Janet Brien's photos

I found this lovely madrone leaf a few days ago and had to get my camera because it was such a special sight. It reflects the way things are for me right now too...I'm not in a good place and sometimes it's hard to find the will to do anything at all. I hope things will get better... My Two Insets One of the things that makes me happy is finding mushrooms and right now the micro mushrooms peek out at me when I stare nose-close at the lichen and moss-covered oak trees which these darling, miniscule mushrooms call their home. When I say tiny, they are only about 1/16-1/8" in diameter when full grown! So cute! Finally, it hasn't been snowing lately but the forecast suggests some snowy days in the next week. We'll see, but in the meantime, the inset pano is from a month back when we had a very cold weather pattern roll through. Such a pretty sight! I am very worried about our ipernity friend George ( Tiabunny ), whose home was threatened once again, by the horrific fires in Australia. I hope he is ok. Pam, you are in my thoughts as well, and I'm so happy about your upcoming surgery, though I am worried too because it's some serious business. Hoping that the outcome places you on the path for a much happier lifestyle with improvements in your vision and ability to create as you did before. Thank you all for visiting me when I have not been by for so long. It's so touching. I am sorry I don't have the energy to share with all of you...my life is sucking me dry right now. I feel terrible about neglecting all of my friends. :( Explored on 1/05/20; highest placement #1.

(+13 insets) (please scroll down for information about the insets!) Trip Talk: Moving North to the Fabulous Hub Area of Nanaimo! The second location of our Vancouver Island trip at Living Forest took us 50 miles (80km) north from our first site at Malahat Mountain. We'd been through Nanaimo during the motorcycle trip we'd been on some years before but only had an hour or two to visit. How excited we were to spend a whole week in the area! The Living Forest campground might not have been ideal but the location was fantastic and perfect for our upcoming adventures. Duncan, the City of Totems! The day after we arrived at Nanaimo, we headed off to Duncan, known for its seemingly countless totems erected in the heart of town. In fact, there is a walking tour, complete with green footsteps to show the way. I was a happy little kid with my camera as we made our way from totem to totem, stopping at each placard to read about each carved and painted statue. The indigenous population is proud and thriving on Vancouver Island and wherever they can, local tribes call attention to their history and importance to the community. Duncan's totems are almost all located on the traditional lands of the Cowichan people (Quw'utson), the most populous group in British Columbia. The city began back in 1887, sharing space with the Cowichan tribes. Today both communities are so intertwined that all decisions are made together, taking care to respect everyone's wishes. Each of the symbol-laden totems represent aspects of history, heritage and mythical legend; many are meant to represent a single house with its stories, passed down through the generations. Duncan began its collection of totems in 1985 and is one of the world's largest, currently at 44 as of 2018. It is meant to share this sacred tradition of the Cowichan people and is also a wonderful way to attract visitors. Duncan's Shops Were Fun Too As Steve and I wandered along the meandering trail of green footprints, we stopped here and there at various little shops, including "The Olive Station." Steve was initially excited because the name sounded like a tasting bar for olives--something that he adores. Instead, it was filled with an equally delightful bounty--countless kinds of flavor-infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. (Be sure to click on the link above to see pictures of this cool store!) We spent nearly an hour there as we chatted with the owner and tasted the dizzying varieties. Although it was really hard to make final decisions, we left with two bottles of olive oil in White Truffle and Tuscan Herb and a Balsamic vinegar in Cara Cara Orange-Vanilla. These lovely gourmet treats are something we've savored for special salads and we only wish they were affordable so we could order them nonstop! Not Just Totem Poles! There were other wonderful artistic sights to discover too. Murals, bronzes, traditional-styled artwork and tattoo-like touches painted on walls were really fun to discover--even the graffiti was sometimes photo-worthy! Walking through a square, I noticed a striking Asian sculpture that immediately made me think of Confucius. What do you know? That's what it was, and this one had historical meaning, left on a tasteful plaque that I'm including: Confucius Statue This statue of Confucius was donated by the Wah Sing Chow Family. It is dedicated to the Chinese pioneers who, from the early 1890s, established a Chinatown in the heart of Duncan that stood here for nearly 70 years. The Chinese community continues to make a unique contribution to Duncan's heritage. Wah Sing Chow (b. 1898) arrived in Duncan in 1908. After graduating from high school he studied law and became a human rights activist. He advocated for Chinese immigrants to be treated equally and was a respected community leader until his death in 1962. Cowichan Valley Museum Although we don't