By Mary Fairchild IMAMI Mosque, Streamwood, Illinois. The Islamic tradition of taqiyya stretches back to the sixth-century AD when, following disputes over succession after the Prophet Mohammed’s death, the minority Shiites developed taqiyya, or “holy deception”, to conceal their “true” beliefs from the Sunni majority and to maintain operational security for their jihad/ terrorist missions…
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Exploring the Great Basin: Anza-Borrego Desert, Calico Early Man Site, to Boarding the Coral Pink Sand Dunes
By Mary Fairchild Anza-Borrego Desert The Great Basin stretches from southern Idaho to Southern California which includes all, or portions, of Oregon, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Its southwestern parts are now known as the Mojave and Colorado Deserts of Southern California. In this large, generally dry, mountain-studded region of the West the rivers do not flow to the sea…
Mirror, Mirror, on the Water: A Tranquil Paddle at Mirror Lake State Park
By Mary Fairchild Chelsea Boots appreciates the serenity of Mirror Lake as she quietly discovers the oak/pine forest reflection before her for the first time. …there is rarely a wind-stirred ripple on the water’s still surface— Mirror Lake is a narrow river-like waterway between tall cliff-sided gorges that is about 4 miles long. An impoundment of Sauk County’s Dell…
Sea Kayaking Narragansett Bay: Native American Footpaths and Soul Freedom
By Mary Fairchild (Mfairlady.com) Audubon Society George B. Parker Woodland, Coventry, Rhode Island. “Williams(Roger), lacking the resources… got about by canoe, sometimes likely with a sail rigged…Canoeing, even in protected bays meant confronting sometimes breaking surf and routinely strong currents, heavy swells, whitecaps, and wind; occasional exposure to open ocean increased the danger exponentially.” (4; Barry, p….
Kayaking the Apostle Islands: Kennedys, Native Americans, Religion, and Myth
By Mary Fairchild Paddling around Eagle Island, 2009; the island is protected by Critical Species Natural Area. Last fall, on September 24th, Chequamegon Bay JFK Day marked Kennedy’s visit to the Apostle Islands area thirty years ago (Sept. 24, 1963). Chequamegon was applied to the region by traders and missionaries which derives from a Chippewa(Ojibwe) word, shagwaumikong, meaning soft beaver dam….