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
Chile, Antofagasta Prov, Camp2
Azerbaijan, Goranboy Prov, Farm And Hills
Riska on top of Ternate Volcano, 2005
Indonesia, Maluku Utara Province
Twelve years later, I fulfilled this vision on the top of Ternate Island in Indonesia when Riska agreed to pose for me.
Argentina, Jujuy Prov, Fly
Nepal, Ama Dablam, 1983 - Ama Dablam is said to be one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. It was on the back of the Nepali one rupee note. I met a man who had just climbed this peak, a difficult climb at that. He had slipped and saved his life by reaching out and grabbing a rock on his way down. I asked him why he risked his life. His reply stuck with me to this day. He said that after an experience like that, his life was worth ten times more. Many years later I was able to have a similar sensation. Risking my life on Everest was like going through a portal into a new reality. Life is not always about being safe. Doing things without a "safety net" could be a growth experience. This is not only true about climbing. This principle can be applied to daily life and to emotional experience, like allowing oneself to fall in love.
Slovenia, Hrpelje-Kozina Prov, Bulldozer
Slovenia, Logatec Prov, Thumb Tack
When I asked Er Che Du Ma if she could wear her traditional costume for me, she promptly shut her little store front and went home to change. Here, she stands in front of her front door. Even the house she lived in with her parents was quaint, with a beautiful watercolor on the wall. The people there now marry, but in the old days, the women were the property owners and there was no marriage.
Slovenia, Cerkvenjak Prov, House Wall, 2006, IMG_4842 -
Djibouti, Lake Asal, 2002 - Lake Asal in Djibouti is the saltiest body of water in the world, having a salt content ten times that of normal seawater. In 1984 I floated in the Dead Sea in Israel, noting my body was half out of the water. In 2002, I floated in Lake Asal and noted that my body was more than half out of the water! I had to wash off my body when I got out, as the salt crystals began to cake on my legs.