generally visit museums, the charming building which housed the Cowichan Valley Museum basically sucked us inside, and what a treat it was! Nearly an hour we spent there, gob-smacked by the eyefuls everywhere we turned our heads. Historical items were placed on every available surface, adorning the walls and ceilings, the floors were covered with historical rugs, and there was even a room set up to show what an old store looked like so many years ago. And every single thing came with its own description of what it was. Truly mind-boggling, Steve and I would move a few steps and just stare, looking from one item to the next and appreciating everything. The sheer amount of time that went into the displays, the information provided, it just completely and utterly blew us away. When we finally left, we both agreed that this particular museum was one of the very best we've ever visited! (Please be sure to visit the link above to see some pictures of the museum so you get an idea of what we saw!) Today's Pictures I am posting a selection of totems that we saw, but have decided not to include the placard descriptions for every one because I think it's just too much. Instead, I've included text for the totems in the main image as insets placed on each totem. (If you are interested in knowing more about all of the totems, there is a complete listing on Duncan's Walking Tour of Totems ) In addition to the totem poles, I have included murals, graffiti and artwork we found around town. Pam, I hope that you had a peaceful, joyful Christmas. You've been in my thoughts and I'm hoping for the best in the coming days for your procedure! *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 12/30/19; highest placement #3.

(+10 insets) (please scroll down for information about the insets!) Trip Talk: Our Stay at Living Forest RV Park , Nanaimo, Vancouver Island Boy, I'll tell you one thing about RV parks. They range in quality from one extreme to the other and some of them are so greedy and money-grubbing that they will stop at nothing to make a buck. When we pulled into Living Forest RV Park , we got excited because we were so impressed by what we saw. Driving towards our reserved spot we were dazzled by the spacious RV sites tucked between groves of huge conifers, lots of room between each camping area--it looked super! However, when we arrived at OUR site, that elevated opinion quickly deflated. It turned out that our reserved location was part of a newly developed area and it was totally ridiculous to the point of being dangerous. The sites were crammed right next to one another with no trees and very few plants between them. In fact, there was barely enough room to put your rig into position. Incredibly, they had to build up the ground to make enough room. This meant that the dirt was soft and at the edges of the sites the dirt fell off down the hillside. They didn't even build embankments to hold the dirt in place! On top of that, trying to back a rig into the site was extremely difficult with almost no room for error. And just to add insult to injury, if anyone needed to drive by they would be stuck until we were in position. We have no idea what they were thinking except that it was high season and they needed more room in a hurry. In any event, Steve was totally infuriated (and my nerves were fried) after he spent 15 minutes trying to get the trailer backed into our site properly. Just when he nearly gave up and drove to the office to give them a piece of his mind, he was successful at inching the trailer into place, with no room to spare. Talk about stressful!! That being said, if you ignored the area where our RV was located, the park was wonderful. During our trip, we learned that Vancouver Island has many marshlands and Living Forest sits right where the Nanaimo River empties out into the bay. The view was pretty from our campsite but when we hopped on our bikes and went down to the shore, we were awed by the beauty. About Today's Main Image and Associated Insets The marshland abutted a protected bay and there at the bottom of the Living Forest's hill was a boat launch and also a pretty gazebo (which is also the feature of today's presentation). Steve and I had a lot of fun with our panoramas but spent plenty of time staring out over the water too. I found some gorgeous woodland views that included the marsh through the trees. It was a wonder. Later we decided to ride our bikes around the whole park. It was big enough (53 acres) that walking on every road would have taken quite some time so we were happy to have the excuse to take a bike tour. It was obvious that the park had been there for quite some time and in the wooded areas tucked away from ocean views we found the park's full-time residents. The condition of these RVs varied from nice to completely dilapidated but the folks we passed by smiled and waved hello. The Story of Some of Today's Insets Just as we were heading back to our RV, Steve put on the brakes and slowed to a stop in front of some odd artwork standing outside of a full-timer's RV. Hopping off our bikes we stood and stared. What the heck were we looking at, anyway?! A group of animated-like characters in bright colors had our attention and we could see they were meant to be likenesses of tv cartoons, though we couldn't say which. Steve laughed aloud when he realized the commonality of every artwork. "PROPANE TANKS! They are all made from used propane tanks!" (Propane is the fuel used in RVs