Wild Things

Well, that includes me right? 

When I grew up I wanted to be that kid in the book My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. I read the book and I was going to run off far away. I would escape through my bedroom window at night and go live in....

wait...

I didn't have a mountain to live by. And even if I stole a loaf of bread I'd still have to go home because bread would only keep alive for a bit. But maybe if I got a huge coat and ran off, I could take 2 loaves of bread and walk to my Grandparents' house to live. At 8 years old I wasn't very good at planning so I just stayed home and awaited my chance to go spend the summer at the tiny cottage away from the Suburbs that I disliked so much.

My sister tried running away once and that didn't work well for her either. She ran away to the back side of the garage but didn't stay there. She said it was icky with spiders and 'stuff'. 

I'm not saying that I had a bad childhood, I just thought that living in a tree or cave on my own would be nicer. No mom to yell at me and no sister to have to tolerate. My brother was an okay guy he had his own room which I always thought was terribly cool. 

I can say that we had the coolest family trips. We all went. One of the most memorable ones was the trip out west and back. A road trip in a car that we slept in, ate out of. Not all of the time, there were motels and swimming pools. But I fondly recall trying to go to sleep in the front seat of that old '65 station wagon and staring in wonder at the stars above us through the windshield. 

Fun gazing at Crater Lake 1965:

My father who is rarely ever in the photos as he was always taking them:

Arches National Monument. We camped out. My brother slept on the roof of the station wagon...I think.

The coolest part of the trip for me was not Disney Land or California. It was landing in Shaniko, Oregon. 

We ate a wonderful breakfast at a cool restaurant and outside we met THE Sheriff of Shaniko. 

I mean we really thought he was the sheriff and the law. I mean look at all the badges he had!

[I'm the one the flowered jacket.]

To say that I was thrilled was an understatement.

My father had a knack for finding out of the way places. And this place was a treasure. 

Funny.
I looked it up and it is considered a ghost town. Below is the museum we had our photo taken in front of.

So we did see the mountains and I revised my idea of living on the side of a mountain.

The mountains didn't look that friendly. In fact, they looked very scary.

I can't find a photo of the Grand Tetons, but I recall my Dad proudly announcing that we were approaching them.

My brother looked up from what he was reading and asked Dad if he knew what Grand Tetons meant in French.

Dad did not.

My brother replied: Big Boobs

Amazing how my parents stayed on the road and did not crash the car. I guess I'll never think of the Grand Tetons in any other way.

It was a fascinating trip so full of adventure and surprises. Three weeks of travelling.
I loved our family vacations.

As for the Wild Thing?

Well, I could always pretend.

The Wander-er has returned.

I had to take Lily back home to Wausau, she had to go to Middle School Orientation.

Whoa, does that ever make me feel old!

When we got to her town early we decided to go check out a place that I'd been wanting to visit since last year when Lily and I took our October adventure on Rib Mountain.
I am drawn to water, and love rocks and water. Give me a stream and rocks and some rapids and I can be happy for hours.

Lily and I only stayed a short time, but what we saw made us determined to return.

And we did so on Saturday afternoon.

Welcome to the Dells of Eau Claire. 

The scenery was fantastic. The kids were fascinated by things they found along the river.

This was just below the dam and foot bridge. The kids stopped to look at crayfish and frogs, along with snails and other creepie crawly things.

We eventually made our way down the North trail and I kept getting side tracked by the amazing fungi I kept finding.

I found a lot of Coral Fungi growing next to the path. The hardest part about photographing it was finding intact fungi. The folks who were hiking the trail must not have looked at what they were stepping on. 

A few times Sterling would be curious as to what I was doing crouched so low to the ground and he would come running. He is not yet two years old, so I didn't expect him to understand that I didn't want him to step on the fungi either.

It was a challenge to get a shot of the fungi before he stepped on it trying to look into the camera lens.

Elena had just turned 3 and she had an idea that this 'stuff' was pretty special. She'd ask, "What is that Mamma?"
I'd tell her "Fungi!" and she'd wrinkle her nose. Of course she wanted to touch everything.

Elena helped me set up The Doe and Fox near some Coral Fungi. She enjoyed playing with grandma's toys.

Her favorite toy ended up being the green iguana. She carried that on the rest of the hike. I was afraid she'd lose it, but never fear, when Elena has something she wants, ...she doesn't let go of it.
I was surprised that she actually gave it back to me when I asked.

Both of the little ones loved the trail we walked on. It actually was not a difficult trail at all. Sterling kept taking off like a rocket. His new found freedom of running without a parent yelling at him to stop was probably in the back of his mind.

We found spots along the river to explore and even a spot to just stop and enjoy the rushing water.

It was relaxing. My son Jer loved the place. I hope he decides to come back often as it is only about 20 or so minutes from his apartment.

Before we realized it, ... it was 5pm and we had only gone perhaps a half mile along the trail. We headed back towards the parking lot amidst the little ones' protests.

