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Yangmingshan National Park (Taiwan!)

06/28/2023 | Photos and article by Chubby Squirrel


 After four long years of COVID travel restrictions, I was finally able to visit Taiwan again this summer! My parents and I stayed for three weeks, and got to see aunts, uncles, grandparents, and old friends. I was especially excited to see my cousins, who came at the same time as us from California, whom I haven’t seen since 2018. Flying from our house on the US east coast to Los Angeles took five hours, and then we had to wait in the airport for eight more hours before boarding a 12-hour flight to Taiwan. Needless to say, the journey was unenjoyable. However, as I stepped foot out of the Taoyuan International Airport, the distinctive, humid air recalled fond memories of trips in years past.


(Never) Skiing Again

04/07/2023 | Photos and article by Chubby Squirrel


 To preface, I've only gone skiing once before, when I was five years old. We went with some friends, because nobody in my family is of the winter sports type - we despise the cold - and all I can recall is that I was forced to attend a ski class, during which I fell once and couldn’t get up, and ended up being left behind. Not a pleasant experience, to be sure. But despite the fact that I vowed never to go skiing again after the tragic incident, there I was, careening down the slopes, more than a decade later, mouth gaping open but emitting no sound in utter terror as I “pizza’d” in vain, knowing that breaking that vow I made to myself all those years ago had been a (hopefully not fatal) mistake...


Everglades National Park

07/28/2022 | Pictures and Article by Chubby Squirrel


 Everglades National Park is the third largest national park in the lower 48 states, infested with all manner of voracious man-eating beasts. Just kidding about the latter part; the alligators and crocodiles are actually all very docile and well-behaved, preferring to sit in the middle of a well-travelled trail waiting for food to come lumbering by instead of spending energy on chasing down dinner. For whatever reason, I allowed myself to be taken along on a three-day excursion to this swampy excuse for a national park. What's even more surprising than me going? I actually ended up liking it despite myself...


Photo of the week: Zion National Park, Utah

Cape Henlopen Pt. 2

Locations

6/23/2021

You might have read the article on my camping trip last year to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware...
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Fossils

Nature

2/11/2021

It's very likely that you have heard of the dinosaurs that once roamed our very own planet...
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Death Valley

Locations

3/20/2018

This March (2019) we took a week off and went to Death Valley National Park. We...
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Joshua Tree

Locations

6/20/2018

My family and I went to Joshua Tree National Park in California in June...
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Newest Articles

Everglades National Park

07/28/2022 | Locations

Everglades National Park is the third largest national park in the lower 48 states, infested with all manner of voracious man-eating beasts. Just kidding about the latter part; the alligators and crocodiles are actually all very docile...
Continue Reading

New River Gorge National Park

07/25/2022 | Locations

Established as a national river in 1978 and redesignated as a national park in 2020, New River Gorge is the latest of many geographical treasures to acquire this famed status. Spanning over 50 miles, the young national park in West Virginia preserves...
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Experiences with an Inflatable Kayak

06/14/2022 | Hobbies

Recently, I was asked by a friend to join his Dragon Boat team because they didn't have enough paddlers. I was ecstatic, mainly because I had never done anything of the sort before, and figured that paddling wouldn't be exceedingly difficult...
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Great Falls National Park

11/3/2021 | Locations

Imagine a roaring river, flowing madly by for as long as time itself. Forests and rocky formations, weathered by the constant onslaught of formidable power, line both sides of it. A few stubborn boulders stand in the way of the gushing current...
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Cape Henlopen State Park (2)

6/23/2021 | Locations

You might have read the article on my camping trip last year to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. Well, I liked it so much that I went again this year, except this time with the company of my family and my friend's family. We booked...
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Brood X Cicadas

5/23/2021 | Nature

I don't know if you've heard of, or, should I say, heard brood X cicadas so far this year. I had no considerable knowledge of them at all until they literally arrived at my doorstep! Brood X (the Roman numeral for 10) is a generation of cicadas that only emerge once every 17 years...
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FAQ

What is "Chubby Squirrel"?



This is a question that I get asked a lot. After all, it is a unique site name/alias. Well, it all started a very long time ago, when I saw a (you guessed it) "chubby" squirrel at the park, minding his own business. He ended up becoming the namesake for the website.


Wanna learn more about me or the website?


What's up with the Gallery?



It is what I call a "work in progress", A.K.A. an abrupt idea that I had once and wish to pursue but procrastinate too much to actually pursue. On a (more) serious note, the Gallery was supposed to be a place for me to display pictures I'm proud of. I may add to it...someday.


In the meantime, you can look at the pictures I took in the articles!


Is there a way to contact you?



No. Leave me alone (kidding!). You can contact me on neocities.org, if you have an account. I will respond to messages sent there. Besides that, no. I value my privacy and as such will not post contact information on my website.


If you wish to contact me regarding usage of my photos (now I REALLY am flattering myself), please look elsewhere instead of using mine. There are many, MANY individuals more talented than myself (who has no talent in photography whatsoever) who offer their pictures for public usage. Thanks!