Blogger friends everywhere, happy new year from Colorado’s snowy San Luis Valley! I hope you chase your dreams in 2015 (and even catch a few).
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Blanca Peak, Colorado, desert, high desert, mountains, San Luis Valley, snow, travel, USA
Earlier this week, west coast of Iceland. I was so glad to be back in this amazing country, marveling at the magnificent views along the coastline despite the non-stop drizzle. I snapped a quick photo with my phone and played around with an HDR app to jazz it up since the light was so poor. I loved the result! The day absolutely felt like this.
Categories: photography, travel • Tags: beach, coast, Europe, Iceland, nature, water
Stories of ghosts, vampires, and voodoo queens in New Orleans abound. You may scoff, but the elements of New Orleans’ checkered past over the centuries certainly provide fodder for these tales: the slave trade, catastrophic floods and coffins resurfacing after them, disease epidemics, the Civil War, barbaric medical experimentation on slaves, etc. I recently joined a walking tour of haunted buildings in the French Quarter in the Crescent City. I loved the history lesson provided by our enthusiastic guide, and […]
Categories: photography, travel • Tags: French Quarter, ghosts, Louisiana, New Orleans, spooky
If you’re an animal lover, you will love this post. Really. I just returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Grail of animal rescue organizations, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and I’m ready to share some photos with you and maybe restore some of your faith in humanity (I don’t know about you, but every so often I need a dose of that). Located on 3,700 acres in the stunning red rock canyon country of southern Utah and housing more than […]
Categories: photography, travel • Tags: animal rescue, animal sanctuary, animal shelter, animals, Best Friends, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, cats, desert, dogs, family-friendly travel, Kanab, pet rescue, southern Utah, travel, USA, Utah
One very sassy crow added a magical element to my Utah roadtrip last week when he landed in front of me at a scenic overlook in Bryce Canyon National Park. Right in front of ME, the nature-loving amateur photographer (who also happens to love crows). And my camera was not in the car, it was in my hands. Hooray! This bird and the resulting photos made me crazy happy and were one of the highlights of my trip. ;)
Categories: photography, travel • Tags: animals, birds, Bryce Canyon National Park, corvids, crow, national parks, nature, USA, Utah
A friend came down from Denver last weekend to visit. We had planned a spring hike, but as luck would have it, it snowed like crazy Saturday afternoon and into the night. (Good thing we had a backup plan: drink wine.) Sunday morning, however, was a testament to why I love Colorado: blinding sun and severe blue skies, no matter what other weather phenomenon happened just hours before. My friend’s dog Ziggy looks like he’s smiling in this photo. I […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: adopted dogs, Colorado, dogs, Great Sand Dunes, mountains, San Luis Valley, USA
Recently I visited a couple in Salida, Colorado, who are the proud owners of an old homestead. They lovingly restored the home, built at the turn of the century, rather than tearing it down and building new. They’re thrilled with the the apple orchard on their property, planted many years ago and still producing. And they refurbished this old windmill, lying on its side by the barn, that came with their property purchase. They commissioned a new wooden lattice tower […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: antique, Colorado, restoration, Salida, USA, windmill
Last week on my way to Denver, I looked in my rearview mirror, smiled, and pulled over to capture the moment. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Colorado?
