This website illuminates my life and adventures. My longing for freedom has led me to over 2450 of the world’s 3978 provinces, to every country on earth and to the summit of the highest peak on each continent (thank heaven for good weather!). In my travels, I learned to respect the intelligence and ingenuity of people of all races and callings both past and present. Come see the world as I see it: as a peaceful place, full of nature and beauty. With the right spirit and intent, we can make our world a virtual Garden of Eden.
DISTINCTIONS: BBC 2017 Travel Pioneer • Journal Articles • Explorer’s Club Flag Expeditions
World Parks Project • Walk Across South America • Jeff Shea Travel Map
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Nepal, Tengboche Monastery, 1983 - This photograph was taken above Tengboche monastery in the fall of 1983 during the Mani Rimdu festival. One night, I could not fall asleep in my bed within the monastery. I looked out the paned windows at the moon. Inspired, I put on my thin down jacket and climbed to this point above the monastery. The vast Solo Khumbu valley glowed in the moonlight, with its cirque of fantastic mountains: Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Kantega. Just then, in the middle of the night, the monks blew their long horns, sending a bellowing echo into the infinite night. It was a moment to remember, a moment when the consciousness was opened and the world galvanized into a single, pure and beautiful godhead.
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Turkey, Kocaeli Prov, Landscape
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UK, Brent (London) Prov, Girl With Black And Gold Hat
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Turkey, Malatya Prov, Landscape
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Austria, Niederosterreich Prov, Striped Fields
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Ascension, Green Mountain From Cinder Cone After Sunset, 2006 - I arrived on the top of the cinder cone just as darkness fell. This is a 30 second exposure. I had to descend in near-total darkness. In the distance is Green Mountain, the highest mountain on Ascension. The lights of the town below shine in the twilight.
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Papua New Guinea, Huli Sunglasses, 1983 - I don't think it mattered to this man that his sunglasses were missing a lens, just as many Highlanders wore wristwatches that were broken. Their interest was artistic, not practical. The Hulis had fantastic imaginations. I was impressed by the fact that they did not seem to differentiate between items from the forest and items from modern industry. Any item that could enhance their appearance was fair game. For example, this man's wig has both flowers and candy wrappers in it!
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Nepal, Judith Standing, 1984 - In Tengboche, Solu Khumbu, Nepal, I invited Judith to climb Island Peak with me. On the way back, we lost contact. On the way to Lukla, I saw her footprints on the path ahead of me. I met with her at a teashop. We spent the night there together. She insisted I take a bath. The woman running the teashop (essentially a stone house on the side of the trail) heated a tub of water, and I took my first bath in a week. Here, a week later, Judith stands outside the doorway to our room in Katmandu.
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Greenland, Stray Dog West Aerial July 16, 2007 - Four days after the discovery of Stray Dog West on foot, we flew over the island on the way back to Norway. This is the new northernmost point of land in the world. It is north of Kaffeklubben. It is now an official place on Shea's Register of the World. (IMG_5257R) Stray Dog West lies at 83?40'30" north latitude.