The Valley of Yanque Lies at 10,000 Feet And The Surrounding Mountains Are at 12,000 Feet!

 June 8, 2026

A mere five months after twin heart attacks as a result of playing Wipeout at a band reunion for the Exits, I found myself at 12,000 feet above sea level. I was in Peru with Kathy to visit our son who was in the Peace Corp in the high mountain village of Yanque at 10,000 feet, which is damned high enough, but we had to come in over a pass that was at 12,000 feet!

Daily Whip Outs:

"In The Valley of Yanque, Peru"

This is a page from my sketchbook I made while there and the bottom notation of "7000!" refers to the number of bad sketches I had already made on my way to 10,000. You might say I was high on life at the time. Here are several other pages from our Peru adventure.

My heart doctor in Phoenix made me wear a heart monitor before our trip and he insisted I go up to the Snow Bowl north of Flagstaff and hike up to the tallest peak—at 7,000 feet—to see if my heart would take it. I passed the test and so we flew to Lima, Peru after a stop off at Suchitoto, San Salvador. And, here's a sketch of Lake Suchitlan from the balcony of La Posada where we stayed. Lovely place.

Daily Whip Outs: "Lake Suchitlan"

I have a sneaky suspicion that in my next graphic novel story there will be a character from Yanque, Peru.

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness."

—Seneca