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Category Archives: Photography

Blue Ridge Parkway and Bandits Roost

14 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by wyndes in Campground, Photography, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

On Sunday morning, I started off bright and early from Otter Creek, on the road by 8AM. I’m not going to say that I was running away from the smell of sewage, but the knowledge that Sunday is often a day when people leave campgrounds, and people often dump their tanks upon departure, definitely factored into my swift escape.

I was glad I did, however, because the Blue Ridge Parkway was absolutely stunning at that hour. I stopped at multiple scenic overlooks, mostly by myself because it was so early, and admired the breathtaking views. I took a bunch of photos, but none of them come anywhere close to capturing the beauty. And I’m starting to think it was a mistake to let the puppy chew on my phone — I’ve cleaned the camera lens, but my photos, eh. Anyway, this is the best of many bad shots of the glorious morning.

scenic panorama
A scenic overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

I stopped at the first visitors center I came to and read about the history of the road. The ranger there also gave me a map and explained why GPS is so completely useless: apparently, because commercial vehicles aren’t allowed on the parkway, Google has never mapped it. That explains why my phone kept trying to send me other places.

Although probably my phone would have kept trying to send me other places anyway — the parkway is definitely the slow way from Virginia to North Carolina. After four hours, I’d gone about 100 miles. And it was starting to get not fun. Seriously, not fun.

foggy, foggy tree
A very foggy, not-so-scenic overlook

This shot is an excellent representation of what the road was like by noon. Forget the views, I was worried about whether I’d see the curves of the road in time to not drive off the road.

I stopped at a non-scenic overlook — that one with the tree, actually — to see if I could wait it out, but after forty-five minutes or so, that didn’t feel like an option. The fog just seemed to be getting thicker. So I gave up on reaching the campground I’d hoped to make it to (Linhall Falls) and looked for a closer option. And sadly, I had to look for an option with electricity, because the generator wouldn’t start so I couldn’t get the battery to charge. (Sigh. I’m hoping the generator problem was the elevation, which has been the problem every time it’s refused to start in the past (on two separate occasions in Arizona), but I haven’t tested it yet.)

Fortunately, there was an Army Corps of Engineers campground about an hour away, so I headed to Bandits Roost Campground in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The campground is a typical campground — lots of sites, reasonably close together — but as with all ACoE campgrounds, there’s water nearby. If I had a neighbor, I’d be looking into their trailer window, but as it is, I’ve got a view of the lake (or reservoir, not sure which) beyond some trees. Zelda, for some reason, was super enthusiastic about the smells of this campground: we went for a walk when we got here and it took us half an hour to make it around the tiniest loop. Her nose never left the ground, but her tail was happy, happy. Unfortunately, they’ve got a water pump problem so the showers aren’t working. But the electricity is, so I’m not complaining. I turned the heat on to 70 this morning, and it was so nice to be warm.

My spot was only available for one night, however, so I’m getting back on the road this morning. I seriously debated abandoning my slow route plans entirely and just heading to Florida as quickly as possible yesterday — I was so tired from seven hours on the road and really unenthusiastic about adding any time at all to the driving I’ve got to do in the next week. But I am literally less than three hours away from Asheville, so I am going to persist. Hopefully not too much driving today, followed by a couple of low-driving (or no driving!) days and I will be ready for the long burst back to Florida.

Rockport, MA

19 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by wyndes in A Precarious Magic, Food, Photography

≈ 6 Comments

This morning, Barbara and I were on our way to the Y (for my first yoga class in months & her regular morning routine) when we passed her seafood store. Earlier I had suggested sous vide chicken breast for dinner later this week, but when we drove by the seafood market, I told her I’d realized that was a stupid idea. If I’m in a place where I can have good fish, I’d much rather have good fish. And Rockport has really good fish. Also, Barbara is a really, really good cook, which is an excellent combination.

But we then talked briefly about what we’d eaten and it made me want to remember all of the meals she’s made, so this is going to be a food post. Consider yourself warned.

