Vagabond exploring life with my little trailer in tow
As a solo act, I have wondered a bit the last year how I would handle a debilitating illness or injury. Now I am finding that out. Tripped while running on Memorial Day and dislocated my ring finger and badly bruised all the other fingers and palm; the thumb got off scot-free. I was lucky to be at a friend’s house for the long weekend, so I am extending my stay here until I am able to hitch up the trailer and do the basics to be on my own. Not sure, maybe a week or so, I will just have…
My whole life I’ve lived on either the West Coast or the East Coast, never far from ocean. Spending the last month going through Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois and now Indiana is showing me parts of the country I’d not paid much attention to before, so as we close out May, here’s a salute to the middle of America. This view is what the western-bound pioneers saw as they went through Scotts Bluff. They were one-third done with their journey at this point. All I can think looking at this is how tough they were compared to me, driving a nice…
The Missouri Botanical Garden has a wonderful display in the Climatron (a big glass dome, so think oversized terrarium) that features glass art amid the many species of plants normally living in there. It was fun to wander through and spot the glass installations and how they echoed the nearby foliage. I loved these huge leaves. I had fun with the water, playing with the camera settings to make the water look like silk. This water installation was amazing in its construction and reflection. I almost missed this one because I was so busy looking down, not up. Lesson learned: look…
From Nebraska to Kansas to Missouri, I’ve seen a lot of big sky, fallow fields, and thunderstorms. And now I know you can have a Tornado Warning, A Severe Thunderstorm Warning, and a Flood Warning all at the same time. I’m not sure I needed to know that but now I do. Let’s recap my mad dash across Tornado country: Wed: Made it to the geographic center of the USA and have the photo to prove it. It is really in the middle of nowhere, 4 miles north of two-lane highway near the small burg of Lebanon, KS. Spent the night…
I’ve flown over the Missouri countless times, seen its wandering path through the middle of the country. I’ve driven across it in South Dakota, and even dipped my feet in it at a boat launch near a McDonald’s in the middle of Saint Louis. Seeing the expanse of the wide Missouri in a natural setting, at ground level, at water’s edge, was a completely different experience. This is a huge river, fast-flowing from floods above this week (with flood warnings all the way from the Dakotas past Saint Louis, even though there are four big dams above Kansas City to control the…