Digital Dive

As long as I know I have another five weeks or so of free evenings, I might as well dive into my digital scrapbooks. As it turns out, I have at least five vacation ones awaiting my attention. One per week sounds like reasonable progress, doesn't it?

This week I'll start with Carter's (and my) 2017 spring break to the Southwest. The two of us visited my sister Rayna and her husband Paul while they wintered in the Phoenix area. Since they are about to move there permanently in a few weeks, I've been thinking about that gorgeous area of America! When I'm done with this album, we'll ALL want to move there!

Of course, I have to watch The Voice tonight. But I did get as as far as uploading 994 Google photos to Shutterfly and I will start getting my thoughts in order before I get scrapping. 

Plus, I think there has to be a camera memory card somewhere. Would I have gone on a scenic trip with only my smart phone for photos? Doesn't seem likely. Even if I did manage to click off a thousand! If a picture says a thousand words then surely a thousand pictures say enough to fill a scrapbook. 

I'll keep ya posted!

2017 :: Well That Was Quick

There's no shame in taking a nap in order to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, is there? I'm not sure if we're just getting old or, quite possibly, are just tired. As we look back, it's been a crazy busy year!

Again.

They all are, though, aren't they?

Here is a recap from our Christmas letter. Some of you saw this. Some didn't. I was shorted a bunch of envelopes from Walgreens and never took the time to rectify the situation or get others. So, not all cards and letters got out. I will try harder next year...

A few photo highlights to accompany the update...

Enjoyed spring break with College Boy. Especially loved seeing the Grand Canyon, experiencing that whole area with my sister Rayna and brother-in-law Paul, and touring through Antelope Canyon.

Got a new camera for my birthday so that made kayaking adventures even more fun!

Not to mention the great company – our friends Mike and Cindy.

Turned my photography into a little side business and created a logo (bottom right). Got to take some senior pictures, family pictures and a ton of sports pictures. Love, love, love it!

Got to "go crazy" at Prince Night at Target Field. Had nearly a dozen family members sitting together to enjoy Prince music, fancy umbrellas, Twins baseball, food, fun and fireworks! Awesome!

Had a long overdue Reporter Reunion this summer with my friends Kristin and Laura. We all worked up in Marinette and Menominee right out of college in the early '90s and we have kept in touch ever since. Now we finally got to SEE each other with a one-day road trip to our old stomping grounds. What a blessing.

Loved seeing Pentatonix this summer as my friends Carmen, Christine, Allie, and I ate our way through the Wisconsin State Fair.

Had lots of family time this year as two nephews got married. My nephew Zach in June and our nephew Colin in October. Carter was an usher for that one (above).

Probably the biggest change this year was a new job for me. Left my more technical-type writing position at Renaissance and started at the end of October at Sentry, joining some of my old publishing friends (above) in the marketing department. Miss my old co-workers a bunch, but it was the best move ever. I love it. Feels good to be creative again.

Overall, 2017 was a positive year for us. We have many friends and loved ones who lost someone this year and we keep our thoughts and prayers with them. For us, Jim's parents are doing well. And my mom turned 85 this year.

While we feel like we've been through some changes this year, Mom just experienced her biggest today. A majority of my siblings were able to move her out of her home of 50-some years into an apartment. This will be a major transition but we'll feel better about her safety and comfort. She's perfectly healthy and can drive, but she doesn't need to be worrying about heating a big house, snow removal or lawn care.

When we sell the house at some point this year, that will be my turn to transition into realizing my childhood home is forever gone to me. But Mom will help us all through that when the time comes, I'm sure.

Who knows what else 2018 will bring? I'm not worried. Overall, 2017 was a blessing. I will focus on that – well past midnight.

Wild West Warning Signs

 

When people tell you to watch for signs, you really should. Even though I just created the one above, something tells me, it may be warranted. Oh the reality of work re-entry after a nice vacation!

We did see our share of warning signs out West. Some typical, some scary and some entertaining...

You know you're in the wild west when you see this! (Actually in Black Bart's restaurant, but worth a chuckle nonetheless.) Speaking of horses...

If you love horses, like you'd see in any cowboy movie, there were a lot of places with marked and unmarked trails for riding. This one was a steep, rocky, uneven trail that Carter and I couldn't imagine attempting to navigate with a horse or bicycle. Crazy.

This was just a warning that John Wayne or Clint Eastwood could come galloping down the hill and around the cactus. So keep an eye out!