On Tuesday we had grilled swordfish, quinoa salad, and a leafy green salad. On Wednesday, she had friends and family over and we ate grilled lamb, corn on the cob, and a fantastic rice salad made with jasmine and wild rice and lots of lemon. On Thursday, we had halibut steamed over fennel fronds, served on rice noodles with a watermelon, fennel and arugula salad. Friday was chicken apple sausage over greens and cucumbers, with a mango medley (somewhere between a salad and a salsa) of mango, avocado, red onion, jalapeño, corn, tomatoes, and lime juice, plus the leftover rice salad. On Saturday, we ate striped bass, seared then baked with lemon zest, salt and pepper, plus a summer salad with all the veggies, sliced tomatoes with cilantro, and more corn on the cob. Sunday was leftovers for me, dinner out for Barbara, but today will be quinoa bowls with sous vide steak, red onion, heirloom tomatoes, roasted beets, and more corn on the cob. And I have now officially made myself hungry. I hope I’ve done the same to you! (I might have mixed up a couple of my days, but that seems irrelevant to the memories.)

Apart from food, most of my Rockport adventures have revolved around my computer, although we’ve gone on some nice walks. In other words, not particularly adventurous. But my keyboard had been dying for a long time and when I was in Maine, it hit the point where it simply wasn’t realistic for work anymore. Still fine for browsing the web and playing solitaire, but it’s really tough to write without an E key. I bit the bullet and ordered a new one, and I’ve spent the past couple days moving files around, searching for passwords, organizing bookmarks and so on. Many hours of the “so on” yesterday was going through old photos, trying to limit the number moving to the new computer, so I didn’t immediately fill the drive. My big revelation from that is that I’ve seen an extraordinary number of gorgeous sunrises in the past couple of years.

Witness:

a gorgeous sunrise over the ocean
a gorgeous sunrise in Nova Scotia
a gorgeous sunrise with moon
a gorgeous sunrise

But much to my puzzled dismay, many of my pictures say that they were created on September 19, 2017. I know for a fact that I did not spend that day taking 3000+ photos of different sunrises, but whatever I did do that day overwrote the original information on the photos. That means I look at those sunrises and think… um, North Carolina? Nova Scotia? Florida? Texas? Maybe?? I could figure it out easily enough by going back to the original photo library but since it would be far better for my life to get on with writing a book instead, I’m not going to. I’m just going to enjoy all those pretty mornings and be glad I took photos of them so I could be reminded of them, even if I don’t quite remember the details.

And now it’s time to get on with writing a book. I started working on Friday and wound up back in the revising stage — redoing the first chapter of Fen’s Book Two yet again — but yesterday I was feeling reasonably pleased with that chapter. A little work on chapter two, and I hope I will finally be able to get back to the end game. I’m getting close, really!

Prentice Park

14 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by wyndes in Birds, Campground, Photography, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

A small black bird sitting on a bare branch
A cute little blackbird from North Dakota
A robin sitting on a bare branch
A chirpy robin, also in North Dakota
A brown bird with a long beak
A mysterious and very noisy brown bird. Maybe a sandpiper? In Wisconsin.
A brown bird with a long break, sitting in the grass and looking directly at the camera
Not as great a view of the sandpiper, but a more interesting picture of it.
Serenity, tucked into the trees, with loads of grass in front of her
My campsite at Prentice Park

If I didn’t have a schedule to keep, I might have settled into Prentice Park in Ashland, WI, for weeks. I’m not sure how many sites it has, because most of them were tent sites, but there were 6 RV sites, nicely spaced, with lots of grass, trees, and paved driveways. Water, electricity, excellent walking paths, clean showers that didn’t require quarters, (although no control of the water temp), and friendly neighbors.

Paradise.

But I’ve understated the “water” part. I know I claimed not to be a water snob, and I’m really not, but Ashland has artesian wells. People apparently come from miles around to get water at the local beach. I had only the vaguest idea what an artesian well was, or why it mattered, but on my first morning at the campground, I set out to look for it. Turns out, it was all over the place. The park had at least half a dozen spigots in the ground with water free-flowing out of them. I had a strong desire to look for the off valve every time I saw one, because I’ve spent so long being careful about water. But there were no off valves, the water is just pouring forth from the ground. It felt like such abundance, such wealth from nature.

The artesian water. Cold, fresh, refreshing. I filled up all my water jugs.

I’ve understated the friendly neighbors, too. The showers require a combination code, so when I saw the campground host outside his camper, I went over to get my code. That led to tours of the van, conversations about van life and children, an invitation to a delicious jambalaya dinner, and eventually s’mores around their fire.

