Our challenge from Donna is Time. The older I get the faster time seems to fly by. It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the new year 1997 in Key West, Florida.
Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.
Jimmy Buffett
Take time to watch a sunrise.Take time to watch a sunset
Stop and smell the roses
“Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder, So I can’t look back for too long. There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can’t go wrong.”
Jimmy Buffett
Don’t put off that trip you’ve always dreamed ofGo see a favorite artist in concert if you ever have the opportunity
It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same. With all of our running and all of our cunning, if we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.
Jimmy Buffett
Rest in peace Jimmy Buffett – 12/25/1946 – 9/1/2023.
For this challenge our guest host Janet from This, That and the Other Thing.has asked us to “share photos of something you normally overlook or something you think other people would overlook.”
It’s not the Destination, It’s the Journey
Ralph Waldo Emerson
During all our years of wandering Henry and I have traveled the back roads to discover places that many travelers overlook. When planning a road trip we try to find interesting and fun things to do in between our major destinations. We’ve discovered delightful small towns and during our camping days went miles out of our way to camp in a campground with a beautiful view.
In 2009 we made an RV trip that took us through Iowa. There were two places on our Bucket List in Iowa that I’m sure many travelers overlook. Both of the destinations had movie themes.
The first was the Field of Dreams Movie Site near Dyersville, Iowa where the movie with the same name was filmed. It was magical being there standing in the cornfield, walking around the bases, and imagining Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other ball players coming out of the cornfield to play baseball. I posted more about our visit here.
Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, IowaIt was easy to imagine the players coming out of the corn to play ball
We were traveling in our RV and couldn’t find an RV park close to Dyersville. I searched all around the area before I found a Corps of Engineers park on the Mississippi River in Petosi, Wisconsin across the river from Iowa. We love camping close to bodies of water so it was perfect for us. If we hadn’t wanted to see the Field of Dreams we would have never discovered the Good Old Potosi Brewery or the Grotto we passed as we drove from the campground to the Field of Dreams.
Good Old Potosi BeerGrotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin
Our second Iowa destination was the town of Winterset. Not only is Winterset the setting for the movie “Bridges of Madison County” but it is also the birthplace of John Wayne.
We didn’t have as much trouble finding a place to stay there. We stayed in our first ever city campground and we loved it. We set up the camper, put our payment in an envelope, and dropped the envelope in a drop box. The park was nice and the location was perfect for exploring the covered bridges and John Wayne’s birthplace.
Roseman Covered Bridge, Madison County, IowaJohn Wayne’s birthplace in Winterset, Iowa
Flash forward to 2013 when we took our RV to Alaska from Georgia. We loved every place we went but our favorite place was Haines, a small waterfront town. The view from our campsite was spectacular, the people in Haines were friendly, the scenery and wildlife were amazing, and we loved the laid back atmosphere there. Where else can you visit the Hammer Museum and eat fresh Dungeness Crabs straight from the boat?
To reach Haines by road travelers drive south on the long, scenic Haines Highway from the Yukon Territory in Canada before entering Alaska. Most RV’ers we met had been to Skagway but overlooked Haines because of the driving distance between the two towns. We opted to take the one hour trip by Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines. I’ll be forever grateful to the guy from Anchorage who was camped next to us in Skagway and suggested we look into the Ferry. We were sad to leave Haines but enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we drove north on the Haines Highway to continue our Alaska adventure.
This is the view from our campground in HainesWe saw many Bald Eagles while in Haines. This one was at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Sometimes in our travels we like to go for scenic drives and if we see a gravel road that looks interesting, we’ll drive on the road just to see where it goes. We stumbled upon this view of the Crazy Horse Monument when we took a turn on a gravel road in Custer State Park in South Dakota
View of Crazy Horse Monument from the top of the Coolidge Overlook in Custer State Park
We’ve discovered many more overlooked destinations in our travels. There are many great places along the way if you can just take the time to look around.
John from Journeys with JohnBo has challenged us to focus on our journeys and the modes of transportation that got us there.
I am grateful for all the many places that planes, trains, automobiles, trucks, ships, boats, ferries, and buses have taken me. I have been fortunate to see most of the United States, several Canadian provinces, parts of Mexico, several European countries and several Caribbean countries.
For this challenge, I am focusing on our two journeys to Alaska. Our first visit to Alaska was in 2013 when we traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back towing our fifth wheel. Henry drove the truck 14,454 miles during our 106 days on the road.
