During one of my off days, I visited a quilt show in Jacksonville, FL. The show had over 400 quilts, and my feet ached afterward! Lots of vendors offered cool fabrics and tools, but I was selective and bought only a few treasures. Lots of motivation and I’ve been creating some new things. From the…
I love the Black Hills (South Dakota) and lived only 3 hours away in Wyoming until a few years ago. However, when I visited this area I came up from the south and stayed mostly in the eastern section. Beautiful but a bit touristy during the summer due to Mt. Rushmore visitors. A good friend…
Gallatin Valley! Last night, I started the book Gallatin Canyon, short stories by Thomas McGuane. It reminded me how much I have always wanted to travel the Gallatin Hwy to West Yellowstone. Considering where I am and where I am headed, at the very least, I could travel about 50 miles or so down the…
A few days ago, I drove through the Sheyenne River valley. Trees stood fully naked, the last leaves blowing down valley on an icy thermal. Birds are long gone, although it seems like yesterday a few stragglers remained. I wait for the first flakes of sn, sn, sn, SNOW, which could fall any moment. The early…
I don’t expect to have such an exciting date for awhile (see Two Senior Citizens and a Dog on the James River) In fact, we won’t have any kind of date for at least a week. Don loves my van, Flying Cloud, as much as I do. He hitched up a trailer, loaded his motorcycle,…
The last few days I have reflected on my experience in the Black Hills. I visited one other time, 42 years ago. We drove across the upper Midwest, through Iowa. The Badlands and Mt. Rushmore were my first experiences of the west. The trip marks the first time that the western mountains and back country…
The property where I am staying is lovely, with tennis courts, miniature golf, pool, hot tub and more; however, this is not my thing. I have close neighbors and can hear them yelling and their phones ringing. Dogs bark. I long for more solitude and a beautiful natural setting. I have not gotten out my…
Some people wear purple when they get old. I am eating peanuts–honey roasted. A friend sent a birthday package with me and it has small bags of peanuts. So, on my 60th, I am sitting here in the Black Hills at my campsite eating peanuts. The temperature is a brisk 50 degrees, a perfect morning.…
It is time to finish packing the tow vehicle and get out of here! Remember the photos of the nice neat van with storage containers and a mattress? Well, after all the packing, it looks like this: And the view from the side doors now: The bags hanging on the left are First Aid…
We lost several wonderful members of our church family, which kept me focused on memorials and other work responsibilities. Last night I caught up on news, and was delighted to hear about the young man just released from Afghanistan–Bowe Bergdahl. But I was sad to see the happy event politicized and then, this morning, how fellow service…