Adventure Tour

I finally re-established my link to my own Blog (LOL) so I think perhaps I should post an update. My side-kick Claudette and I began a "Tent Camping" tour of our great country on Dec. 11th 2010 from Kalispell, MT.

We left there with the hopes of spending the winter months touring, photographing and writing about the nice warm southern regions. When we left Montana it was 17 degrees F and about 30" of snow still on the ground. We made our way south to I-90, turned west to I-5, headed south for sunny California and what did we find? Foul weather followed us everywhere we went! We got to eastern Washington and hit a blizzard near the Columbia river all the way to Snoqualime pass then heavy rain all the way through Oregon and into Paso Robles, CA. We stopped to visit friends there and got one day of non-rainy weather out of 3 days spent there. Shortly after we left, they got hit with torrential rains causing bad mudslides and havoc. We never saw any sunshine until we hit I-8 east and got to El Centro, CA. Needless to say, tent camping was not even remotely possible yet. When we finally got to southern Arizona, we made camp and caught some beautiful photo images of sunset & sunrises. We stayed for 3 days there before the weather turned very frigid and also wet again. Onward we continued... New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, back to Texas, on to Louisana, Mississippi, Alabama, and finally Florida.

Well now, one would think that Florida (even in January) would be warm, sunny, wonderful... but NO, not this year! We got to an area just north of Tampa called Holiday, and the weather was freezing at night and not much warmer during the day. Yes, there was torrential rains too. We began to think we were "weather cursed" for sure. By this time, our travel funds were tapped-out since we could not tent camp and cook our own meals - things got way too expensive, gas was going up by the day and the crummy weather just kept on comming! We decided it was time to go spend some quality visitation time with Claudette's family in Kentucky & Indiana. Many of her relatives are elderly and in poor health ~ now would be an opportune time to visit and allow ourselves some recoup time as well.

Now along this journey, the weather pretty much dictated when and where we went; timing was everything! We left Florida just as it started to finally warm-up a bit, headed for Kentucky. It was an interesting and pretty drive but we didn't have the time or funds to see as much along the way as we would have liked to see. We went north on I-75 from Florida, through Georgia, Tennessee and into Kentucky to Harrodsburg. Naturally, the very next morning after we arrived - snow! Yes, we had now come full circle back to winter weather.

From that point on we have had to outrun snow storms, one after the other! With our funds running extremely low, I chose to return to Oklahoma where I know the area and lots of people. I needed to find some work/a paycheck in order to continue our journey. We got to Pryor, OK just in time for the worst blizzard in state history. We were actually accused of bringing it with us (LOL). Since being here in Oklahoma we have been buried by not one but two major blizzards. I give up... Come spring, we are headed back to Montana via I-40 across to California and back up the west coast. I am determined to see the beautiful coastlines that we had to miss because of rain and fog the first time around! With any luck, things will improve soon.

There ya have it folks - that's what I've been up to for the past two months. I've seen some amazing things, learned a great deal of our history and also learned to be more patient and enjoy life as it is handed to me. Has winter taught you anything new?

Excitement Grows...

Hello from the snowy lands of Montana. As I sit here today, watching the snow continue to fall and make everything look enchanting, I dream about my upcomming adventure. The boxes are stacking up in my apartment in anticipation of being moved to the storage garage for a very long rest. The camping equipment waits for me to load in my little car. The sunny shores of the gulf call my name, and my camera is anxious to get this journey started. My childhood dreams are beginning to take on a new reality. I'm so excited to have this rare opportunity to make this dream come true.

What is dreaming really all about? I think it's the hearts desire to fulfill a niche that has been left empty. We all have a purpose in life and it is our job to find that purpose during the time we are given here on earth. For many it's being a parent, a lover, a poet or achieving something unusual. For others it's serving others, sharing knowledge, enhancing another persons existance in some positive way. For me it's the romance of adventure and then taking it one step further and sharing it with those I love. I am a very creative woman who lives each day to the absolute fullest extent possible. I thirst for excitement, love and laughter. These are all elements of my dreams. What's your dream? Do you long for something more?

As the time to start draws near, I feel the tingle and the passion that awaits me as I explore this great nation of ours. My internal dance of joy ignites and my dreams intensify. I hope that many of you that read this will stay tuned and follow along. It will be amazing!

Changing Seasons in Our Life

There comes a time in everyone's life when change is necessary. Knowing what to change, when to change and just how much to change is often difficult for most people. I too needed to make some serious changes in my own life as well as my life-style. I spoke earlier of a fantastic trip that my blind side-kick and I were planning... Well, we have been spiritually called to begin that journey now. Yes, you read that right - now, in the middle of winter! We decided to just take a giant leap of faith and answer that "call of the wild" so we are currently in progress to pack up our household belongings and put them all into long-term storage. Keep out our Tent, camping gear, a large suitcase a piece, my laptop computer, my camera gear, and Claudette's writing acoutroments ~ stuff them into my little economy car and hit the road!!! We will be tent camping across America for the next 12-18 months. The intent is to travel all 48 contiguous states, compose photo-essays, articles of interest, fabulous photo's and compile it all into a book or two. It will depict all the wonderful places in America that the average person seldom ever sees or hears about. It will also show that just because one has a bit of "snow on the roof" doesn't mean that seniors can't have fun adventures too. We intend to visit our friends and family along the way as time and locations allow. We will be setting up a special blog site so that all of our family & friends can follow along with us and be part of this phenominal experience. I hope to be better at keeping this blog updated more often too.
Some have called us "Brave" and others think we're a bit "Crazy" for taking such a huge assignment all alone and in a TENT. The purpose is not to prove anything to anyone but to challenge ourselves and to enjoy life to the very fullest extent possible in a very simple manner. We will get to experience a very basic and simple lifestyle and fulfill our dreams of traveling the U.S. of A. in a really unique way. Best of all, we can share our joy with so many other people.

Two old ladies & a tent...

Today I sit in deep contemplation of planning and preparing for an ambitious journey, a new challenge to say the least. Are you ready --- My sister and I are going to "Hit the Road" this spring for a long and exciting tour of the U.S. of A. We will be putting most of our belongings into storage, packing only the absolute essentials along with our tent and camping gear for a one year camping trip across the country!

Yes, you read that right, ONE YEAR! We intend to live our dream of travel and adventure, document everything complete with photographs and then compile it all together for an exciting new book called "Tenting Across America." We intend to visit many of the wonderful little towns that the tourists seldom ever see. We want to write about the fabulous little places that enrich America, the REAL America and show the hard-working, wonderful people who make her great! We will be posting our progress via our blogs.

We are serious and very excited about this adventure. Now, in order for it to become a reality we must find buyers for our two properties. One is in Muskogee, OK and the other is in Pie Town, NM. Both properties are listed well below their appraised value - We're done with the responsibility of owning real estate - it's for the younger folks! If all works out, this grand plan of a one year tour will begin in April 2011.

We will be doing photo essays of places along the way for submission to lots of media locations and I will be putting photos onto a couple of Stock Photo sites for sale. We also intend to visit many friends and family along the way. It will be challenging, invigorating, exciting and quite educational for us. Many people never get the chance to follow their dream - don't let yourself fall into that catagory! Always keep reaching for the stars...