A Little Bit of Everything.....

We are going to get lots of rain this afternoon.....with the possibility of thunderstorms. That means Fenway will be hiding in the pantry and will refuse to go outside at all.

So we took a good long walk this morning covering our favorite route. We started out toward Lake Michigan and along the shore. The water glistening in the morning, the gulls wheeling and diving. Then we went behind the bandstand where Fenway spooked four starlings hiding in the hosta.

On past the volleyball court and down through the field leading toward the woods. One bunny watched with suspicious eyes until it darted into the green and disappeared. We like to walk through the woods.....it just feels like we are far from home when really we are just around the corner. We cross the bridge and the stream is running quietly. It will be much louder tomorrow after all the rain.

Up to the bike path and we turn toward home. The greenery along the path is now so thick and tall that we hardly ever spot any of "our" deer. They could be two feet off the path, but unless they move, we see nothing. I know the does have their spotted fawns with them at this time of year......but I have yet to find one.

The breeze picks up and there is a gentle scent in the air. Small wild roses, buttercups, phlox, wild aster....perfume in the wind. We hear birds in the trees, woodpeckers, mourning doves, cardinals and robins call. Tall grasses sway.

It's about a two mile walk so Fenway empties his bladder and accomplishes his other morning "routines". He's successfully christened trees, plants, sticks and curbs all along our way.

The rain will wash everything clean and he can start re-claiming everything tomorrow. Today we saw a little bit of everything on our walk.....one of our favorite things to do.

Visitations......

It happens to me quite frequently. A memory jumps to the front of my brain, a picture of someone I miss. A repetition of a moment with them....before they were gone forever.

These people I love(d) come back once in awhile.....in expected and unexpected ways. I'm open to this and it doesn't surprise me. I find it's comforting. Often a moment happens when I am outside. Nature speaks and I choose to think that it's really a whisper from the great beyond.

The most recent happened on our last RV trip.....sitting at the picnic table at Lake Louise Campground in Alberta, Canada.  We were enjoying an easy supper. While it's not unusual to have birds flitting about the sites, in and out of surrounding trees.....it is unusual to have one purposely land on the table and hop toward me. No fear....just looking for a crumb.

We follow the rules and we don't feed the wildlife.....but I admit we made an exception here. This was a Grey Jay.....and I don't think we have them in our part of Wisconsin. So I gave him/her several little crumbs and admired the way the bird looked at me. I know it just wanted a crumb....but for me it was also a "Hey there!" moment.

A bold and beautiful little Gray Jay. Just a bird.....but also, for me, a hello from two loved ones who enjoyed the outdoors too. Especially my cousin who loved to camp and explore the West in their RV... she would have loved this moment.

I choose to think she did.....

Painting with Shadows.....

There is something about shadows that intrigues me....especially when they "partner" with artwork. The shadows add an element that would not be there without them. I'm sure museum curators are aware of this as they position the piece and set the lights.

When I see a piece like this I like to walk from one side to the other to see how the images change from one view to another. People may wonder why I'm moving slowly while staring at the wall.....on the other hand my pausing has led to some interesting discussions!

I found all of these pieces at the Buffalo Bill Museum of the West in Cody, Wyoming. A terrific museum, well worth the visit. Shadow play....another element of creativity....

Rethinking Traffic......

We've just enjoyed four weeks exploring in our little RV. Another Western excursion with the added benefit of being able to spend a little time with our son and his family in Washington State. Before we left we decided to try to avoid tollroads and highways and stick to the red roads. Traffic is easier (or non-existant), there are fewer trucks.....plus the scenery is going by the window at a slightly slower speed.

So we wandered through South Dakota....

.....Wyoming.....

....wth a slight traffic jam in Yellowstone where the bison own the road. We happily sit still and watch them. The moms and calves approach the road slowly, pause, and even seem to look both ways before crossing. Mom at a slow walk.....baby running to keep up. The males just seem to walk right down the middle of the road....cars be damned.

Then on up through Idaho.....

....and across Washington State on Route 20 through the Cascades.....

....where we crossed over into Canada....

....and on the way home wandered through North Dakota.....




I'm not going to say we never found traffic or road construction.....but it was very infrequent.

Red roads.....bison traffic jams....I'll take it.....

Circadian Rhythm......

Don't travel north. It's hard to sleep up there.

I remember when our son and his family moved north of Seattle. The boys were little and Todd would say they had a hard time falling asleep because it was light outside long after it said bedtime on the clock. On our first visit to their new home I helped to make some room darkening curtains for a bedroom.

Well we've been "up north" now for several weeks now. First in the Seattle area and then farther north up into Canada.....and my sleep patterns are really messed up. It DOES get light really early in the morning and my eyes are open by 4:30 - 5:00....almost two hours earlier than Wisconsin normal. And it's still light outside well after 9:00 in the evening. I'm not sure how late it has to be before it's fully dark because we were usually tucked in and sleeping by about 9:30-10:00.