and every rig has at least a couple of these tanks.) I exclaimed in agreement, "YEAH!! Woah, that's so cool!!" Nearly every piece was made from a propane tank or oxygen cylinder, with other pipes and fittings used for legs and appendages. Old BBQ grills and other pieces found at an RV dumpsite were all put to artistic use and we chattered back and forth as we identified another item. We were delighted! How CLEVER AND FUN! Though we couldn't identify some of the animated characters, we exclaimed out loud, "PIKACHU!" "BATMAN!" "A LEGO KNIGHT!" "STAR WARS TIE FIGHTER!" "THE ENTERPRISE surrounded by SHUTTLECRAFT!" "A PIRATE SHIP!" I looked up on a tree nearby and yelled, "LADYBUGS and a DRAGONFLY!" "A TRAIN LOCOMOTIVE AND CARGO CAR!" What fun we had!! After looking online for a while, I discovered that the trio of animated characters we didn't recognize are from a show called "Rick and Morty", though I still cannot identify the hilarious-looking purple one. I found a Rick and Morty Wiki page that shows all of the characters but there are just too many to look through. If you find out which one the purple one is, please let me know! :D Pam, have you ever been much of an animated show watcher? As a kid I love them to a degree but honestly, most were just too totally stupid and I couldn't stand them. Saturday mornings were always fun though, I'd sit and watch the garbage until noon. As an adult, I've always been crazy about anything Pixar of course. I used to enjoy Disney movies but they slowly descended in the realm of merchandised trash and I am generally disgusted by it all. On the other hand, Japan's "Disney," Hayao Miyazaki, is amazing, and the film, "My Neighbor Totoro" is my all-time favorite animated film, one that brings out my inner child and reduces me to tears upon every completed viewing. My favorite American animated film, "The Iron Giant" is a VERY strong second thought, and also turns me into a heap of blubbering tears at its end. Great stuff! *MANY HUGS from southern Oregon* :) Explored on 12/17/19; highest placement #13.

(+10 insets!) (view large for more fun details!) ACK! Where Have I Been?! My apologies for the absence and my lack of visits. I'm guilty of diving into an online game that I love, and it's swept me away with its extreme engagement. The game of RIFT allows me to do things I cannot do in real life and every once in a while I just gotta go be a magical being. I'm not "full" yet so I won't be around here very much until I'm satisfied. I'm going to do my best to post and visit but please forgive my lag in participation! Today's Pictures Today I'm posting the last set from our incredible hike at Eastern Sooke Regional Park. Places like this are why we love to travel. Our eyes were opened to the extreme beauty of Vancouver Island's southern coastline and we learned the difference between normal hiking trails in Canada vs. the US. Although this particular trail turned out to be the most extreme of the entire trip on the island, it made us aware that trails tend to be a bit tougher and wild, with assumptions that the hiker is naturally careful and fit enough to take on challenges along the way. Game on! We loved it so much! My main picture shows another lovely coastal view, accented by Secretary Island in the distance. If you look on the beach in the lower left you'll see the enormous driftwood tree stump that I shared in my last set (I'll add the picture again as an inset). Insets of our hike include: a neat panorama of the beach at the beginning of the hike which will give you a sense of the beauty of the area, a group of mushrooms I found, some atmospheric forest images, dried peapods with peas inside, and an oil tanker in the misty distance. I'm also posting pictures of an old bus that was parked at the RV campground we were staying at. It was so old and decrepit that I couldn't resist immortalizing it! Of course I needed to find out more. First off, there are many people who have taken old busses and turned them into travel coaches. The front of this bus has a backwards sign reading "Re-Tyred" and I expect that it has seen a lot of country in its day. Digging further, I learned that this was one of the busses used in Canada's Greyhound fleet, made by Motor Coach Industries in 1950. I am so happy I took pictures because they turned out really well! :) Finally, I'm including a picture of our Grey Wolf trailer and our truck, parked at our Malamat Mountain RV campsite. This location turned out to be perfect for us. Only about 30 minutes from Victoria, just minutes from Goldstream Provincial Park and about 45 minutes-hour from East Sooke Regional Park, it was a very nice hub to base our southern Vancouver Island adventures. The RV "resort" was a bit run-down but nice enough. Many people actually lived there full-time, something we noticed a lot of on our travels. There was a very homey quality to the place and our experience there was very nice. Pam, what's the weather like for you right now? It's been raining cats and dogs on and off for the past few days. I'm glad because it's been an extremely dry fall and early winter and we really need to get the water table rebuilt. Is it dry where you live too? I sure do hope that you are feeling well and shoring up your energies for your upcoming procedure. I'm very happy to read that things are moving along…now you just need to set the appointment! *GREAT BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 12/13/19; highest placement #5.

