We visited Morocco for 8 days in December 2019.  Click on the image of the flag of Morocco to share in our adventure.

In December 2019 we visited Madrid and Barcelona. Click on the image to follow our adventure. 

On April 2, 2019 we visited 4 of the painted churches of Texas. Click here to see our images from this visit.

During the first week of April we camped out at Palmetto State Park near Gonzales, Texas.  Click here to share our adventure.

From August 21 to August 27 we visited Seattle and areas  to the north of Seattle.  The image at left is a statue of Chief Seattle that is in Pioneer Square.

Brief reports on the following can be found by clicking on the appropriate link:

• Seattle
• Whidbey Island
• San Juan Island
• North Cascades National Park
• Whale Watching Trip

Below is an image of Mt. Rainier taken from our airplane.  The image is hazy due to smoke from wildfires in British Columbia.

From May 17, 2018 through June 8, 2018 we had a road trip through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado before returning to Texas.  The above photo shows our loaded Subaru Outback as we headed out.  Most of our camping gear is in the overhead bin.  

​Links to the highlights of the  trip are as follows: 

Southwest Utah Camping

Coral Pink Sands State Park

Kodachrome State 

Bryce Canyon National Park

Alamosa

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Half way through our trip we spent a great week with our daughter in Grand Junction.  While there, we went to several Junior College World Series baseball games.

Click on the photo below to see our 2018 gardening project.

This 2018 garden page was update on August 14, 2018.

Click on the above photo to see our Colorado Bend SP camping trip and adventures.

Wildflower photography.  Click on the above photo to see our  images from our April 12th day trip in the hill country.

This is the Panamanian flag.  The stars stand for the the two political parties at the time the flag was adopted in 1949.  The blue represents the Conservative Party and the red represents the Liberal Party.

Click on the flag to read about our adventures and view our photos .

On our 52nd anniversary we went to Higginsville, MO to view and photograph the total solar eclipse.

To read our story click here: Eclipse Adventure

To see our photos click here: Eclipse Photos

Here are the major stops on our 2016 Fall Road Trip:

> Abilene, Texas    September 26, 2016
> Florissant Fossil Beds​   September 27, 2016

On March 9, 2016 we made our first visit to the west unit of Saguaro NP.  We were limited on time as we had reservations in California for that night.  We stopped here to get our first stamps in our new 2016 Centennial National Park Passport book.  We had time for a picnic lunch and a few photos on a clear, beautiful Arizona afternoon.  Here are the photos:

First day of our March 2016 Road Trip.  This park has four bird blinds for photographers.  This blog will show the trail to the blind, the blind and a few photos from the blind.  Here are a few photos from our visit to this Texas state park located 5 miles south of Junction, TX.

On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 we took a day trip to the Nails Creek Unit of Lake Somerville State Park.  Our purpose was to check out the campground for a future trip, find a geocache and do some wildfower photography.

The campground is nice, we found a geocache and we enjoyed getting photos of wildflowers.  The best display of wildflowers was in a meadow near the Newman Bottom area of the park.  

The link to our photos is as the following: Newman Bottom

On Saturday, April 12, 2014, we took a guided hike in this preserve in Austin.  Here is the link to our visit: Bright Leaf

We left Austin on September 24, 2013 for a 4463 mile road trip, returning to Austin on October 21, 2013.  The numbered locations are explained below.  Several of these have links to see photos of the area.

This was the day we were to spend at Yosemite NP.  Due to the Rim Fire we ended up spending the day in Kingsburg, California.

Kingsburg was established as a railroad town in the 1870's.  It was mostly settled by Swedish natives, giving it the nickname of "Little Sweden".  In 1921, 94% of the residents within a 3 mile radius of the town were of Swedish descent.

Many of the buildings in the town show Swedish styling.  The water tower is designed as an antique Swedish coffee pot.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, Sun Hong Kong.

During our walk through the downtown area we visited the two cell 1925 jail that had been turned into a museum.  Notice the murals on the front and back of the jail.

Below are our images from our downtown tour.  Click on any of these for a larger view.

In the fall of 2011, we visited the vineyards of the Willamette Valley in Oregon for a photography workshop.  The area is famous for their pinot noir wines.  We took various images of the grapes and vineyards.  

This August (2013) we returned for a brief visit.  We were able to purchase a bottle of wine from the grapes that we had photographed. 

