lower right corner to best appreciate the video]
Basin and Range – Nevada
This is what it looks like on US Hwy 50, “The Loneliest Road in America” across Nevada. Actually, there are longer, emptier stretches elsewhere in the state. US Hwy 93 south from Majors Place to Pioche, NV, is one of them. The open road beckons. [All photos 
Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
The Pedernal from the Chimneys at Ghost Ranch
Always a dramatic view from the chimneys at Ghost Ranch in Rio Arriba County, NM. October, 2024. I can’t wait to get back there. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Living Room
[Photos Max Vollmer, Click on iany mage to enlarge]
Chopin – Nocturne in C Minor – Claudio Arrau
I heard this Nocturne No. 21 in C Minor for the first time in Joseph, OR, with a small gathering of friends for a private recital given by the daughter of the founder and publisher of the Wallowa County Chieftan. There’s a story that goes with it.
Million Dollar Highway – Revisited
My brother, Terry, recently brought my attention back to a 25 mile stretch of highway, U.S. Route 550, from Silverton, CO, to Ouray, CO, that I traveled and photographed in the Fall of 2012. The name, Million Dollar Highway, refers to the rumored cost of $1,000,000 per mile to build it in the 1920’s when a dollar bought a lot more than it does now. https://thenatureseeker.com/million-dollar-highway/
The route was originally surveyed and built as a wagon road in the 1880’s to carry incredibly rich silver ore from the Yankee Girl Mine located on the north slope of Red Mountain down to the smelter. While narrow gauge railroads were built to serve mines all over the Colorado Rockies in the late 19th century, defying gravity and the elements to extract gold and silver, the geography surrounding the Yankee Girl defied the best railroad surveyors and engineers of the day and no tracks were ever laid
I drove the high altitude 25 mile stretch, 11,000 ft. at the highest, from Silverton to Ouray behind a Colorado Highway Patrol cruiser, keeping me from being overly aggressive. The speed limit was, and no doubt still is, 25 mph because of the steep grades and narrow pavement with no guardrails. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Karl Vollmer – Interview With Paddle Canada
Welcome to 2026! Instructor POV is starting off the new year with one of our own. Karl Vollmer: level 2 sea kayak instructor trainer, advanced river kayak instructor trainer, chair of the PCC (Program Coordination Committee), chair of the river kayak program development committee, database manager, and general paddling powerhouse.
Paddle Canada: Hey Karl, thanks for taking the time to be a part of our Instructor Series. We’re excited to hear all about your experience as a Paddle Canada Instructor so let’s dive right in. Give us an intro about yourself – what do you do and where do you do it?
Karl Vollmer: Thanks, I’ve been in Nova Scotia for almost 20 years now. I have an IT desk job by day, but spend my weekends and evenings on the water, and in the water. I work for Ontario Sea Kayak Center, Cape Lahave Adventures and Cloud 9 Adventures as a sea kayak guide and instructor. My true love is river kayaking. I run https://whitewaterns.ca and https://whitewaternb.ca. I have spent the last 15+ years trying to aggregate and make available all of the river beta and water level information for free to the community as a way to remove barriers to whitewater paddling in the Atlantic provinces. I’ve also recently picked up River SUP’ing which is a new challenge.
PC: What was your first paddling experience and what inspired you to become an instructor?
KV: My first paddling experience in memory is going over a lower overhead dam in a canoe as a small kid with my father. That experience has inspired me to have a better understanding of water and how it works. It has also driven me to help other people understand so that they can be safe, and have an amazing, positive time on the water. Being on the water in a Canoe, or Kayak or on a Sup should be a safe, positive and fun experience. I work as an instructor and guide to help make that happen for people.
The XX – INTRO – Cover by CITY OF THE SUN
Music, the universal language. This is so much fun. Who is the woman in black and grey with the red lipstick? This cover version is better than the original by Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim in my opinion. [Click on Full Screen icon in the lower right corner to best appreciate the video]
Study In Brown
Ash bowl, ceramic vase, resinous Douglas fir section, weathered juniper, crinoid fossils, canine teeth, braided cotton thread, limestone with fossilized seashell and quartz crystals.
[Photo Max Vollmer, Click on image to enlarge]
Chehalis Western Trail – Olympia, Washington
Need to relax and reflect? You could walk the Chehalis Western Trail outside Olympia, WA, where this photo was taken by my daughter, Yukyo, on New Years Day, 2026. The trail
[Photo Emily Vollmer, Click on image to enlarge]