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, mountains, nature, scenic, snow, travel, travel photography, USA
I try to incorporate UNESCO World Heritage Sites into my travels whenever I can. So when I visited Iceland last year, I added Thingvellir National Park to the top of my destinations list. We rented a sweet VRBO house on the shores of Lake Thingvallavatn in the park where we spent several nights, drinking wine in the evenings by a cozy woodstove, watching birds dive into the lake for their dinner and marveling at our good fortune to find such […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Europe, Iceland, nature, Thingvellir National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Merry Christmas, blogger friends around the world! May all of your dreams come true in 2014.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, mountains, nature, San Luis Valley
Iceland’s Skogafoss is located along the southern part of the Ring Road, the highway that circles the island nation. The beautiful waterfall is ~200 feet high. On the day we visited the wind blew like crazy, and it was hard to even stand upright. I had to venture out of the car to take this photo, though! If the weather had been nice, I suppose there would have been hundreds of visitors here. I would love to return on a […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Europe, Iceland, nature, tourist attraction, travel, travel photography, water, waterfalls
Here’s another example of street art in Reykjavic. This captivating seal is located in a part of the city known for graffiti. To me it looked like the local graffiti artists respected this work and (for the most part) refrained from covering it with spray-painted scrawlings; as you can see, they stop right at the border of the seal image. And as you can see from the images below, these street artists are a prolific bunch… In your opinion, is […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, Europe, Iceland, mural, Reykjavic, seal, street art, travel photography
Gullfoss is one of Iceland’s most popular tourist destinations. I generally like to stay off the beaten path, but in this case I made an exception. There’s a reason so many travelers stop to marvel at this waterfall: it is simply spectacular. Years ago investors wanted to dam this river to produce electricity, but nothing ever came of it except a persistent urban legend in which the daughter of one of the investors threatens to throw herself into the waters […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Europe, Iceland, nature, rainbow, water, waterfalls
On my recent trip to Iceland, I saw Icelandic horses everywhere. Of course I had to research them, and they’re quite interesting. For example, did you know: Icelandic horses are descendants of horses brought to the island nation back in the 9th and 10th centuries by Viking settlers. Because they’ve been isolated from other breeds, they’re considered to be the most pure breed of horse in the world. Icelandic horses rarely succumb to disease. The health of the breed is […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, Europe, horses, Iceland, Icelandic horses, nature
Fish are everywhere in Iceland: on the coins, in the news, in the history books (look up the Cod Wars), and on the menu. So of course it makes sense that artists would incorporate fish into their works…in this case, a fabulous mural on the side of a building in Reykjavic (and my new computer desktop image). Do you like it?
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, culture, Europe, fish, Iceland, mural, Reykjavic, street art
And here’s another post for the Weekly WordPress Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns. During my trip to Iceland, I had a blast playing with my camera inside HARPA, Reykjavic’s magnificent concert hall.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, buildings, Europe, HARPA, Iceland, Reykjavic, weekly photo challenge
WordPress challenged us this week to post interpretations of shapes, lines, textures, and patterns. Last week I was in Munich, where these festive Oktoberfest hearts caught my eye in the Viktualienmarkt.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Bavaria, Europe, Germany, lines, Oktoberfest, weekly photo challenge
Here’s an unusual POV for this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: me having fun at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry in a maze of mirrors. Blogger friends, I’m off to Iceland for one week, and I will catch up with all of your posts when I return. I’m hoping to check an item off my life list and drink a glass of wine under the Northern Lights, and the forecast is lookin’ good. Wish me luck!
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, USA, weekly photo challenge
For Wordless Wednesday!
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: birds, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Europe, pigeons, Wordless Wednesday
Portugal has some of the most amazing beaches I’ve ever seen. I think I’d like to spend a portion of my retirement years exploring them. Tough to beat that plan, don’t you think? To see great images of seas around the globe, hop on over to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge: Sea. And you can see more bodies of water that I’ve admired here.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: beach, cliffs, Europe, nature, Portugal, sand, water, weekly photo challenge
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, flowers, nature, Summit County, USA, water, Wordless Wednesday
This week WordPress challenged us to post a photo that demonstrates the concept of focus. I stalked this specimen in my back yard, braving the blazing sun, hot sand, and biting ants to venture ever closer and bring this lizard into focus. I hope you enjoy it. ;) I think it’s a sagebrush lizard, but I’m not 100% sure. You should check out all of the great interpretations for this week’s challenge over here.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, desert, lizard, nature, reptile, San Luis Valley, USA, weekly photo challenge
Ailsa’s invited us to participate in her new travel theme, Big. Juxtaposing this homestead with the Sangre de Cristo peaks in the background of this image helps to convey how massive these mountains are. Their range extends from the Colorado town of Poncha Springs into New Mexico near Santa Fe, and it includes several fourteeners (Colorado-speak for a mountain taller than 14,000 feet). Click on the image to see the homestead better. Thanks for the theme, Ailsa, and for the […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, mountains, nature, San Luis Valley, USA