I decided that a potty break would be a good thing before the trip back.
Elena turned 3 just a couple of weeks ago and is potty trained. So I asked if she wanted to go.
We went in to a stall.

Elena took one look at the pit toilet and let out a yowl! "NO NO NO, I don't have to go! I want out, I want out!"

If you've ever been to a pit toilet in the summer, well, you know they stink and the drop from the seat looks terrifying.

Note to self. Elena would rather squat in the woods than use a pit toilet. And I don't blame her one bit.

I found out that these little ones will be like Lily. Good little adventure-ers. [I'm not sure that is a real word, but I'm going to use it anyway.]

Sunday morning came along and I had to head home. I had to work on Monday morning. My time with the kids and my wandering had come to an end.

However, I'm going to keep the Dells of Eau Claire on my list. I'd like to see it again in the winter.
Perhaps I will go if I wander north again to visit the little ones this fall or near Christmas time.

Gettin' the Itch

I don't know why but every once in a while I get this intense desire to go somewhere and discover something.

I would like to do some traveling and 'seeing'.  I've been thinking about making a journey to see the south shore of Lake Superior and taking in a trip to see the multitude of state parks and waterfalls of northern Wisconsin.

I've even found my mind wandering about and looking at maps to the point where I use Google Maps to find out how long of a drive it is between places I want to see.

I sort of imagine myself going alone. Or perhaps with Morris. Although some parks and trails don't welcome dogs. Alone then would be the choice because then I wouldn't have to worry about him.
Then I wonder if going alone would be fun. Perhaps I'd like to travel and explore with someone else. I thought of my two grand daughters as travel companions. 

When I took a trip to 'shoot' my youngest son's wedding, I booked a room checked the route to drive [no GPS then] used a printed map from Google [have since purchased a good paper map] and plotted my little trip.

I enjoyed myself immensley. The drive was pretty nice even if I missed the motel and had to stop and ask for directions.

But staying on a Lake and having moments of peace and quiet to myself, was priceless.

And it felt good.

I've armed myself with a Garmin now and a good paper map of course. I've upgraded to a 'Smartie-Phone' and have a decent vehicle that begs for travel.

Last year Rich had cancer and my entire year was taken up with caring for him. That was a good thing, I found that I could handle taking care of someone and being there for them. It was an act of devotion and love.

This year we are remodeling the house. The contractor's work is finished and my thoughts keep going back to wandering.

I've started to compile a list of places I'd like to see. And I've discovered that these parks are also open in the winter which gives me a new thought.
I love winter, I love hiking and snowshoeing. I love winter photography.

What if?
I do some winter traveling?

Weather would be a big concern. But...but, the open road still calls.

Pack up your cameras and a light travel bag.

There are things and places out there just waiting to be seen and photographed.

I know.
I can hear the Siren Call.

And the trails are calling to me...

I'm getting itchy feet.

Well, just a quick note...

I am looking forward to the next week or so.  It looks like I will be doing a lot of driving and traveling.

I'll be giving the very nice Garmin Nuvi that hubby has gotten me for Christmas to find my way around Wausau this time!

I'll be back home for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, then back to work for a shift or two then....off again to Kenosha to visit my older son and my mom.

I will be very happy to visit and happier yet to return to the farm and enjoy the hills and valleys.

Of this and that

When the weather is frightfully cold and we need to let the temps come up to a reasonable reading ... like -5 or maybe even 0 before we feel like starting chores...
I get sidetracked with a cup of coffee and some fractal programs.

The first picture of orange colors is from JWildfire.  I've talked about this program a lot and the newest version allows your to pick your own back round to place your newest flame or flames on.

The second shot was a photo of the frost on the window this morning that I edited with Topaz Glow.  It is all the rage right now and I do like the program although I think it can be used more subtly than most are doing with it.
The above example is the far-out end of the spectrum.

Below, I used it to assist in a 'illustrated' type look for the book I'm ... hopefully finishing soon called The Big Journey.
[At the moment, I've hit a bit of writer's block....]

Turning to the weather aspect.  What else is there to say but that it is typical winter weather.  Harsh winds, blowing snow, and cold temps.  I took this shot through the windshield on my way home from town yesterday with my pocket camera.

Yesterday's snow fall is now whipping around like crazy the sun is shining brightly.
The sun should not deceive us though.  The ambient temp is still below zero.

Hurrah for the over the glasses goggles [nearly typed google!] and face masks that make our lives a bit easier.

After chores are muddled through, I am hoping to take a walk to the ridge to capture some of the wonderful lines or formations that the blowing snow creates.

If it proves to be a bit too brutal I'll come back and work either on the book or some graphic art composites.

I have a few edits I'd like to make on some shots I took the other night for Ariel and our My Little Pony escapades.

I also have some skulls that need another layer of paint and perhaps I can take some artistic photos of them for still life.