The first set of photographs below are from October 20, 2011.  That year the grapes were late to mature.  As seen in the photos, the grapes were still on the vines.  It was great for photography, but risky for the winemakers as the approaching winter weather could ruin the grapes.

This year was quite different as on August 19th, they were already preparing to pick the grapes, a full 2 months ahead of 2011.  The second set of photos are from this year.






Click on any of the images below for a larger view.

We were in Canby, Oregon a few days before their Annual Dahlia Festival.  We had seen a report on local TV and decided to visit Swan Island Dahlias. 

Below are a few photos taken during our visit.

Near the dahlia farm, we had lunch at a delightful local restaurant.

One of our many favorite Oregon destinations is Cannon Beach.  The photo above is from a previous trip.  We researched dinner options and discovered that Mo's had excellent beach views.  The view is seen at left.

Due to timing, we weren't able to enjoy a Cannon Beach sunset on this trip.

As owners of a new Nikon D7100 camera and a new REI Camp Dome 4 tent, we decided to take a two day camping trip, despite the temperature approaching 100˚.

We camped near San Antonio along the Salado Creek.  The creek is just beyond the tree line behind our tent. 

Above our tent in one of the many pecan trees was a Muscovy duck.  It stayed in this position for quite a while.

A hike/bike trail , the Salado Creek Greenway, was convenient for our morning and evening walks.  Images of the trail and creek are seen below.

Across the road from the campground was a bus stop for the #24 city bus.  For $1.20 each we got a ride downtown to the river walk.  We were told that we could catch the return bus from the convention center.  Sure enough when we returned to the convention center - there was bus #24.  What we weren't told was that there are more than one #24 routes.  You guessed it! We took the wrong #24.

We got to a stop labeled "end of line".  We asked the driver and he said that we had taken the short line #24, not the long.  He then proceded to drop us off at another stop that was along the route of the long route #24.  After a 29 minute wait in an unfamiliar part of town, we boarded the second #24 to come along.  Yes, there are apparently at least three #24 routes.

While on the river walk we did enjoy the sights and tastes of the area as evidenced by the following images.

Our tent site fortunately had an electrical hookup, so we plugged in the fan that we had brought along. It was a beautiful moon lit night! We brought the fan into the tent when we retired for the night. That worked for us as we both got some sleep. 

Through the trees from our site we were treated to views of the near full moon. 

On August 16, 2012 we left on what would be a 21 day, 5648 mile road trip.  The main purpose of the trip was to meet our daughter, grandson and granddaughter in Denver where we would pick up our grandson's stuff.  We then drove this stuff across country to Boston where he will be a freshman at Emerson College.  A week after Denver, he and his mother flew to Boston where we met them.

Unloading stuff at Emerson.

During the trip we were in 17 states, did 24 geocaches and visited the following:

• Chimes and Wines
• Salem Diner
• Portsmouth, NH
• Boston Harbor
• Massachusetts Lighthouses

Of the 24 geocaches we found on the trip, one of the more interesting ones was at the Liberty Hill Schoolhouse.  This a one room schoolhouse located a few miles south of Greenup, IL.  The red pump, seen in the photo, still works.

In late March we took a trip to Big Bend with our friends Gus and Stephenie.  We camped out for the for three nights at the Rio Grande Village campground.  We then stayed at the Far Flung Casistas in Terlingua, TX.

Links to information about our trip are as follows:

• Big Bend 2012
• Terlingua
• Big Bend Ranch State Park

On our way to Big Bend, we made a brief fuel stop in Marathon.  The town, named after the plains of Greece by ex-sea captain Albion E. Shepard, is the only sign of civilization south of I-10 on the way to Big Bend.

The Gage Hotel, renovated in period decor, looks to be a neat place to relax and spend a day or two.  

There is a quarter-mile walking trail at Gage Gardens, where one can take a quiet stroll.

One of the best places to view Texas wildflowers is the Willow City Loop.  This 13 mile drive is located Northeast of Fredericksburg.  We took a little detour on our way to Big Bend National Park to drive the loop.  The narrow two lane road goes through private property.  Parking is strongly discouraged and venturing off the road is not permitted.  Therefore, our photos were taken quickly at brief stops.  All shots were hand held.  

Due to the warm winter and recent rains, the wildflowers are early and plentiful.  Here are a few photos from the Willow City Loop: