Camping – A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens

a second look, adventure, Camping, finding my way, fun, Just do it, leap of faith, making memories, moments, natural wonders, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel

A walk in the Tetons…

February 3, 2021February 2, 2021 naturecoastimagesblog

We Floridians are not the hardiest of souls. A blustery 50-degree day will keep us in, declaring it too cold and windy to be outside. In fairness to us we don’t experience this type of weather often, and certainly not for days at a stretch, and we simply don’t have the wardrobe for it. So I took a walk through the Tetons today. In my computer of course, having located the pictures I took over the summer. Thankfully they aren’t lost for good, just not organized well. I have no idea if I will ever get to enjoy the Tetons in person again, but isn’t that why we take pictures? So that we can return for an hour or two, and remember…

this is The Sleeping Indian, do you see him?

There is no rhyme or reason to these pictures, just images I was happy to see again. Now to tuck them away safely so I can find them the next time I decide to go down Memory Lane.

blessings, Camping, connections, family, food, fun, go with the flow, Just do it, live and learn, making memories, moments, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography

Gingerbread houses…

December 20, 2020December 19, 2020 naturecoastimagesblog

The other day I read a Facebook post from a friend that featured a spectacular gingerbread house that someone had spent 3 weeks making. It was amazing, it really was, but I had the thought as I looked at the pictures that I hadn’t ever made a gingerbread house. But that’s before I found a box out front on my doorstep yesterday morning. My daughter said that when she saw a gingerbread kit and the ‘house’ was actually a camper she had to buy it for me. So I was tickled to see what this gift was, but totally intimidated to think that you were supposed to assemble it first and decorate it second. I knew enough about cake decorating from my job at Publix to know that that wasn’t going to work, but I figured that if I decorated the front first that the chances of actually assembling it without everything falling off was going to be slim to none. But I wanted to send my daughter a picture of the finished product so I took a deep breath and started in on it this morning. And as it progressed I was no less anxious about the actual construction.

As you see in the feature photo the camper did survive the construction process, much to my surprise. Actually using that little tube of icing did prove to be as frustrating as I expected it to be, but it stayed put when I assembled it and seemed to work pretty well as glue also. I’m not sure what made me turn Santa around and discover that he is on holiday, but I’m sure he’ll be visiting your houses very soon!

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, Camping, finding my way, fun, Just do it, learning, life goes on, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel

Georgia through the phone…

November 4, 2020November 4, 2020 naturecoastimagesblog

Looking at iPhone photos and came across a couple that I had missed. Black Rock Mountain State Park did offer the most wide-open views of any of the parks we visited. I believe that the write up we saw said that there were 80 mile views, so we knew that the drive to get there would be worth it. There are a few state parks that on the map appeared to be clustered ‘near’ each other, and to drive between them you rode a scenic byway so you could hardly go wrong. Each park was quite small, or maybe it was that I had just been to a couple of huge national parks, but there were overlooks that you could hike to, and even a suspension bridge that we didn’t get to, so another trip one day would be fun. And this area is only 90 minutes or so from Smokey Mountain National Park, which I’m even more excited to visit now that I’ve seen the views from here. So many places left to see…

'scene' along the way, Camping, courage, finding my way, go with the flow, leap of faith, learning, life, life goes on, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel, weather

Places to go…

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 naturecoastimagesblog

Now that I’m home I can say it was a good trip. But maybe I should have given a second thought to a nearly 10 hour drive followed immediately with having to set up the camper. Setting up while trying to beat the sunset. We knew ahead of time that the weather would be good for one day, and then followed by two days of rain, but I didn’t think about cancelling. Reality hit after a day of taking photos that first day, and we again tried to beat the sunset while taking the camper back down that night. And another nearly 10 hour drive home the next day. On the way home I wondered if this was all too much for me, if maybe this camping thing had run it’s course for me. But I’m rested now and I have to think I’m not done yet. There are still places to go, things to see, people to meet…

'scene' along the way, adventure, Camping, finding my way, go with the flow, life goes on, nature, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel, weather

Red leaves…

October 28, 2020 naturecoastimagesblog

We also saw a red door, a red barn, and even a redneck. Nice day of zooming through Tallulah Gorge state park, Black Rock Mountain state park, and Vogel state park in Georgia. Opting to see the easily accessible photo ops because with nothing but rain called for on our next and last two days we decided to pack up the camper dry and then head home today. It was a very nice day, just a shorter trip than expected.

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, Camping, flowers, gardens, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, Uncategorized

Back to the Tetons…

August 16, 2020August 15, 2020 naturecoastimagesblog

Not actually back to the Tetons, just diving back into the photos on my phone. I love the feature photo. More often I saw hills to the east, that light green color mostly, with those dark evergreens following the contours of the land. Here that color looks amazing with the mountains beyond. There was an amazing view every time I went out to see what I could see.

Along with all the wild flowers I was surprised to see along the trails, I also enjoyed my cousin’s yard and deck where her green thumb is readily apparent. I would love for my house to look as charming as hers does, but I’m afraid that I could never put in the work to keep it looking that way. When I was talking to another photographer about tripods and lenses he said that I need a sherpa to carry my stuff around for me, LOL, I agreed. For my yard to look as nice as my cousin’s does I’d need a gardener to keep it alive. I came home determined to make some improvements to the curb appeal of my house, but I’m sitting here talking about it instead of doing something about it. Maybe I’ll get around to it one of these days…