A Valiant Effort.....

The past two days of our latest RV adventure provided us with our most difficult driving conditions. Coming across Wyoming’s Great Basin and into Nebraska we were greeted with strong winds....from the southish so it was hitting our RV on the side and pushing us all over the road. A bit frightening when passing or being passed by a semi! We took turns trading off for shorter white-knuckle turns at the wheel....but the driving really was tiring.

Our mid-day rest stop off the highway mid-way through Nebraska gave us a chance to stretch our legs and just relax as we leaned into the wind. A plaque at the rest stop pointed out the tracks in the soil left by the pioneers who headed to Oregon in covered wagons. I couldn’t help but think how hard that must have been....heat, wind and rain. We are traveling 65 mph and they were lucky to cover 30 miles in a day.

As I walked around I noticed a butterfly. It would flutter around.....trying to make headway and then “give up” and land back on the ground cover and flutter its wings. It was not a day to be a butterfly.....

......I hope this beautiful black swallowtail makes it to its destination. We did...a motel in Ames, Iowa!

The Count.....

One of the main reasons I love to travel out west is to see the wildlife. I find it interesting, fascinating and so amazing to see non-midwest-wildlife sort of face to face (even if it’s as we race by at 60 mph). Dave and I keep a list.....and grab photos of as many of the surprise encounters as we can.

The prairie dogs and the stellar jay and the pronghorn and the red squirrels. Wild turkeys and mule deer.

Dave (the guy who HATES snakes) saw one, and we spotted magpies and got a kick out of the noisy raven.

Arriving in Yellowstone I spot my favorites, the bison....I never get tired of watching these amazing animals. A spring trip to the park let us enjoy all the new born calves....but even seeing the adults just floats my boat!

We spot mule deer and swans, chipmunks and geese. We spot three different  hawks dive on their prey.  A beautiful , healthy coyote crosses the road as we pass. A trip to Lamar Valley and we finally see a grey wolf and watch a small group of pronghorn react to its presence. Binoculars glued to our eyeballs!

Dave catches a shot of a black bear....can you see it’s ear? And a black bear with a much more brownish coat.

And the last big catch of the trip came just before driving into Jackson Hole.....wow!

Don’t Fence Me In.......

Every time we travel westward we are struck by the expanse of this Country. We get into South Dakota, Wyoming and beyond and the scenes outside the window stretch to an open horizon. Rolling hills, farms that must include thousands of acres of cropland. Open spaces go on and on with a few free range cattle here and there. We wonder about how anyone can take care of this much land.....patrol it, or fix the fences.

And it’s the fences we find fascinating. They run along the roadside, along the highways mile after mile after mile. Different styles of fence and lots of barbed wire. The time, effort and materials to create so many fences just boggles the mind.

Just how many hours of labor do these fences represent? I can’t do the math!

Once Again....

I’m sure my few loyal readers have read my thoughts about friendship before. But a recent trip to Maryland has made me, once again, think about the friends who mean so much to me. Friends who crossed my path early in life (Sally in third grade) or high school (Karen and Barb). Friends who were part of growing up in the church I attended in Park Ridge (The Other Lynn)....friends from college (so many) and friends that I « found » as our family moved around the Country following Dave’s career choices.

Making friends as an adult can present challenges. You don’t have the kids to lead the way....you don’t meet your son’s best friend only to find she will become you best friend while you spend years living in NJ (Nancy). You move as adults and you have to reach out and find other ways to find those special people that really « fit ». You don’t have a shared history. In Delaware I joined a Newcomers Club and met the sister I never knew I had! Janie and I began to refer to each other as YSIAL (your sister in another life). Our friendship developed quickly and led to all kinds of fun days and adventures. The closeness  continues even though she now lives in Alaska and we are in Wisconsin.

My other bestie in Delaware was Phoebe.....and I remember with an ache all of the time, laughter, conversation and laughter we shared. Now, due to dementia my best friend no longer knows me at all...so I carry our friendship memories alone.

But I digress. Our recent adventure exploring Chesapeake Bay on a sailboat reminded us that the muscles we used and took for granted for so many years are now much older and not as flexible. But the time spent with good friends made any discomfort well worth the pain. I will be forever grateful that Marcia was a roommate my freshman year at Ripon College and that Tom and Denise had their sailboat in a slip across from ours on Blue Dock at Haven Harbor.

Here is a toast to friendship. The old ones full of memories, the current ones that mean so much...and new ones just starting to develop. I can’t imagine how empty my life would be without you all.....

Forecast.....

We are moving west from Wisconsin, heading for Yellowstone. We love that park.....and the wildlife it boasts. This will be our third visit and we really hope to hear the bull elk calling during the rut. But, whatever greets us will be « exotic ». We don’t find bison when we walk the bike path in Port.

We are still in Iowa.....driving toward the setting sun and finding some lovely campsites along the way. We always « forget » that southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa boast their own kind of quiet beauty. Perhaps not as dramatic as other parts of the Country.....but still so lovely. 

Fenway and I took a walk before leaving the campsite at Pikes Peak State Park overlooking the Mississippi in Iowa....and there was a reminder that colder weather is fast approaching. It may be 88 and humid as we travel today.....but when I get home I search for my turtlenecks and sweaters.

Back to Normal.....