(+9 insets!) (Please scroll down to Today's Pictures for inset information) Continuing with Our Vancouver Island Trip! The drive out to East Sooke Regional Park on Vancouver Island was really beautiful and took us on twisting roads with lovely views of forest and coast. I'd seen pictures and read reviews--the Coast Trail was raved as a MUST NOT MISS hike, and so we went! They were right, and this walk turned out to be one of the most scenic coastal hikes we'd ever been on in our lives! This lovely park features more than 50km amongst its dozens of trails that showcase Sooke's breathtaking forest and coastal scenery. The area was historically prized for its natural resources--logging, mining and fishing--but today you'd never know how important it was in this regard. Instead, this park is now a jewel for all who love the outdoors, with facilities for picnics and group outings as well as challenging remote trails which require a pickup if an entire hike is attempted. We would very much love to go back to this area and spend a couple of weeks traversing its trails. The jaw-dropping beauty was astonishing and though we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to, our choice of the most popular Coastal Trail was perfect. One of the things we weren't prepared for was how much climbing and scrambling we would be doing to follow the trail. In fact, there were many places where the only way we knew where to go was to search out the little yellow trail markers which pointed the way. It was a lot of fun though, and both of us are in fine shape for arduous treks and so we loved the adventure of occasionally needing to find our way! Now, had the trail been straight and easy to negotiate, we might have been able to walk the extent of this amazing out-and-back hike, but it was not to be. It didn't help that we started later than we wanted to and took longer to get to the trail head than we expected. As we set out on the wide, straight walkway that made a beeline from the parking lot out to the trail head at the coast, we wished we'd had our bikes with us. The park, however, didn't allow them. Once we got to the start of the Coast Trail, it soon became obvious why bikes were denied—at least on this trail. Almost immediately there were rocks and roots on the path and some very steep bits on an extremely narrow path. Then we found ourselves imitating billy goats as we crawled up and over huge, mountainous chunks of lichen and moss-covered rocks. I couldn't help myself from stopping to appreciate the colorful succulent, sedum, which clung in great clumps to crevices in the stone. How odd, I thought, to find this plant here, of all places! In any event, we were soon laughing hysterically at our desire to ride our bikes on this trail. Hah! Even the most masterful of mountain bike riders would not be able to negotiate some of the areas we traversed. Bike riding indeed! And so in the end, we had to turn around much earlier on the trail than we'd hoped. However, as we usually do, we found a fine place for our lunch and sat with a beautiful view of the coast to look out on. We munched happily on our sausage, cheese, and fauxtato salad (incredible potato salad made with cauliflower) and talked blissfully about this amazing place we were so lucky to have the chance to visit. Today's Pictures My main picture is one of the amazing coastal views that we got to see along the trail. The cove that's dotted with floating bull kelp had us both picturing how wonderful it would be if we were scuba diving there, though it would certainly be very cold! The insets I'm sharing show some of the cool finds we discovered along the way. It was such a treat to find a number of mushrooms and I was very happy that my Sony was able to take nice pictures that I could share! Other images include the wide, sun-dappled path out to the coast, lots of coastal views and forest highlights as well. ENJOY! Pam, I know you love places like this and Steve and I mentioned you in our conversation as we sat eating our lunch. I don't think you would have appreciated the extremely strenuous nature of the hike though! It was sometimes such a treacherous climb that the little yellow trail signs—literally pounded into the rock face—showed a picture directing people to take turns one by one, so as to keep rocks from falling onto the person below! YIKES! Still, it was great fun and heck, we'd just pick you up and piggy-back you along for the ride! HAH! Ok, well, Steve would do that part but I'd take pictures! :D :D Hope this cold, rainy and misty day is treating you well in your neck of the woods! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon! Explored on 12/09/19; highest placement #20.

