Welcome to my world. I am a Blogger, an Author, and a Photographer. I hope you enjoy my website. The photo was taken on Trail Ridge Road – the highest paved road in the United States. If you are ever in Colorado, it is worth the drive to see the most amazing views.

Though I already did a blog on Arizona, it deserves another go around for more than one reason…the people we spent our time with, and because this was a different time, a different experience, a different view of the state…so here goes:

We rolled into Arizona and stayed at our friends RV camp – rightfully named “Flood Park” with all amenities. We loved being greeted by their friendly, smiling, and “happy to see you” faces. They are truly gems in our lives.

The bonus was my sister, Robi, and her husband, David, who came up from Vail, AZ for a visit. It’s a good four hours from where we were, so they stayed overnight in Prescott Valley, about 30 minutes away. They drove over to the park and picked us up the first day and took us to Jerome, AZ. When we got up the mountainside, it was like you could see forever. But what my eyes went to was this beautiful dragonfly bench…wow…how I would love it in my yard…wait, I don’t have a yard, I have wheels…for now anyhow…lol. David lived in Arizona for years and knew we would love this town. The shops are filled with beautiful art in all mediums available to an artist. I truly loved the kaleidoscope store. I have never in my life seen anything like it. There wasn’t one that I wouldn’t love to add to my collection (I only have two, signed by the artists, but that’s a collection…right?) – anyhow, it was amazing. We did a wine tasting in between enjoying the variety of art. The streets are windy and narrow so I would recommend traveling by car and not an RV.

The next day they took us to Sedona, AZ. The first beauty was the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This city is so much larger than I imagined. It is not eclectic like Jerome, but still held a lot of variety for all art collectors. Truthfully, Jerome is more my style, but Sedona with its touch of class was fun, too. We only covered a small area of this city but were able to get a good idea of the artistic styles.

We had such a great time with Robi and David, and it was sad to see them go. But that isn’t where the fun stopped. Our hosts, Bob and Crystal, took us on an adventure to an old mining town, Creator, AZ. We stopped at the local watering hole, and I was saved from a huge wasp thanks to the barkeep, Bill, and his quick reactions. Then we went higher up the mountain to Crown King, AZ. Now, mind you neither of these towns was easy to get to…no paved roads. A lot was a switchback up the mountain but held vista views to capture your attention. Then it was lunch at a rustic restaurant/bar before heading back down the mountain.

It was a week of great visiting with family and friends, and fun adventures. On our way to Colorado, we stopped at the famous “Hole N’the Rock. It has a wonderful story and you can tour the entire 5,000 sq foot house built into a rock. Then we ventured through Moab and were amazed at the beauty surrounding the areas along the way. Including the rock called Mexican Hat found at the northern edge of the Navajo Nations borders in Utah.

I’ll fly out of Denver to Washington to be with family and friends for a few weeks while Dan does his hunt in the Colorado mountains. Our travels continue to intrigue, entertain, and at times it all blends together, but Dan and I love our time together investigating what this great country has to offer.

A big thank you to all who made our adventures fun and exciting…love you.

I always wanted to go to Paris, but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I landed in Paris, Texas…lol. Dan and I have friends that moved from Colorado back to Texas about a year or so ago. We spent three nights at a great RV campsite about a mile from their home. We were grateful when we received a business card from the RV camp office –  yep, a fly swatter and wow was it needed. It almost became a competition between Dan and me on who could kill more. Oh well, must be the season.
I was surprised at how big Paris was, but more surprised at the heat and humidity…wow. We didn’t turn our AC unit on when we went off to visit for the day and our tin can was 99 degrees inside when we got home – lesson learned. It took a couple of hours to cool it down since it was still hot as “you know what” outside, with humidity to match.
The four of us, regardless of the heat, had a great time together. They raise chickens, many different breeds, so I had fun interacting with the friendly ones and trying hard to pet the baby chicks. It’s quite an operation and we left with a dozen of the freshest eggs you can have. I learned a lot about raising chickens and as much as I want them I’m thinking our traveling might put a hold on that adventure. They took us to Lake Hugo, in Oklahoma, a quick twenty minutes from there home. It has trailer camping, tent camping, and amazing cabins you can rent for a surprisingly low price. You can launch your boat and get some fishing in, or the guys can, while the land lovers such as myself enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony overlooking the lake. There were Hedge Apple trees.  They are not eatable for people, but from what I’m told people cut them open, let them dry and carve faces in them…who knew!!
Another evening we went to see the Eiffel Tower – Paris, Texas style that is.  And right next to the tower is an unforgettable military monument. It is humbling and fills you with gratitude for the service men and women that keep our freedom a reality for us.
We had a great time and now I can say I’ve been to Paris…hehehehe. Thank you, Ed and Micki, for sharing your time with us.

It’s been just over a month since I flew into Green Bay, where Dan picked me up and we headed for Upper Michigan…Cornell (30 minutes outside of Escanaba) to be exact. After our mini-trip to Ohio I wrote about in my last blog, we have stayed on our property. The property is on the Escanaba River, and pretty remote. We have no electricity, no water. We have a generator when we need to charge batteries, etc. We haul water in four 30-gallon jugs from town. And we have an outhouse – lovingly named “Da Loo” for our other needs.  We have a mini-kitchen set up under the pavilion with our BQ and dishwashing station. 

The need for modern conveniences fades away when you sit by the river and listen to nature. When the sun is streaming through the trees, or an eagle flies overhead making his presence known with a call. Then there are the deer that visit us for cracked corn multiple times a day. They have become my babies…and thankfully our budget has included food to keep them fed and happy…life seems so simple.