Dave and I had a wonderful adventure last week sailing the Chesapeake with friends. And our little guy spent the week at "Camp Glendale" with good friends who are real dog people. They have and love three "big" dogs of their own, boast a wonderful fenced yard and they even trim Fenway's nails and brush his teeth while he visits. So we drop him off and leave confident that he will be more than just fine.

This time his "aunt and uncle" had a camping trip planned up to Minnesota and Fenway went along. That meant we got home on Saturday and we couldn't pick him up until late Monday afternoon. As we unpacked our suitcases, did the laundry, ran to the grocery store, picked up the mail held at the post office and just got back to normal something (someone!) was missing. Our condo was way too quiet without our much loved Boston terrier. No Fenway meeting us at the door and racing around with a toy in his mouth. No Fenway to jump up and cuddle next to us on the couch. No Fenway to look at us with big brown eyes encouraging us to take him for a walk.

But he's home! We picked him up this afternoon and now our little family is complete. It was so lonely without him. Home and happy on the couch.....ahh Fenway.

Remembering......

It’s been a long, long time since we spent any length of time on a sailboat. But this past week we re-visited few favorite places on Chesapeake Bay. We chartered a 44’ boat to share with a college friend, and partnered with another couple from our old marina. The five of us....on two sailboats, set off to rediscover this lovely body of water.  And it is lovely.....

We had a terrific five days filled with laughter, conversation, beautiful sunshine, good food (three crab cakes in one week = heaven!) but what we didn’t have much of was wind. The Bay was flat calm and we mostly motored. Perhaps not quite what we hoped for but we so enjoyed rediscovering places we loved during the five or six years we sailed the Chesapeake. And we so enjoyed the company....time spent with friends is good time.

.....All Gone

Our glimpses of orange floating above bushes, thistles and goldenrod are gone. In just two days there is not a monarch butterfly in sight. I guess the fall migration has passed through our part of Wisconsin and the beauties are headed farther south.

It's like a switch is flipped and our scenery changes. Farewell lovelies....I will watch for you next spring!

Just One More Thing....

So hurricane Dorian leaves the Bahamas in its wake and heads for Alabama. Ooops.....no, Alabama will basically feel none of the storm's anger.

So our biggliest brain President made another slip up......but today shows the "original map" that proves he could not have made a mistake. Except the new map looks a little strange....a black magic marker-type line extending from the original forecast predictions.

Now everyone (even me) makes mistakes....or gets the information wrong. But anyone with any degree of integrity is also able to say "My bad....I was wrong." But not Mr. Biggliest Ego. He has his staff (or someone) scurry around and "fix" the map to prove that he was not wrong.

Frankly the thing that makes me the angriest is that NOAA or FEMA don't stand up and say "With all due respect, Mr. P.....you are wrong." I am disgusted with all of them.

According to Dennis Mersereau, a weather blogger and Forbes magazine contributor, it is a violation of federal law to falsify a weather report. Hmmmmm......a violation of federal law. You can bet that whoever provided the Big Guy with this map (if he/she is ever called to account) will be left to drift on their own....with Biggly Brain backtracking as fast as he can.

Just when is anyone (other than the democrats) going to stand up to this man......this totally unqualified person currently sitting in OUR oval office???? 

Everything about this, in the middle of another horrible earth crisis in a nearby country, is just so disgusting.....

So It's True....

In spite of crossing my fingers the news is sad.....Seascape is gone. Hurricane Dorian aimed all of her awesome power straight at this lovely vacation home on Elbow Cay and wiped her off the face of the earth. No more decks overlooking the ocean or the bay.....no more dock leading to the boat slip.....no more two bedroom retreat in a Bahama paradise.

The foundation on the left is all that remains.....

Farewell beautiful Seascape....I'm glad my dear cousin is not here to see this....

It's Gone.....

In the 1970's my cousin's husband built a home on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. It was just down the road from Hope Town perched on a bluff....the Atlantic on one side and White Sound on the other. It was a beautiful spot. When Rob designed it he took a clue from Mother Nature....looking at the palm trees around him he noticed that they were all leaning in one direction. So he angled his roof line to mimic the trees and build the house to be strong and designed it to withstand strong winds and hopefully hurricanes. And Seascape did make it through many storms. Sometimes the door blew in and the wind raced through the interior blowing out the windows in the back. So there was wind and water damage that had to be fixed....but while neighboring homes were wiped out, Seascape remained.

Until Dorian. Until this weekend. We haven't gotten the final word.....but all texts back and forth between family members indicate that she is gone.

Dave and I only visited once. We were living on our sailboat and exploring anchorages in the Abacos. We visited Green Turtle, Marsh Harbor, Treasure Cay, Man-of-War Cay and other spots throughout the northern Bahamas. And then, finally the weather was good and we were able to go around Whale Cut and sail to Hope Town. We anchored, jumped on our folding bikes and pedaled out to Seascape. Claudia and Rob were there with two of their kids....so we had a wonderful but short reunion. They flew home to Indiana the very next day. That was 2001.

How young we look.....and happy to be together in their island hide-away. Claudia died almost three years ago so she is not here to experience this particular heart ache. But I look at the photo of the house....and the photo of the six of us and I remember. And I feel sad....can only imagine all of the memories Rob and the kids have.

A toast to Seascape and all the good times.......