(+12 insets!) (Please scroll down to Today's Pictures for inset information) OMG My Eyes! Turn Off the Light! I was awoken this morning to the lights blazing overhead and the beep of power coming on in the house. In my bleary state I thought to myself, "Oh wow, we must have had a power outage." At the same time I was happy that the power was restored before we got up. We'd had a wind advisory last night, though it wasn't windy enough that we noticed. I guess it depended on where you were because the power lines came down somewhere. Starting the Day with Pumpkin Though I was so rudely awoken, it was a good time to get up, so up I popped! Pumpkin and I started our day as usual--she supervising my shower and laughing at me--and we whistled together as I dressed. While I prepared her cage she checked out the extremely interesting space between the bureau and the wall where I'd set her down, turning her head to peer with one eye into the dark abyss that so fascinated her. The funny gronking sounds she made to express her opinion made me laugh, and she followed suit, which made me laugh even more. What a silly bird, and how I love her! :) Downstairs in the kitchen, I deposited Pumpkin onto her custom perch that Steve made--complete with food and water cups--where she enjoyed nibbling on warm, moistened seed-filled bread. While she looked out the kitchen window with great interest, she kept an eye on my activities as any proper supervisor should do. Whistling back and forth, laughing together and making silly sound effects, I made my coffee and got her food bowl ready. She's had this healthy blend for the nearly 20 years of her life with us since she was just 6 months old--a mixture of carrots, celery, bell pepper, corn and apple, topped with wheat berries, red pepper flakes, another piece of bread and a pecan--her glowing feathers and excellent health show that we're doing something right! :) Nothing but the best for our darling feathered child! Soon we returned upstairs so she could have her breakfast. Apparently I wasn't moving fast enough because she strained towards her cage as we approached and hopped off my finger to turn and dance back and forth as I put her food cup in place and closed her cage door. I smiled as she gronked in happiness and dove into her food. What a doll. Before I left the room I opened my laptop to play a music playlist from YouTube that she seems to really enjoy-- "Happy Hawaiian Music" ...but wait... No internet. Hmmm, that was a problem…without her music, Pumpkin gets very fussy and yells very loudly to let us know that her tunes aren't playing. I checked the network and…yep. No dice. What was going on, I wondered. Solving the Mystery of No Internet Wandering into our game room, I noticed our router and modems were off…no power anywhere. Flipping the switch on the power strip didn't do a thing. My computer was on though, but I had no internet. Odd. I wondered if the fuse had popped and some of our devices were on that one? I went to the basement to check the fuse box. Everything was fine there. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up Steve for his assistance but if I didn't, Pumpkin would soon start yelling, which would wake him up in a much less-pleasant way. Cringing inwardly, I opened the door to Steve's bedroom (we sleep separately because he snores and we finally realized it was the best solution so we could get a good night's sleep) and gently roused him. I was relieved that he didn't mind the wake-up as he wanted to start his day anyway. He confirmed the internet situation and was soon in the game room to investigate. Peering at our computer setups, he saw the answer and said, "Two of the three UPS's (Uninterruptible power supply and surge suppressor) are off…must have happened with the power outage." He pressed the power buttons on each of them and they beeped and whirred back to life. A few moments later, everything was back to normal and Life Could Resume! :D Today's Pictures This is my last set from Joseph Stewart State Park--my second set of pictures from my metal-detecting adventure, along with my other treasures from home. My main picture is a bit of a mystery because I'm not exactly sure what it is. Could be the button on a shirt, the closure at the top of a child's pants, or maybe even an earring. There's a little hollow post centered in the back and I cannot figure out what it might be. Pretty though and a fine metal detecting prize to share today! Insets include the other finds at the park--four recent pennies, a gloriously rusty tack, a buckshot ball used with a shotgun which I processed like a planet, and a broken zipper pull that I found buried near our trailer. The pictures I'm sharing from finds at home include plenty of fun prizes! Another view of the Winchester 300 casing, a Hamm's beer can advertising the exciting aluminum can, a bent fence-keeper wire, the largest piece of shrapnel I've found, care of Camp White, a spoon found in the dirt next to our road, a pair of dimes, four bottle caps found at a rest stop at Rogue River, and finally, a motorcycle chain rusted into position! Pam, thank you for the lovely prize you mailed to me…it arrived yesterday and both Steve and I were very touched by your festive gesture. :) Here's hoping that Santa brings you something wonderful towards your recovery! *BIG HUGS on this COLD DAY* from Janet and Steve! Explored on 12/06/19; highest placement #13.

