Update: Jun 5, 2019

Posted on by Annie

It’s been a social week here in Virginia. I committed several weeks ago to step out of my comfort zone and attend Camp Unite, a nationwide weekend event for women campers, which grew out of a Facebook group I’m in. I didn’t know any of the women in the VA/WV, but it seemed like a fun idea and a way to spend some time with women who camp and the group was planning fun activities, so I signed up. And that’s how I found myself last Wednesday driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Roanoke. It was a perfect day…

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Update: May 29, 2019

Posted on by Annie

I’m back from my digital vacation, 10 days with little to no Internet. I not only survived, I thrived. It made me realize how much time I spend on social media (yeah, I’m looking at you, Facebook…) and how much less I can do there. It’s a great place to catch up with friends, and keep on top of who’s where in my circle of camping friends, but it can also be the great time suck. So where was I the last 10 days? Grayson Highlands State Park. Literally, I was right there, under that grey awning, spending a lot…

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Tour 2014: Tolsta

Posted on by Annie

Of all the places I saw on the Isle of Lewis, there was one that completely stole my heart and instantly became one of my happy places: the sandy beach at Tolsa. From a nondescript car park that is literally at the end of a road, I found a winding path across the dunes, along a wire and wood post fence. As I crested the top of the dunes, it was a beautiful sight as far as my eyes could see.  More than a mile of sandy beach at low tide, with the sun and light breeze just begging me…

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2014 Tour: Callanish Stones

Posted on by Annie

If there was one thing I hadn’t expected on my Scottish tour, it was the Callanish Stones. I went to see them a lark after reading about them on a list of things to do whilst on the Isle of Lewis. They were fascinating! Huge, rough, and not at all like Stonehenge except for the basic “upright rocks in the middle of nowhere” theme.  The textures of the Lewisian Gneiss were beautiful and I wandered around and through them over and over, looking for ways to capture the experience with the camera.  There’s a stone circle around a huge central…

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Tour 2014: Isle of Lewis

Posted on by Annie

My home base for the week was a croft house: sheep next door on one side, a weaver for Harris Tweed on the other side, and walking distance to beautiful spaces.  At the end of the road–which was also the edge of the island–I could walk there in a few minutes time and see the sunset on the Atlantic Ocean, and know that the nearest land straight ahead was the southern tip of Greenland. I was way up there as far as North goes. The cover photo for this post is the view of the sunset from the edge of…

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