Marty’s photo of the day #4158: This was Deb’s and my first campsite, along the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe. At night, the hippos came on shore and roared—just a stone’s throw away from our tents. And joining them were lions roaring, elephants trumpeting, and hyenas whooping!
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Tag: Hippos
My forgotten first major adventure
Marty’s photo of the day #4075: I write both fiction and nonfiction. If you’ve read any of my nonfiction books, you know I’ve experienced some great adventures, from searching for venomous snakes in the Amazon Rainforest to hiking on all seven continents to surviving a hippo attack with my wife, Deb, in Zimbabwe to overcoming […]
Just how big is a hippo’s mouth?
Marty’s photo of the day #4068: Can an entire canoe fit sideways into a hippo’s mouth? I took this photo in Zimbabwe shortly after my wife, Deb, and I proved—yes, it most definitely can! For those who don’t already know the story, here’s an excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the […]
Marty Essen signed book special!
Signed books make great holiday gifts! Beginning today, I am offering a signed book special. Here are the prices: Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: $19.95 Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: $19.95 Time Is Irreverent: $14.95 Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not […]
I’m not going to let small-minded people dictate what I writ
I published Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents in 2007, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico in 2016, Time Is Irreverent in 2018, Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! in 2019, Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds in 2020, and […]
Canoeing with hippos
Fitger’s Inn, now and in 2056
Marty’s photo of the day #3616: If you’ve read either Time Is Irreverent or Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, you know a little about Fitger’s. The historic Duluth landmark used to be the Fitger Brewing Company, but now it is a boutique hotel, a bookstore, and a collection of […]
Halestorm and Evanescence!
Marty’s photo of the day #3603: In the marriage advice chapter of my latest book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, I talk about how Deb and I have kept our 36-year marriage fresh by doing spontaneous things. Examples include suddenly deciding to travel to all seven-continents, moving to Montana […]
Nanga Sumpa
Marty’s photo of the day #3551: For anyone who has read my latest book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, this is Nanga Sumpa, the Iban longhouse that Deb and I raced the flooding deep-canyon river to get to. In Borneo, entire tribes live in a single longhouse, and when […]
Our feet tell the story
Marty’s photo of the day #3539: For those who have read my just released sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, this photo says a lot. I took it the day after Deb’s and my backpacking trip on the mountainous island of Borneo with the Iban tribe. When torrential […]
Lizards think I’m ugly
Marty’s photo of the day #3528: The following excerpt from my newly published sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, takes place in Australia: I had decided to hike up every river within a ten-mile stretch of Queensland coast. Since all the rivers dropped down from the mountains, I […]
Drunk shopping
Marty’s photo of the day #3527: The following excerpt from my newly published sixth book, “Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer,” takes place in Cangas de Onís, Spain: Once we finished our excellent meal, the man from behind the bar walked over and introduced himself as Angel, one of the […]
New York City stories
Marty’s photo of the day #3511: I took this photo of New York City several years ago, when I was on a college speaking tour. My soon-to-be-released humorous memoir, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, features several stories that revolve around New York City, including my trips there when I […]
Playing with octopuses
Marty’s photo of the day #3489: This is one of the two octopuses Deb and I played with while visiting the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. The story of our octopus adventure will appear in my sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer. That book is ready to go, […]
Hits, Heathens, and Hippos cover reveal
Just arrived! The cover for my sixth book: Hits, Heathens, and Hippos. I don’t have a publication date yet, as I’m still evaluating publishing options. It could be as early as February or as late as November. I also have some great back cover blurbs from celebrities. Here’s one of them: “Hits, Heathens, and Hippos […]
The octopus watcher
Marty’s photo of the day #3457: I will have a short segment on Deb’s and my Sea of Cortez octopus adventure in my upcoming book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer. The book won’t have any photos, but if it did, this one of an octopus looking at us from […]
What dogs tell us
Marty’s photo of the day #3388: Since Deb and I moved to Montana’s Bitterroot Valley in 1996, we’ve had multiple dogs, including three adopted from the local animal shelter. We’ll never know for sure what our adopted canine family members went through previously, but they’ve given us a pretty good idea. Our first, Annie, (a […]
And then the hippo bit . . .
Marty’s photo of the day #3356: My sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, is complete and will be published sometime next year. In that book, I share a hilarious story about Montana’s Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer “coercing” me into paying way, way too much for a signed Hillary […]