Two mornings in a row rain has turned us back from our morning walk but happy to say that wet stuff ended late this morning & it's looking like we are in for some nice dry days ahead which of course makes it much nicer for loading up all those last minute things into the Motorhome. All that packing stuff does really come right down to the last couple days doesn't it. Update tonight:: It’s raining again & now we’ve got us some thunder too:((((
We have pretty much demolished that apple pie Kelly made Tuesday. Things like that don't last long around our house because we both have a sweet tooth & when it comes to pies Kelly as a rule has a sweeter tooth than me or maybe I should rephrase that & say Kelly has a 'faster' sweet tooth than me. Sometimes if I happen to look away & then look back.........there are only smokin crumbs left.
I'm more used to bad Gremlins than good Gremlins but some good Gremlins must have got into my camera bag & fixed the focusing problems I'd been having with my Nikon D3100 since I bought it a couple years ago. It has spent the biggest part of it's time in my camera bag because I was not happy with it. Awhile back I decided to dig it out & dust if off again to see if it's time in solitary confinement had taught it a lesson. Well it seems it has & the once troublesome D3100 has been working remarkably well on all my cameras. It is currently teamed up with my 70-300mm Nikkor lens & they seem to like each other. My newer Sigma lens has ended up on my older Nikon D40 while my most used camera, my Nikon D90 is sporting my 18-55mm Nikkor lens. Of course all these combinations of cameras & lenses are subject to change at anytime & it seems as of late I have been doing a lot of switching back & forth trying to figure out just what works better with what. Yes indeed I'm having quite a time with myself...................
Having been asked the question recently, 'do you still enjoy going to the South-west each winter as much as you once did' I had to think for a minute. With out a second's hesitation had this question be asked of me in the first 5 years of our travels the resounding answer would have been an instant YES:)) However in the last 4 years I've noticed a change in myself & this time my YES answer was longer in coming. Ok, so what has changed. Well, me of course. When we started out in the Fall of 06 everything & I mean everything was new to us. Everything we did & everywhere we went was always for the first time & for me first time anything always carries an amazing Newbie 'one time' excitement kick with it & I have always liked that. I’ve basically always enjoyed the long drive to the South-west & back but the distance is getting to be a little tiring . We were younger years ago as well & we seemed to walk further & hike higher in those early years. We were constantly overwhelmed but what we called the WOW factor. Everything we saw for the first time was a WOW. Everything we still see is a WOW but just not always quite as big a wow. In our first 5 or 6 years I never wanted to come home & just wanted our South-west adventure to continue for ever & ever. Liked it so much I wanted us to become full-timers. But these last few years by the time March rolls around I find myself eagerly looking forward to heading home to Bayfield. As much as I enjoy re-visiting all our old favorite spots each winter I miss the newness of when we first discovered them. Hate to use this phrase but it's almost kind of a 'been there done that' sort of feeling & I really think once our Congress house is sold we need to get ourselves back into the same adventuress spirit we first started out with. I think we really need to travel to new places & enjoy that WOW factor of seeing & doing new things again. We have only experienced a small part of the great American Southwest & I'm thinking it's high time we begin looking for new sunrises & sunsets. Time to grow that WOW factor back to a greater level in our lives while we still can.............:))
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation & especially those Canadians eh……….
Nice post about new "wow" locations. I understand. If I know where the pot holes are in the road, I've been in that area too long. I hope I can be that way for a while.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great photo of that mushroom, Al. I always appreciate the effort you put into your photos. :)
ReplyDeleteThe southwest never seems to amaze us some new places some we have been to, but always where we want to be, It just does it for us. We gonna wander around there again this year and make more memories. And I know you guys will too.
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to you blog entry tonight. My battle is the same as yours and is raging like crazy right now. All in all I guess we are both lucky to have the problem. Good Luck and have fun.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Kelly had a sweet-tooth - you'd never know by looking at her.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, it's not so much the scenery but the people we meet and the experiences we have that produce the "wow" factor. Life is always full of new experiences, and that's what makes re-visiting familiar places enjoyable to me.
Safe travels and may you find your "wow" factor to be enjoyable...
You are so right about the diminishing "wow" factor when you keep going to the same place several times. We had the same experience with our travels to MN. We hiked the same trails so many times in our 10 years that we got a bit bored. Of course now that the two of us can't go back, I would LOVE to be able to do them one more time, And, to my chagrin, I discovered that part of the experience was the fact that we did it together. Hiking the same trail without my Old Man did not work for me at all! The lesson: savor doing together whatever you are doing. Going to new places is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jim and Diana (above) about the mushroom photo. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting tired of long drives, but what I love remembering are the stops along the way - the campgrounds where I set up my tent and explored some of the National and State Parks. Seeing Lake Superior for the first time, and driving through the Dakotas, Montana, etc. I love the northern states and will miss the times I've spent exploring them.
I really can relate to your feelings. I think that is why I try so hard to find new things to see when we travel from AZ to MT and back again. We've been able to discover some really neat campsites on this trip which has really upped our wow factor. But soon we will be back in AJ and routine life will take over. I'm learning to accept it and trying to find the beauty in living life.
ReplyDeleteWell that explains it .... about the time your Nikon D3100 starting working my Nikon D3200 started having focusing problems. The type you turn the camera on and off, if that doesn't work, then take the lens off. It had been working pretty consistently and your blog post explains what happened ... lol
ReplyDeleteApple pies ... I have the same sweet tooth. I ventured to a local buffet this afternoon and finished the meal with a slice of apple pie and ice cream, then went back for a slice of coconut cream pie ... took a nap about 5 minutes after getting back to the house.
Totally agree..We kept going to Texas and then that got old..Now we have been to Florida twice (came back early once so that doesn't count). I do still love that swampy, marshy, lagoony feeling you get in South Florida, but we stay clear of big cities..I bet you would enjoy Big Cypress and Everglades National Parks..They have boondocking campgrounds too. I would love to head to the Pacific Northwest..Been there once, but not with a camper...Alaska again, too..I never tire of that place.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others who have commented. Although at the begining of this winter you will have to deal with the Congress house sale, once that is arranged get going to someplace new! When you have gone west in the past, go east. If you can't find free boondocking spots, there are lots of BLM areas in New Mexico that you only pay a modest annual amount. Also if Kelly has her $10 senior pass, dry camping in National parks is very inexpensive. I know you love boondocking because it gets you away from other campers. Even in a crowded park you don't have to associate with anyone else. There is always a direction you can turn your chair so as not to see them. It has only been in expensive commercial parks that I have felt the spaces are too small.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder at your whirlwind travels across the whole country to get to Arizona, passing by so many new, and interesting, places. But everyone travels differently and there's no "best" way that fits for everyone. Still, I imagine there are a lot of Wows to be experienced on those routes as well :-) I imagine the sale of the Congress house will happen quickly and then you'll have the whole season to adventure.
ReplyDeleteWe travel more slowly than most people, but we always try and explore the area. When planning some place to travel to, we always look for a virgin road.
ReplyDeleteAl, I could not be more in agreement with you re. the excitement and lust of going south. The first year we did it, 2005, was definitely the most giving and exciting. Over the years the New-factor has worn off a bit, even though we still enjoy going south. However, the last time we have been at the Hot Springs were....shall we say a bit boring? I mean we can't hang around doing nothing for months on end. We enjoy being busy and having fun things to do. That and the wish of making some money caused us to pause our travels for a few years. Maybe when we then start going south again we will have a renewed excitement. Also we enjoy being in our beautiful home on this great little island. Spending the winter here is definitely something new to us and with a warm house we are actually looking forward to it.
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