Ailsa’s travel theme this week is Architecture. This is one of my favorite shots from my visit to Dubrovnik last year. You can walk on top of this wall and look out over the city and the Adriatic. I didn’t adjust the color on this image; this is how it looked on the day we visited. Simply magical.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: architecture, buildings, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Europe, fortress, UNESCO World Heritage Site, water
While attending an event in the Fort Worth Convention Center last week, I snapped a pic of this giant star, covered in hundreds of cowboy hats, that hangs over the main lobby. I’m not really a fan of Texas culture, but I think it’s a clever (and weird!) way to combine two iconic symbols of the Lone Star State. Of course, there’s a story behind it. I’m dedicating tomorrow to catching up on all of your blogs and seeing what […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, Fort Worth, hats, Texas, USA, western culture
I stopped for gas in Fairplay on my way home from Denver on Saturday and saw this handsome guy in the parking lot. I chatted with his companion, a nice older man sitting on a bench and drinking coffee outside the station. He told me that his dog’s name is Sunshine and that he loves to go for car rides. A fitting name for this canine, who brightened my day and also made several other people at the gas station […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, Colorado, dogs, Fairplay, old cars, USA, yellow labs
I didn’t have to venture out and about for this weirdness…it came to me! We found this handsome snake in our kitchen this afternoon. (Note to self: Always investigate when the dogs seem interested in looking under the furniture. I think this guy spent the night in our house!) I scooped him into a bucket, put a lid on it, and dug out an old guidebook, Amphibians and Reptiles in Colorado. Sure enough, it’s a baby bullsnake. I set him […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, nature, reptile, San Luis Valley, snake
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is The World Through Your Eyes. That concept is essentially the premise of my blog, and most of you have a pretty good idea of what my world looks like. Well, this week it’s pretty smoky and my eyes are burning, thanks to more wildfires than I can count in New Mexico and Colorado. Worse than last year. When I framed this shot, I made sure to include the foliage in the front to give […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Colorado, mountains, nature, San Luis Valley, sunset, USA, wildfires
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Curves. I can’t find many straight lines on this amazing ancient vessel, seen at the Archeological Museum in Heraklion, Greece. I love this octopus pot!
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Crete, Europe, Greece, museum stuff, weekly photo challenge
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Fleeting. I immediately knew which image to post. In summer 2000, Terry and I took off to visit the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, along with our new dog Rex (recently sprung from the Denver dog jail). We stopped for lunch and then climbed back into the truck to continue exploring. Terry slowly drove down a 4WD road through the trees. We were no more than 70 yards away from our picnic spot […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, bear, Manti-La Sal National Forest, nature, USA, Utah, weekly photo challenge
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is The Sign Says. Hmmm…can something personal be authorized?? ;) Local unemployed editors in Pittsburgh might want to swing by the human resources office at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with a copy of this image. This is a fabulous convention center, by the way. It incorporates many green design features, including daylighting, and has observation decks over Pittsburgh’s Allegheny River. Quite nice. I love silly signs. If you do too, you can see […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, signs, USA, weekly photo challenge
Ailsa’s travel theme this week is Pathways. I love this photo, and there’s a story behind it. Some of you may remember that I broke my foot in 2011, just a few days before leaving Germany for Portugal. I was determined to carry on with my planned vacation, and I made it to Portugal. But sadly, you can’t travel over sand on crutches, and I could only enjoy the amazing beaches from afar. One day we found this boardwalk, and […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Alantejo Coast, beach, Europe, nature, Portugal, Travel Theme, water
Glad to see that Jake is back with new Sunday Posts. In case you don’t know the drill, talented graphic artist Jake provides us with a theme, and bloggers post their interpretations before the following Sunday. Jake’s Sunday Post this week is Window, and you can check out everyone’s interpretations and join the fun here. This side street in Dublin’s trendy Temple Bar neighborhood offers an array of delightful windows, including the images of stars lining the Wall of Fame. […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, buildings, Dublin, Europe, Ireland, Sunday Post
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Escape. I’m deviating from the theme of fabulous vacation vistas and posting an image of Gusto and Dave. My two rowdy boys have no patience when it comes to my photographing their antics. Here they’ve eluded capture yet again (and I swear they enjoy it). You can see other bloggers’ interpretations of Escape here.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, Colorado, desert, dogs, mountains, USA
A few years ago, before I moved to my remote mountain community, I lived and worked in Denver. I’ve never been a city person, so I wasn’t very happy about my urban existence. At least my job was located in the outskirts of Denver and I could see some wildlife now and then. On my way to work every day, I drove through an office park next to a golf course, and I soon noticed a huge tree with several […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: birds, Colorado, nature, USA
Ailsa’s travel theme this week is Contrast, and she’s asking her readers whether they’re ready to break out their inner dissidents and celebrate nonconformity. I think this shopkeeper is, for sure! I took this photo day before yesterday while passing through the beautiful town of Chama in northern New Mexico. We were returning from a camping trip to a wilderness area near the Navajo Reservation, but we ran into some of the worst weather I’ve ever endured in a tent. […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: buildings, mountains, New Mexico, signs, USA
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Color. How’s this for an eclectic collection? You can see other bloggers’ interpretations here.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: weekly photo challenge
Ailsa’s travel theme this week is Pale. I am loving everyone’s pale images…check them out here.