I really did debate staying at the campground for a few more days, especially because the hosts were out in the morning, so I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye. (And if you’re reading my blog, LaDonna or Sharon, it was so nice to meet you, thanks so much for your hospitality!) But I wanted to check out the Apostle Islands, as well as visit Pictured Rocks National Seashore. Plus the whole reason for hurrying across Montana was to be able to spend some time in the upper peninsula of Michigan, which people have been telling me about ever since I started traveling. And I do have a deadline — scheduled plans with friends and relatives at the end of June. So after two nights at Prentice Park, I got back on the road.

#49: North Dakota

07 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by wyndes in Birds, Photography, Travel

≈ 4 Comments

Far West Fishing Access was so lovely that I decided I’d stay another night. That lasted until I took Z for a short walk and, upon our return to the van, found three ticks crawling on her. Yeah, no. No point in staying at a campsite where I’m completely unwilling to go outside. Instead, I packed up the van and headed out.

I’d been considering staying at a state park in eastern Montana, to support my vague goal of camping at a state park in every state, but another nonsensical achievement was beckoning: North Dakota, state #49 on my personal list of states visited.

I doubt anyone from North Dakota is reading my blog, so I will admit the truth: I had very low expectations of the state. I’ve never read or seen anything to make me think North Dakota is my kind of place, so I was driving through it pretty much to make that checkmark on my list. North Dakota, done.

North Dakota, beautiful? So unexpected! But I spent my first night in North Dakota at a camping spot outside Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I don’t think these pictures convey the beauty but the first one captures the solitude pretty well, and the second one is at least a glimpse of what it looked like.

tiny van surrounded by grasslands
Serenity, alone in the grasslands.
The grasslands and hills.

I spent a quiet night there, windows open, admiring the stars, but I knew I didn’t want to stay more than a night. The weather report, untrustworthy as it sometimes is, was saying temperatures into the high 80s, and with the van sitting in the direct sun, that would quickly become unbearable. So early on Thursday, we headed off to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

prairie dog, sitting up, looking alert
Wildlife sighting!
An adult prairie dog with two babies by her side.
Not quite as cute as a baby bison, but fun to watch.

I would have liked to take the scenic drive all the way around the park, but part of the road was closed. And it was too hot, even early in the day, to drag Z on any long walks. But we paused at the prairie dog town and watched the prairie dogs for a while, and strolled out to a scenic overlook and admired the view. And then we got back on the road and I made my way to an Army Corps of Engineers campground where I’ll stay through the weekend.

A heron by the side of a muddy stream
One last picture from Far West, which I would remember wistfully if I hadn’t found another dead tick in my bed this morning.

Random photos

12 Sunday May 2019

Posted by wyndes in Photography, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

I was going to write a post about my frustration with my camera, because all the pictures I posted in the last several blog posts were taken on my iPhone. Then I realized that it wasn’t that I only took good photos with my phone; it was that I’d screwed up and only looked at the photos imported from my phone, instead of looking at my photos by date.

Sigh.

But I am not going to go back and change my previously posted photos, because that would be confusing. So here are some random photos that if I’d seen earlier, I might have posted.

a plant with spikes
a bird hiding on a post
some kind of rodent
the same rodent, trying to disappear into the dirt that its fur blends with
a very cool bird with a long beak that S says is called an avocet. White body, darker wings, long stick-like legs, long curvy skinny black beak, brown head.
brown bird with orange eye, sitting on a nest in the grass

Birds of Celebration Park

07 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by wyndes in Birds, Photography

≈ 2 Comments

Golden eagle's nest

I know that this is very much not the best quality picture I have ever taken, but if you can decipher the details, that brushy bit in the middle is an eagle’s nest. The fluff of white in the center top is an eaglet and the dark shade on top of it is a golden eagle. Yes, it may not be the best picture in the world, but it was amazing to be focusing the camera on it and thinking, “Is that really the nest? Is that white fluff the baby? Is that the eagle? OMG, look at that!”

And there’s my magpie picture, actually taken by S. I love their tails, they’re such beautiful birds.

More details and probably photos later, but this was a brief moment with wi-fi access that I wanted to take advantage of! Back on the road now…

The Birds of Bully Creek

04 Saturday May 2019

Posted by wyndes in Birds, Photography

≈ Comments Off on The Birds of Bully Creek

yellow bird
This bird appeared to have a nest in the tree right next to the van.
Woodpecker
A woodpecker! It was very, very small.
Grey bird, red head
I had so many good pictures of this guy that it pained me to pick just one.