Frequently we would remind each other that we should stay up, sit outside and look at the stars at our campsites.....they would be beautiful with so little ground clutter and no city lights to interfere. But we never did. After a day of travel, or hiking or just being in the fresh air we were not going to win any contest with the setting sun......it moved too slowly and we were just too tired.

So we never saw the sky full of stars.

We plan to visit friends in Alaska in August.....I'm buying a sleep mask.

Difficult Conversatipns....Other Countries Heard From.....

This has been our fifth western RV excursion.....and we've loved each and every one of them. The scenery, the animal life...the people we've met. So many memories of so many special stops. And traveling from mid-May until mid-June we find campgrounds a bit less crowded. Most schools are still in session. And we've also always found lots and lots of Europeans here in rented RVs exploring the National Parks and historic sites and staying at campsites adjoining ours. It's always made for some interesting conversations.

This year was a little more "problematic". We had chances to enjoy lengthy conversations with couples from Belgium, Holland, Germany and of course Canada. We shared information, asked and answered questions and just did what you do when you meet people who share a common interest.

But this time....after visiting awhile....I took the opportunity to ask each of them the following: "So....do you mind telling me what you think about what is happening in the United States?" They immediately knew I was referring to the man who now occupies the Oval Office and their comments followed certain themes.

1. How could you elect such a man?

2. We are concerned and worried about what he may do.

3. How can you explain such boorish behavior from your President?

4. We are just amazed and what is all that tweeting about?

5. He doesn't seem to have a very good command of your language.

Certainly this was not a wide "survey"....a total of about 20 strangers from Europe who were willing to engage. And then I would try to answer.....reminding them these were my feelings. I told them all I was concerned and worried and embassased and disgusted and frightened for the future. Not my future so much as my adult children and my four grandsons.....what kind of future would they see?

The conversation often continued with questions about the popular vote....and just how does our electoral college work and why do we have that anymore? 

I think the thing I appreciated most, aside from the fact that most of the people I spoke with seemed to echo my feelings, was that we were having quiet conversations. 

Thoughtful, quiet conversations.....no real answers....but conversations.....

Signage.....Really?

When we travel though the United States we are often enjoying special places and kinds of terrain we don't have in the Midwest. Mountains, canyons, cliffs, geysers.....all very exotic and fascinating. "Wow!" becomes a constant term in our everyday conversations.

We've also discovered some funny kinds of signage as we explore. I don't know if this happens as often in foreign countries, but we Americans (a litigious society) seem to need to label everything with warning signs. Don't go to close. Stay away from the edge. Wild animals are wild!

This trip we saw a couple that really struck me as odd. Visiting a small prairie home museum there was a sign that said "Don't feed the prairie dogs"....and I can understand that one. There was a colony of very light beige prairie dogs living there....the only one of that white-ish color in the world. So it makes perfect sense that they need to be protected and not become dependent on human food....which is probably not good for them anyway. But then, right down the path, was the caution "Don't touch the rattlesnakes."   Really? We need a reminder for that?

And then we were in Yellowstone and I was walking the boardwalk out to the Grand Prismatic Spring to check out the display. It was a narrow wooden boardwalk with numerous signs reminding people that the amazingly colorful bacterial layer was very fragile and would not support a person's weight. And just below that thin layer was very hot water! So it made sense to remind people not to touch or step off the walkway. I read the sign.....and ten steps later saw the hat. Now I'm pretty sure that a ranger did not actually step off and get "swallowed" by the hot spring....but the fact that his or her hat blew off and ended up where it did was a funny image....especially after just reading the signage.

And the last one was a reminder that there are bears in the area and visitors were NOT allowed to walk along the pathway at the side of the river. I read the sign and looked up to see four people meandering along the path right next to the water. They had to pass the sign to get there.

Ah well....maybe the did not read English and I haven't heard any horror stories of tourists at Yellowstone being attacked yet this year.

But people....really.....mind the signs!

Tolkien and JK Rowling.....

I feel like we've entered the world of Harry Potter or that we will find a Hobbit house just around the corner.

Revelstoke, Spallumcheen, Shuswap and Penticton. All stops along Harry Potter's train route to school?

And can't you just imagine a character named Myra Bellevue, Nakisha or Lumby? How about a Professor Greystokes? Maybe the muggles live in Slocan Park.

And picture hobbits in Okanagan, Tulameen or Invermere.

Sequels anyone?

😀

We Are Lost.....

Trying to figure out where we are in Canada....and it's a challenge. We don't know the towns and cities, or the names of the lakes....or if the flood warnings pertain to our route? And the weather forecast....12 degrees? Where is my parka.....oh wait, that's celcius. And the speed limit....90! Oh wait....that's the metric system MOST of the world uses but we Americans don't.

Traveling is fun.....and so far British Columbia is absolutely beautiful. And it is fun to wander.....just sometimes I knew where we were and where we are going!