Categories: Uncategorized
Every week Jake provides a theme for creative inspiration. Bloggers post their interpretations before the following Sunday, when Jake announces the next photo theme. Jake’s Sunday Post this week is Entrance, and you can check out everyone’s interpretations of the challenge here.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: beach, Croatia, Dalmatian Coast, Europe, Sunday Post, water
Last week I stopped on my way to Denver to watch this elk herd race toward the small town of Fairplay, Colorado. (Some trivia for you: Fairplay is thought to be the model for the town in the animated series South Park.) I often see elk here in Colorado, usually near my house on my way to the post office. But this herd was larger than most. Note the male on the right watching me. I can’t share the best […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, Colorado, elk, mountains, nature, USA
Ailsa’s travel theme this week is Time. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s interpretations! They say that time heals all wounds, but I’m not sure that holds true for survivors of war.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Europe
Ailsa’s travel theme this week is Green. I’m going to deviate from emerald-green St. Patrick’s Day images and nature shots and post a photo of a church in the back country of Costa Rica sporting a unique shade of turquoise green. I love the vivid colors like this that are so popular in countries south of the border. You won’t see any American mega-churches painted this color. ;)
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: buildings, Central America, church, Costa Rica, religious stuff
On the eastern edge of the Adriatic Sea lies Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, an area rich in history and natural beauty. I visited Dubrovnik last year, lured by tales of Croatia’s Mediterranean climate and lifestyle and budget-friendly accommodations. Although I adored Dubrovnik, I’m more of a nature girl than a city girl, and so on our third day in Croatia I was ready to explore beyond the city walls. By then we had seen dozens of posters and pamphlets advertising boat […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Adriatic, beach, birds, boating, Croatia, Dalmatian Coast, Europe, hungry seagull video, sailing, seagull, water
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Lost in the Details. Go check out other bloggers’ interpretations here.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: butterfly, Croatia, Europe, insects, Mljet National Park, nature, weekly photo challenge
We’re a family of animal lovers. Every single one of us. So on one of my trips to Germany to see my family, my cousin planned a visit to Gut Aiderbichl, an animal sanctuary near Salzburg that’s a dream come true for neglected, abandoned, and abused animals. (Some trivia for you: Austria has the most stringent animal protection laws of any country in the world.) Celebrity Michael Aufhauser purchased the land, situated in the stunningly beautiful, rolling Austrian countryside. Supposedly […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animal sanctuary, animals, Austria, Europe, Salzburg
It’s that time of the year. The holidays are over, but winter is still here and warm weather seems like a long ways off. I’m daydreaming about a warm-weather escape that includes some kind of activity on the water. Ah, Greece comes to mind. I hope you enjoy these photos, especially if you’re also dealing with the winter blues. Anyone planning a warm-weather escape by the water?
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: beach, boating, Crete, Europe, Greece, nature, travel, water
During my trip to Croatia, I couldn’t help but notice the large numbers of cats out and about. We saw cats everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Although I am a dog person, I have to admit that the cats of Croatia have a way of charming a tourist with a camera (especially the upside-down kitty on the bench).
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, cats, Croatia, Europe