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(+10 insets!) (Please scroll down to Today's Insets and Final Thoughts about Photography at Joseph Stewart for added picture information) This will be my last set of nature pictures from our trip to Joseph Stewart State Park (I have another set of metal detector finds to finish off my trip pictures). My main image is one of my very favorite macro subjects! For the Love of Mushrooms Have you ever gone out with the specific intention to find mushrooms? They aren't always easy to locate! On my first outing with my macro lens, I kept my eyes open for mushrooms while I took pictures of leaves and other things but I didn't see any. I wasn't really focused on them at the time though and I figured there were plenty of them in deeper forest locations. The next day, Steve and I went on a favorite walk which took us past the edge of a thick stand of trees. Ah-hah! That's where they were hiding! There were bunches of them just off the side of the path and a little while later I came back with my camera to take pictures. One of the things that made it hard to find them were all of the leaves covering them up. I kept my eyes open for curious lumps in the piles of leaves I saw and often revealed a wonderful prize underneath with a careful brushing. When I take pictures of mushrooms, I do a lot of preparation beforehand. I remove anything I can that obscures or detracts, especially from the background. All it takes is one stem behind a subject to totally ruin an otherwise lovely bokeh, so I'm fastidious about making the scene as tidy as possible. I've learned though that taking time beforehand will make it much easier when I'm processing the image later. The mushrooms I found at John Stewart were almost all hiding under leaves and I wanted to share that experience if I could. As I uncovered them and cleaned up each scene, I tried to keep a leaf or two exactly where it was if it enhanced the image. As I revealed this mushroom, I got a huge smile on my face. Cuddled against it was a partially disintegrated black oak leaf. Wearing this leafy cloak of courage, the brave little mushroom turned to peer up at me and my huge, imposing camera. It watched curiously as I cleared the area, carefully pulling bits of grass and twigs out of the way. I cooed gently to soothe its trembling when I reached down to remove a bit of dirt from its head. The warm sound of my voice must have been strange but it relaxed and appeared to be happy now. There! Everything was just perfect and I crawled backwards to compose and capture a set of images. While I clicked my way through apertures, I thought about the nice time I had taking these pictures of mushrooms. So many different kinds, sizes and neat groupings. As I gazed back at the darling mushroom and its little leaf, I knew this was my favorite one of all. Today's Insets and Final Thoughts about Photography at Joseph Stewart The fun subjects never ended as I wandered around…the first inset looks a lot like a cluster of grapes but it's actually a dried bunch of flowers on a bush, magnificently lit up in the autumn sunshine. I was so happy to get the chance to get some fall pictures because I didn't go out on any seasonal photo shoots. I had hoped there would be some nice pictures to find at Joseph Stewart and I sure did hit pay dirt! You will see lots of leaves that I liked (including one sitting next to the water hookup valve at our site), another colorful meadow scene, a pine cone, and even a stump that was totally covered with lovely bracket fungus! I didn't spend too much time with my camera while we were at the park--perhaps an hour at most?--and yet, look at all of the wonderful things I found. What fun it was to relax and melt into my passion. :) Pam, I'm hoping that you're feeling better today…I know you said it's been very painful after your procedure. Wishing for a day of comfort and anticipation for the next steps in your recovery! *BIG HUGS* :) Explored on 12/04/19; highest placement #2.

