The Thursday Ramble: Adventures

The photo above was taken about 20 years ago on a glacial melt lake on the side of Mt Denali in Alaska.  At the time I had a consulting contract with AARP to present training. The next day I was presenting a full day on elder abuse and neglect at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. 

I insisted that I had to have at least one day to rest from travel, it is about 4,000 miles each way to Alaska from the eastern United States. On my rest day I booked a flightseeing tour with Rust's Flying Service.  As we were lining up to board the plane, a Dehavilland Beaver with a turbo charged radial engine, the pilot looked at me and said, you look like you weigh about 250 pounds? Do you mind riding up front in the co-pilot seat? I confirmed that I was about 245 at the time, and gleefully agreed to the front row seat. 

We took off from a lake next to the international airport and flew northeast.  About half an hour out, the pilot said, look down and tell me what you don't see.  I was puzzled, there was deep wilderness, rivers, lakes, homes. He said, do you see roads or power lines. There were none. Access is by water, or air, or snow machine in winter. In less than an hour we had gone from civilization to one of the most isolated landscapes I have ever seen. 

We flew up a glacier on the side of the mountain, looking down on ski planes landings on the glacier, turned around the side of the mountain and the pilot scouted a couple of lakes before selecting one for landing. The landing was so smooth I had to look down to see that we were there. The pilot quipped, "I caught you looking down to see if we had landed." We taxied up the shore, tied off, and we were able to walk on the shore for a few minutes. The pilot said that lake was only flyable a few weeks in the spring, once the melt slows the water level drops too low exposing rocks and making landings dangerous.  The only other way in was a two day hike up the side of the mountain. A place that few humans ever visit. A place no one has ever called home. 

It was an adventure I will always remember. We need those in our lives. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

My World of Wonders May 13, 2026

Where am I? Vienna, Austria. I have never been here before. Jay has wanted to go here since he first knew the place existed.

Stop and Smell the Roses a long the way.

What are we doing? Sightseeing and eating. 

Where are we off to next? Paris, then we fly home from there next week. 

Why so many places on this adventure? The cruise went to Italy, near Rome, it is impossible to be that close to Rome and not spend a couple of days, Milan was a bucket list stop to see the Cathedral, Vienna was on Sweet Bear's bucket list. And Paris, I was able to get frequent flyer seats for the flight home from Paris, we wanted to see Chartes, the gardens at Versailles, and Notre Dame all fresh and shining (I was at a conference in New Orleans when the fire happened.) 

What else happened on this day? This is the day back in 2015, that a tumor was removed and a section of my spine was rebuilt. I woke up in ICU the following morning, to the most glorious feeling the world, I could feel and move my feet and legs. I am thankful every day for the amazing health care I received, and acknowledge once a year how fortunate I am to be able to move as much as I can. I will never be the same as I was before, but I am so much better than I was. I was millimeters away from wheels. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time, edited on the road adding a bunch of photos and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

Travel Tuesday: Art Feeds Our Soul

Looking at You! 

Back Side

Front Side

Reminds Me of the Mistress 

France 

Self Portrait 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

Monday Moods: Just The Way You Are

Repeat after me: 

I am fine just the way I am.  

I am tall enough, short enough, thin enough, shapely enough. I am just the way I should be.  

I won't let others projection of insecurities, darken my day.  

I am and will continue to be kind to others. Kindness is contagious. 

The harder they try to ruin my day, the more I will smile and find joy. It drives the bastards crazy when they don't get to me. 

I will use my energy to make the world a better place. 

When someone is nasty to me, I will pause and think about what horrible thing must have happened in that person's life, for them to be upset and nasty today, and wish them a better day. 

I will enjoy today, we never know when it might be our last day. 

Take care of yourself, don't let the bastards wear you down. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

The Sunday Five: What Are We Up To This Week?

1: Where are you going this week? 

2: What will you do this week? 

3: Will you watch the sunrise one morning this week? 

4: What will bring you joy this week? 

5: Who will you tell that you love them this week? 

My answers:

1: Where are you going this week? Paris. 

2: What will you do this week? Live the grand adventure. 

3: Will you watch the sunrise one morning this week? Most likely, I tend to be a morning person. 

4: What will bring you joy this week? Seeing things I have never seen before, and probably will never see again. 

5: Who will you tell that you love them this week? My Sweet Bear, everyday. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

Short updated/edit. We arrived in Vienna late on Saturday, we are here for five nights, then onto Paris. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Try Something New

Learning a new media, or skill spurs creativity. There is something about being a beginner, that gives us an excuse to try, in ways that we rapidly become ashamed of trying unless we think we become good at the new thing.  The most creative people tend to be serial explorers always trying something new, always a beginner at something. If they stick with it, and practice, practice, practice, they will become good at many things. But even if they don't, they benefit from the experience. 

Trying new things, builds the library in our mind ideas and ways of doing things that our brains then apply to other things.  I learned about color theory from blending paints - not from art classes and color wheels.  I learned about texture from failed attempts to learn to knit. I learned about negative space exploring block printing.  There are tools and supplies for many artforms in my art cart. My bookcase and reading lists are packed with diverse ideas, that fuel my writing. 

Take a flying leap, give it a try, pick up tools and materials, take a class, select a book on something you know nothing about. It will expand your mind and your creativity. 
 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

Funky Friday: The Tapestry of Our Lives

 Carole King sang,

My life has been a tapestry

Of rich and royal hue

An everlasting vision

Of the ever-changing view

A wond'rous woven magic

In bits of blue and gold

A tapestry to feel and see 

Impossible to hold   

I often have flashbacks, to things I have seen, done, heard, experienced, tasted, smelled, felt, that have woven the fabric of my life. The older I get, the richer the mix of experiences. Many of them bring awe and wonder, some funny, some sad, all together the make up the funky person I am today. 

My wish for you today, 

    May your day be filled with flashback memories of the tapestry of  your life.  

Rome to Milan at 150 miles per hour, on a train. What a wonderful way to travel. Milan is a new thread in the tapestry of my life.

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time, edited slightly, and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May.