Sidewinders: Desert Survivors

Watching Tommy scratch for a sidewinder was impressive. These snakes are poisonous but not deadly. A bite would make your finger swell up to twice its size but you would not die. Had no interest in petting it although the Russian couple did and one of the Austrian teenage twin boys did, too. The one…

BytarpleyJanuary 20, 20160Comments

Namibia 2016

Chameleon: Changeable Desert Creature

Now this little fellow was pretty amazing. We saw him change from the pictured gray/green to yellow, white and then to nearly black depending on which side of the sun he was walking. His eyes see 360 degrees and his vision is perfect.

BytarpleyJanuary 20, 20160Comments

Namibia 2016

Is There Life in the Namib? This Gecko Says, “Yes!”

Tommy's Tours delivered a first rate desert experience. Riding up and down dunes in a Land Rover was a thrill a minute. And he can find the desert creatures along the way because the desert is his "office" and he knows where things are even if he has to do the equivalent of moving things…

BytarpleyJanuary 20, 20160Comments

Namibia 2016

What is Unique About the Namib?

Huge sand dunes for starters. Just to give you a sense of the size of some of these dunes take a look here: one of my guides is pictured to give a sense of scale: You can also get a peek of another dune in the distance. And I did climb this one. Nearly…

BytarpleyJanuary 20, 20160Comments

Namibia 2016

For Decades I Have Wanted to See the Namib…

Now, Here I Am!

BytarpleyJanuary 20, 20160Comments

Namibia 2016

Here’s what Namibia looks like.

Here is my first sunset in Windhoek, Namibia. There is only one sky but how it looks changes so much with the place one is viewing it. Perfect weather all week, meaning 84 degrees, no humidity and a slight breeze. This country and the people who live here are clean, clean, clean. Namibians are quite fashionable, artistic…

BytarpleyJanuary 19, 20160Comments

Namibia 2016

Being an American Woman in Windhoek, Namibia

In a New York Times interview, the author, Annie Proulx, observed that after a woman turns 55 she becomes invisible. She gave as an example sitting in a cafe in Nova Scotia next to a couple who were plotting a murder. Wherever I am in Windhoek - cafes, restaurants, taxi stands, buying a bottle of water…

BytarpleyJanuary 16, 20166Comments

En Route

Confessions of an Airport Junkie

Have become curious why it is that I am overwhelmed with a sense of "all is right with the world" when I am in an airport. As soon as I enter an airport I experience a lifting of all responsibility. Freedom from responsibility for oneself is the privilege of young children and I realize I start…

BytarpleyJanuary 16, 20160Comments

About

Where’s Tarpley?

When I told someone I met at a holiday party that I was naming my new blog "Where's Tarpley?" he asked, "Is that a place?" Actually, it is a place: Tarpley, Texas, and I have been there. Tarpley is also my name. On December 18, 2015, I retired at the age of 75. The way…

BytarpleyJanuary 12, 20168Comments

About

So, what’s Where’s Tarpley about?

"Numberless are the world's wonders, but none is more wonderful than man ..." -Sophocles Nothing interests me more than human beings and they have to live somewhere. My first career was as an Anthropologist, followed by training as an actor, followed by a 45 year career as a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. Each of these disciplines is…

BytarpleyJanuary 7, 20160Comments