The hour spent playing with my camera at Bully Creek Park might have been one of the best hours of the trip for me. I say “might” because we’re only halfway through, so who knows what good hours might supersede it? But it was awfully fun. These are my three favorite photos from a lovely morning of bird watching. I wish I could have posted them in their best quality, instead of shrinking them so they would upload, but the full resolution images just wouldn’t post.

A Cat Conversation in Five Parts

14 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by wyndes in Pets, Photography, Travel, Vanlife, Zelda

≈ 4 Comments

I don’t actually speak cat, but the dialogue in this scene was pretty unmistakable.

The setting: the front porch, on a day of sun after many days of rain.

The antagonist: me, spotting the cats and saying, “Wow, you guys look so pretty, I’m going to have to take a picture and send it to your mom.”

Our protagonists: Gina, the orange cat, terrorizer of Zelda and power-hungry battler for kitchen authority, and Vivi, the tortoiseshell cat, queen of the entire property and ruler of all she surveys.

Gina: The porch is cozy today.
Vivi: Indeed. Ah, an admirer. Someone to appreciate my beauty. How pleasant.
Gina: ACK! It’s looking at me!!!
Gina: The horror!
Vivi: OMG. It’s admiring our beauty, you coward. I can’t even…
Vivi: You are an embarrassment to cats everywhere.
Gina: I’m so ashamed.

It’s fun watching the animal dynamics in a house/environment of many creatures. There are two dogs, two indoor cats (these two), two permanent outdoor cats, and a revolving collection of visitors. Plus lots of chickens. They’ve all been trying to figure out Zelda’s place, as has Zelda herself, but Honored Guest is difficult to translate into dog/cat. So far, Zelda seems to have decided she’d rather not — whenever I bring her into the house, she hovers by the door, hoping to convince me to leave quickly, and/or hides in the bathroom.

But the dogs seem to be slowly deciding that Zelda is a friend, so I hope that helps. Last night there was some nose-touching with tail-wagging when Z came into the house. And the cats run the range from Gina, who is pretty clearly jealous and determined not to let any of her privileges be usurped; Vivi, who has no need to play power games with any species so beneath her; Moe, who runs if we come anywhere near; and Tank/Zen Kitty, who darts away if startled and glares if not startled. We give all of them a pretty wide berth, but especially Tank who outweighs Z and would absolutely win any confrontation. Not that there would be a confrontation. Z could star in one of the internet videos of dogs incapable of taking back her bed from a cat if the cats got anywhere near her bed, because she wants absolutely nothing to do with them. That’s Gina’s fault, I’m pretty sure. Gina is sneaky about trying to swipe at Z, but Z doesn’t have any problem reading cat body language. She knows what Gina thinks of her.

I’m fairly sure that I’ve now hit the longest I’ve stayed in one place in the van, during my two-plus years of living in it. Not the longest I’ve stayed in a given place, which is probably my brother’s house or Sanford, both with multiple repeat visits. And even Oscar Scherer State Park in Sarasota might still have more total days. But my longest time of staying still without some campground escape or move to another vacation.

I am loving it, actually. I’ve thought before that when not moving, the disadvantages of living in a van so outweigh the advantages that it’s simply not worth it. Without the travel, it’s just life in a metal box. But in Arcata, it’s life in a metal box with yoga down the street (twice last week), a farmer’s market on Saturdays, a nearby beach, meditation classes, gardening and chickens, a new writer friend to meet for coffee, used bookstores, trips to CostCo, a grocery store in easy walking distance with really good gluten-free bread… And this week some sunshine, too!

So no Oregon adventures yet, but as I said to Suzanne, why drive two hours to go to a campground by the beach when we could drive ten minutes to the beach, then come home and cook something scrumptious in the kitchen? Plus, we can then use the money that we would have spent on a campground to rent kayaks and/or take kayaking lessons. Or maybe sailing lessons. Or maybe both! There’s a place 15 minutes away that rents equipment and offers lessons so instead of driving to Oregon this weekend, we’re going to go investigate. They’re doing an all-day river adventure at the end of the month, which I’d like to sign up for, if I can bring myself to leave Z for that long.

Meanwhile, S is at work, and I should be working on Fen, not considering my future fun adventures. Back to the real words!