Not to be confused with horses, but there were mules, too. You can see from their forward ears and silhouette of a rider looking like Alice from the Brady Bunch Grand Canyon episode. Just sayin'. By the way, the mule rides are not available until May, otherwise we'd have been all over that.

And this sign just warned us of a political convention up ahead. Or filming of another Jackass movie??

Then there was the wildlife I actually wanted to see... like big, bad elk!

There was even one sign warning of elk for the next 30 miles. Do you think we'd see one? No.

Not even these fat ones on their way to a Weight Watchers meeting in the Grand Canyon.

The animals I am glad we did not see were the snakes, scorpions and sunscreen boy.

Especially glad we stayed on the trail and did not encounter the clown making balloon animals! (Or something.)

Not everything was about animals...

Here you just figure you better hold your horses... or someone else will!

What don't cars like? Heat AND elevation. Since we were climbing, drivers had to be careful about overheating engines on the way up and overheating brakes on the way down. Our highest elevation of the trip was 8,000+ feet, which is 4 times the highest point of elevation in Wisconsin. (In case you read this blog to actually learn something.)

Loved these signs. First, you gotta love towns named Mystic and Hog Wash! Secondly, wouldn't it suck to lose your drone over the Grand Canyon? Pretty much no way you'd get it back. Ever.

I found this "no rock climbing" sign amusing because there is no apparent place to even get a foothold to begin your ascent! But people will try anything. I mean anything...

The only reason they have warning signs anywhere is that someone already tried it – and it didn't turn out well. So whoever drank the toilet water in Arizona, thank you. You spared me a bad decision about hydrating.

And it gave me the perfect sign to signal vacation is in the toilet and I must go set my alarm for work tomorrow.

Signing off.

OMG (Oh My Grand)

There is a famous list of 7 wonders of the world. I think there are more than that located in the United States alone. Carter and I have had the privilege of seeing several of these in the last 48 hours!

The Southwest is an amazing area of the country. Very un-Wisconsin like except for the snow! Yup, came all this way and still had snow. Well, on top of mountains by Flagstaff anyway. A very cool sight on our way out of Flagstaff headed north on Wednesday morning.

I will have a lot of photos to share at some point soon. For now, I just have to say the Grand Canyon is OMG (oh my grand!) and grand is not a grand enough word to describe it. Just amazing!

Carter had to push the limits on how close he could get to the edge. So while I was trying to watch the scenery and keep an eye on Mr. Dare Devil.

Here's my brave moment. Seriously, look how close I am to the edge. My heart was racing but I had to prove I wasn't a complete wimp!

 I really appreciated that my sister Rayna is a photographer at heart because Carter was willing to cooperate when she suggested a fun photo like this. We knew better than to push our limits!

Even though we spent the day at Grand Canyon, it was crazy to see how tiny of a section we actually saw. It is soooooo huge! And gorgeous.

We drove up to Page, Arizona, last night and were in for another treat today. We had reservations for a tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon. From the outside it looked like we were going to walk into a large crack in the rocks.

The inside, though, told another story all together. I will have to choose from hundred of pictures to share when I get back home. Just trust me that it is one of the must-see wonders of the U.S.

After the tour we grabbed some lunch in Page. Then, since we were less than 10 miles from the Utah state line, we ran up there so I could cross another state off my list! Yes, we are hitting every corner of the desert we can!

Spent all afternoon in the car, heading back down to Mesa. Had a few photo stops here and there and got back in time to see the Badgers win their first round game of the NCAA tourney.

See my heart in support of Bucky? One of the dozens of great views at Antelope today. Can't wait to share more pictures and details of our Mother-Son Spring Break.

Only 24 hours left. Catch us by the pool tomorrow enjoying another natural wonder here... The Sun!

Canyon Countdown

Photo from Yavapai Point by Cat Connor

My sister Rayna shared this photo today from the U.S. Department of the Interior. In just 2 weeks, Carter and I are going to see her, my brother-in-law and this old thing.

Yesterday, Grand Canyon National Park celebrated its 98th birthday. Long before it became a national park, this landmark’s timeless beauty was well-known throughout the country and parts of the world. Today the canyon is no less a source of inspiration than it was for these early tourists.

We will celebrate nearly 100 years of protecting this special place by finally seeing it in person! Some may say it's just a big hole in the ground, but to the photographer's eye, it's got potential!

Since it's nearly 11:30 p.m. and I'm just finishing up work and special projects, I really can't wait to escape to the desert! Looking forward to seeing sights, seeing family, relaxing, enjoying the sun (it's only 32 with windchill of 27 in central Wisconsin right now) and the son.

Let the countdown begin...