Category: Journal

Towing with the Ridgeline

Posted on by Annie

Given I do this vagabond thing full-time, two things are true: (1) I put a lot of towing miles on my vehicle and trailer and (2) people ask about my tow vehicle a lot. I finally made an FAQ page last year about my experiences towing with the Subaru Outback 3.6R to answer the inevitable questions. Now I have a 2019 Honda Ridgeline RTL AWD, and it’s a different experience. It tows the Alto so much easier, as if it’s not working very hard on flat ground or small hills. With the Outback, I was always aware of the load…

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Snapshots from the Blue Ridge

Posted on by Annie

When I was growing up, the phrase “Blue Ridge Mountains” somehow sounded magical to me. Now that I’ve wandered up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Blue Ridge Mountains, it still makes me smile to see that phrase on a sign. Maybe it’s my personal version of the Magic Kingdom. Today’s post, then, features images I’ve taken this summer that didn’t make it into any earlier post. This type of fence is all over the mountains and I haven’t met one yet that I didn’t want to take a picture of. The more weathered the wood, the better….

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Sunday Serenity: First Light

Posted on by Annie

Darkness, broken by a tiny shaft of ight on a small seedling in the forest. The light shifts as the sun slowly rises. The light lands on branches full of green leaves, glowing brilliant against the dark background. As the sun comes over the ridge, the light spreads. One can see the trees, trunks, branches, and trees, standing in the light of the new day. Minutes later, all is illuminated and the darkness banished until evening. They say it’s darkest before the dawn. And in many ways, 2020 has felt like descending into darkness. But now, it feels like the…

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Maps, Maps, Maps!

Posted on by Annie

Been working hard on things this past week, and now I can unveil the result: new and cool TRAVEL MAPS! Under the Travel Maps category (up there at the top of the screen), you can find maps that show my travels for 2016-2021. Thanks to a cool WordPress plug-in for Google Maps, it was easy to create these maps. Just click on one of those red markers to read where I was and where I stayed. I also added two special maps: National Parks I’ve visited States and Paddles showing states I’ve camping in and states I’ve kayaked in. Someday,…

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52 Frames: Common Object

Posted on by Annie

Some weeks, I get really into the 52 Frames challenge and this was one of those weeks. The theme was “common object. I’m camping in a forest. Common object? Gotta be a leaf! This was also one of those weeks where three things were true: My first concept was my only concept. I fell in love with my first idea and didn’t even try anything else. Small changes in an image can make a huge difference. Post-processing can be a lot of fun. The Concept As I was talking on the phone to a friend, I noticed how the leaves…

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