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Canyon, Texas

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by wyndes in Campground, Photography, Travel, Vanlife

≈ 6 Comments

I am sitting at the bottom of a canyon in Texas and it is cold. For the first time, the van really couldn’t keep up with the chill during the night. That was mostly my fault — there are a bunch of heat conservation tips to living in a van that boil down “cover windows” and “block off unused areas.” Basically, the van stays warmer when I curtain off the cab, close the bathroom doors, and put the shades down and the window covers up. Not complicated. I didn’t do it, though, because hello, canyon. Beautiful isolated rocky cliffs, incredible dark starry night, and the only light that which came from all the myriad ridiculous little lights that shine in the van all night long. Well, and off in the distance, lights to the bathroom. 

From the van, I can see one lone tent camper, and I would feel sorry for them, except my friend P goes camping in snow, and at least there’s no snow here. I’m assuming those campers were prepared for the weather. 

Speaking of weather, that’s why I’m in a canyon in Texas. (Did you know there were canyons in Texas? Total surprise to me. Not as implausible as discovering, say, a waterfall in Texas, but surprising nonetheless.) I was headed toward New Mexico and making great time, when I checked in with Kyla, who I’m hoping to visit. She mentioned the dreaded word, “snow.” 

I am not doing snow. When I first moved into Serenity, I thought it might be fun to experience snow again, but it’s not. I don’t like snow. In fact, if you’ve read all my books, you probably know that because I’ve mentioned it more than once. My characters seldom like snow either! So I’m not going to places where the snow is or is likely to be, and for a couple days that included Kyla’s part of New Mexico. I could have gone on to Albuquerque and met up with her there, but it was raining in Albuquerque and I am not in such a hurry that I need to drive in the rain. 

So I took a snow day and paused in Palo Duro Canyon, south of Amarillo, for a couple of nights. (The actual town name is Canyon, Texas, which I like, because it’s so very descriptive. Yep, that’s where we are. In a canyon.) On the first night, I was in the Hackberry Campground. I think the ranger gave me the site because it was reasonably close to the entrance of the park, within very easy walking distance to the bathrooms. Efficient, in other words. And it was certainly nice, with lots of short trees, which in the summer, when its hot, would probably be lovely, and a fun winding path up to the outside theater. 

But on my snow day, I went exploring. I drove miles into the canyon, down to the river (lots of flash flood warning signs at the bridges), and took a look at a the campground at the very end of the road. And then I went all the way back up to the front and asked if I could switch sites. Then I came back to my new site and took a hundred photographs, none of which turned out particularly interesting. I think the light was too bright, actually — everything from the camera looks flat and bland. But here’s the view from the van window, taken with the iPhone. 

And here’s my favorite photo from the last few days, also taken with the iPhone. It was at a rest stop on the highway, headed west. 

Today’s plan: New Mexico.

Not a photography blog

31 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by wyndes in Photography

≈ 13 Comments

Today was my last Florida adventure: a day at Animal Kingdom with my aunt and uncle. The weather was on the chilly side but the company was excellent. I still didn’t manage to go on the Avatar ride, aka the world’s best ride, but the animal walks were terrific. And I remembered to bring my camera!

I took 240 pictures. Lots of them are truly terrible. Blurry, bad light, shadowed, all the problems one can imagine photos having these photos have.

A reasonable number of them could be turned into good photographs with some cropping, maybe a few photo enhancements. Tweak the white balance, that kind of thing. Tug on a few sliders, maybe apply a filter or two… But I don’t want to post dozens of photographs to my blog. A few are nice, a multitude would be overkill.

So I decided (with one exception) to only post photos that are exactly as I took them: no cropping, no editing, no changing, just the moment the camera captured. Well, almost exactly — in order to keep the file sizes small, I had to downgrade the quality and size. The real images are clearer and bigger.

Today’s favorite photos:

a tiger
Red bird eye
Hippo eye
Meerkat
Gorilla face
some sort of dove

Apparently, I like pictures of eyes.

And the one exception — cropped because if I posted the original in a form small enough to easily upload to the web, the adorable baby elephant would look an awful lot like a lump of rock.

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Just catching the sunrise
A little patch of flowers in the wasteland.
Spring is on its way. Yay!
The second rainbow on the right is a little hard to see in the photo so look close.
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