We’ve spent time working on projects…never ending grounds keeping, such as this beautiful stack of firewood, and the ground wine refrigerator Dan made for us keeping our wine at a perfect 60 degrees.   Spending time with family (Dan’s side), and friends, some from the UP, and even a visit from friends that traveled from Colorado. We traveled north and enjoyed dinner out with Dan’s sister and husband, and both she and I got food poisoning…my first experience with it and hopefully my last. We went to the State Fair in Escanaba one weekend, and the Steam and Gas Engine Show in Escanaba another weekend. Dan and I also took an overnight trip to Copper Harbor. Then there are the evening drives just before dark to watch the deer roam and graze.

Living off-grid like this isn’t a life I would choose year round…it gets cold in the winter, and the snow is unforgiving. It’s over 60 steps from the pavilion to the trailer, and another 40+ to the outhouse…so there is no lack of exercise here. Many mornings I could be found walking a mile down the road for a little exercise. But doing that in a couple feet of snow is not my idea of fun. In fact, the rain and thunderstorms are pretty intense, too, which can leave the property a bit muddy. The rain isn’t like the PNW rain. Here the raindrops are about the size of quarters…a slight exaggeration, not by much, mind you, but the sun shines most of the day drying out the ground once again. We had a storm come through one night that brought the river up by a foot, but we still have about six feet of the bank, so no flood concerns.  However, it’s the privacy and quiet that sooth my soul and have become such a wonderful bonus. One benefit I will miss, especially, are the moments of having our morning coffee, or an evening glass of wine under the pavilion while enjoying the beautiful river view. 

Soon we’ll pull out and find our way along the trail of our adventure. Thank you to all our family and friends that took time out to visit, break bread, play cards, and drive to Rapid River just for ice cream. There has been a whole lot of laughing going on in the UP for over a month now. I’m excited to see where the road takes us but will miss the river property I have come to enjoy.

I’ll admit I might find myself star struck if I had a chance to meet Sandra Bullock, J.A. Jance, or President Trump to name a few. But I was truthfully more excited to meet the Meierotto family from Alaska. I’m not a snow person, but I do have respect for the tough lifestyle of a lot of Alaskans live. Especially Marty Meierotto and his family from the History channels’ Mountain Man series. Dan and I have followed their life over the past six seasons. Marty is a trapper in Alaska and supports his wife and daughter with his trapper lifestyle. He’s the first to say this lifestyle has kept his family in financial ruins, but regardless, it’s a good life and he has a wonderful family to share it with. Dan and I had the pleasure of meeting and having dinner with this nice family during the National Trappers Association Convention in Escanaba, Michigan. Dan was born and raised in upper Michigan and has river property in Cornell. We worked out our schedule to be on the property when the convention was going on so we could enjoy this event.

After dinner, Marty graciously did a Q&A for us. He answered questions ranging from how he was approached to do the show to what he ate for breakfast…which, as it turns out, are pancakes – every morning. As the story goes Marty wrote for a trappers magazine and was approached by a writer from Field and Stream who was interested in having him be featured on the Mountain Man show. From what I gleaned it wasn’t the quick “sure, I’d love to do a show” that the Field and Stream writer was hoping for, but an agreement was eventually made. Mainly because Marty was motivated to show trapping in a more positive light. He now has one to two cameras following him around a few weeks at a time during his trapping season. I may not have all of my facts down pat, but you get the idea.

Marty flies a very small plane to his trapping areas. There have been moments watching the show that I was likely more nervous than Marty as he flew his plane in weather I wouldn’t even want to be walking in. Though when I hear Marty say “crap” I’ve wondered how that episode would end…but so far so good. He’s such an experienced pilot there is no doubt he knows what he’s doing, but Mother Nature sometimes tries to throw him curve balls that have made me close my eyes and hope for the best. There have been times on his snowmobile where he has found himself stranded in the snow and cold. And though he keeps extra parts and tools, it can be hours working in such cold conditions I can’t imagine tolerating. Of course, Marty has no choice but to push forward with any situation thrown his way. Dan, a lover of snow machines, asked which machine Marty preferred, his new one, or his old Tundra II – and as Dan suspected he likes his Tundra II over the newer model. Likely because he can strap the body of the machine under the belly of his plane, pack the rest inside, and fly his machine wherever he needs it.

Originally from Wisconsin Marty still considers himself a “cheesehead.” Another fun fact is when I introduced myself to Marty, his wife, Dominique, and his daughter, Noah, I told them my name is CJ which was short for Cecily Jane, Noah smiled saying her middle name was Jane too. And Dominique said it was her mom’s middle name as well. A simple common threads that will always make me smile. Noah was two days shy of turning twelve the day of the dinner and was excited because her birthday present was a trip with her dad for her first Dall sheep hunt. Not what most twelve-year-olds I know would be excited about, but this is the lifestyle she is happy to learn while she is young and can carry through her life. According to the shows I watch Alaska is a lot about hunting, trapping, and surviving the brutal weather…and this young lady is ready to learn.

Marty continued to answer questions ranging from how he traps wolverines to trapping martins, which are his bread and butter. This family came all the way from Alaska to share their life with us and did not accept a dime for there time. They are sweet, humble and kind people, regardless of having to live in the limelight. If you watch the show I can guarantee Marty’s laugh is as genuine off camera as it is on. What a treat it was for Dan and me to meet such a wonderful, down to earth family.

To my surprise, after dinner, they had a prize drawing and I won a photo of Marty, Dominique, and Noah with Mt. McKinley in the background, which all three graciously autographed for me. Marty also gave us a personal autograph. It’s a memory we will treasure forever. Our travels have given us opportunities I never thought I’d have, and they just keep happening so I’ll keep capturing these memories as long as possible. Thank you for letting me share them with all of you.