We just returned from our long awaited second trip to Alaska. This time we flew to Anchorage and rode a bus to Seward to board the cruise ship Viking Orion for a 10 day cruise to Vancouver. We traveled in luxury and saw several new places we couldn’t visit by road.
Below you can see the two major modes of transportation from our two different Alaska journeys. Both journeys were spectacular with amazing landscapes and lots of wildlife.
While our truck was our main mode of transportation on our first Alaska adventure, we had to take a couple of ferries to get where we wanted to go.
We took the truck and RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to HainesThis small ferry took us from Dawson City, Yukon, across the Yukon River to the Top of the World Highway
There were places our truck couldn’t take us so we took a plane ride and landed on a glacier, took a ride on the Alaska Railroad, and took three amazing wildlife cruises.
This year, after two cancellations, we finally were able to take our Alaska cruise the end of August. Our journey involved planes, moving sidewalks in the airports, a beautiful ship, an Uber, sightseeing buses, a tender ride, two wildlife cruises, and lots of walking. It was wonderful seeing Alaska from the water. We really enjoyed returning to places we loved the first time as well as seeing places that were new to us.
Stay tuned for more from our latest Alaska adventure!
Travel has taught me that there is beauty everywhere you go if you just take the time to look around. When we were traveling by RV, we always had several major destinations for each trip. At first we just drove between destinations without taking much time to enjoy the places in between.
The more trips we took, the more we enjoyed the out of way places that are often overlooked by travelers. Lake Bistineau State Park, Louisiana was one of those places.
Cypress Trees in Lake Bistineau State Park
I’ve learned that traveling opens up opportunities to try new things, even things that terrify me. Our hike to Delicate Arch at Arches National Park is a perfect example of this. I’m scared of heights and almost didn’t make the hike when I read I would have to walk along a narrow ledge with a shear drop off. With Henry’s help and encouragement, I made it. The payoff was this fantastic view.
Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah
I learned that asking a local is the best way to find out about the area, the history, and the out of the way places to visit that don’t show up in tour guides. One year we spent about two months wandering around Texas when the bluebonnets were blooming. A ranger I met in one of the state parks gave us directions to a scenic drive on a dirt road that we would have never discovered if we hadn’t asked.
Texas Bluebonnets
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” -James Michener
Travel has taught me I can learn more about a lot about a place by having conversations with people who live there. At the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska we met two women who manage the gift shop and maintain all the graves. They grew up in Ninilchik together and lived with relatives in Anchorage to attend high school because at the time there was no high school in Ninilchik (there is one today). They graduated together in 1950.
Gift Shop for the Russian Orthadox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska
Travel has taught me to try the local foods. We have enjoyed barbecue beef brisket in Texas, pasties in Michigan, Indian Tacos in South Dakota and Arizona, New Mexico cuisine, local seafood in Florida, Washington and Oregon, pork tenderloin sandwiches in Missouri, Dungeness Crab straight off the boat in Alaska, and so many other delicious things we can’t get at home.
Dungeness Crab, Haines, Alaska
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”― Mark Twain
Mark Twain’s quote describes exactly why Henry and I chose to go on our cruise in January. I’ve learned that every day is a gift. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. A single phone call, doctor’s visit, or an unexpected event can change your life in an instant.
St. Kitts
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing: – Helen Keller
Our host Patti has challenged us to show what our inspiration looks like. I find my inspiration in the natural world.
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
Starting the day by watching the sun rise adds inspiration to any day.
The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.
Claude Monet
Black Eyed SusansSunflower on a sunny July DayGulf Fritillary on Mexican Sunflower
The natural beauty found in America’s National Parks never ceases to inspire me.
Grand Canyon North Rim Roosevelt PointGiant Redwood in Redwoods National ParkHot Spring, Yellowstone National ParkHalf Dome in Yosemite National Park, California
If you truly love nature you will find beauty everywhere.
Vincent Van Gogh
Spoonbill and Snowy EgretWhite tail deerGreat Egret
The weekly challenges from the gifted lens-artists hosts Tina, Ann-Christine, Patti and Amy always inspire me to be a better photographer. I’m also inspired by all of the talented WordPress bloggers who respond to the challenge with their wonderful photographs.
Wandering Dawgs 