“My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of joy”

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ~ English romantic novelist remembered primarily for her classic gothic novel Frankenstein, that gave birth to one of the best-known monsters (1797-1851)

Photograph by James Edward Mills

“Listen to the exhortation of the dawn! Look to this day! For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence. The bliss of growth, the glory of action, The splendor of beauty; For yesterday is but a dream, And tomorrow is only a vision; But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, And every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day! Such is the salutation of the dawn”

Kalidasa ~ Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language (4^th-6^th Century A.D.)

Photograph by Chris Gibbs

“Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment.”

Morihei Ueshiba ~ Japanese martial artist, founder of aikido (1883-1969)

Photograph by Chris Gibbs

“When you get to the end of all the light you know and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly”

Edward Teller ~ Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, member of the Manhattan Project, known as “the father of the hydrogen bomb” (1908 –2003)

Photograph by Chris Gibbs

Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams go, life is a barren field, frozen with snow

Langston Hughes ~ American writer, poet and essayist (1902-1967)

Photograph by James Edward Mills

“Getting to the top is optional, but getting down is mandatory. A lot of people get focused on the summit and forget that”

Ed Viesturs ~ Premier high-altitude mountaineer, first to climb the sever summits of world without supplemental oxygen. Author of No Shortcuts to the Top (1959- )

Photograph by Paul Zizka

“The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery – not over nature but of ourselves”

Rachel Carson ~ American marine biologist and nature writer whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement, author of Silent Spring (1907-1964)

Photo courtesy of Isthmus Sailboards

“Every mile is two in winter”

George Hurbert ~ wise man of few words and a limited biography

Photograph by James Edward Mills

“It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal”

Helen Keller ~American author, activist and educator who lived with great passion and determination despite being blind and deaf.

Photograph by Paul Zizka

“Winter is not a season, it’s an occupation”

Sinclair Lewis ~ American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1885-1951)

Photograph by Chris Gibbs