(+11 insets!) (Please scroll down to "Today's Pictures for inset information) Trip Talk: Little Upgrades and the First Two Projects: Our Bedrooms! Our new trailer is going to be a perfect way to travel around the country! That being said, we need to upgrade some things before we are satisfied with its current state. Steve's done lots of little additions around the place, such as adding felt dots and rubber bumpers to doors so they close quietly and don't bang into walls. We noticed they neglected to put caps on the recessed screw holes here and there so we got those. Lots of things like that. But also, there are four projects that we planned on right away: our beds, the coffee bar/charging center, and our computer/gaming stations. Today I'll cover the beds! The Beds: Steve's (You can see the location on Inset 1 and look at "A") First off, we needed to upgrade the sleeping situation. The first and easiest fix was the master bedroom. It came with a king-sized mattress stuffed into a queen-sized space, ugh! How ridiculous to stand in there trying to find room next to that silly bed! Steve quickly fixed this by sawing down the bed's platform to a proper size. When we put a queen-sized mattress in place of the ginormous king-sized bed, suddenly it was like a breath of fresh air! For the first time since we've owned the coach, the master bedroom FEELS like a master bedroom! Sheesh. We are astonished by the propensity of people who want everything to be LARGER. What type of person would WANT a king-sized bed? They are entirely too HUGE! The Beds: Janet's (See Inset 1: "B") The second part of this equation was my bed. The Avalanche has a new and rare layout called a "mid-house bunk room." Ordinarily this is a double-decker platform ("bunk house") located in the back of the coach, which is what our Grey Wolf had. I used the bottom bunk as my private little nest and I loved it in the beginning. However, by the time we got back from our six-week Vancouver Island trip, I was DONE. All of the sideways wriggling in and out of the foot-accessible-only bed got to be intolerable, especially at three in the morning when I needed to make a bathroom run. I couldn't even sit up completely unless I wanted to bang my head. No amount of coziness could make up for that cramped and totally annoying sleeping situation. This became a defining criteria for choosing our full-timing rig. The perfectly tiny bunk room in the Avalanche is located half-way between the back and front of the coach and is even has *gasp* actual doors (as opposed to curtains)! It came with an attractive couch which folded out to entirely fill the room with a classic, uncomfortable, temporary bed. No thanks. I did sleep on it when we stayed at Joseph Stewart State Park but we also put a gel-foam topper on it to make it reasonably comfortable. No worries...we had a plan! We took out the couch and in its place, Steve built a platform to fit the 38" x 72" space. When completed, there will be three spacious drawers underneath, but for now the frame is in place and it's absolutely perfect! What about the Mattress? At first we were at a loss. Custom-made anything almost always means sky-high prices and that's all we could find as we combed the search results. Finally I found pay-dirt! The Military Supply House makes mattresses of any size with a zillion options, all at a totally affordable price. We paid about $230 to get mine made and when it arrived, we were both totally blown away. It's gorgeous, soft but supportive, impeccably made and sewn, and best of all, it is EXACTLY the right size! We were so impressed that we're ordering another one in queen size for Steve's mattress! (The temporary mattress in place right now was borrowed from our guest bedroom so we could go to Joseph Stewart.) A Perfect Room for Janet The difference in that petite room is amazing. It's no longer an awkward nook with a little sofa in it that folds out. Now it's got an exactly-sized bed with lots of room to move around. There's a spacious countertop on the opposite side and I'll be able to add a chair to sit and use my laptop. With this arrangement I'll be able to write and work on my photography without distraction. What an upgrade!! The situation I had in the Grey Wolf quickly began to drive me crazy. I'd wriggle into my lower bunk bed, crawl into place, turn over to sit down, drag my computer onto my lap, position my mouse next to me and finally I'd open the laptop. It was such an ordeal to get everything properly set up that getting back out again was really annoying. Granted, it was a wonderful, cozy place to hang out but once I was there, I didn't want to move...it was too much effort! So you can see why I'm so over-the-moon with my wonderful little bedroom in the Avalanche! (Note: you may wonder why I'm in the little room and Steve is in the master bedroom. This is because Steve is 6'2 and I am 5'4. He cannot fit into that little bed but it's the perfect length for me. I also wanted to have my own space for writing and creating without being disturbed. The master bedroom doesn't have a desk area. The situation is absolutely ideal for us! Oh, and in case you didn't know this yet, we sleep apart because Steve snores and we prefer restful nights!) Today's Pictures It's another installment from Joseph Stewart State Park! The main picture was the view we saw from our coach every morning, can you believe it?! Stepping just outside, I took this picture of gorgeous light and shadows streaming through the trees that surrounded our trailer. How amazing it was to be here, and yet the park is a mere 45 minutes away!! The first inset today is a graphic to show the layout of our Avalanche 365MB with areas noted for the projects we're working on. (I'll talk about the other projects in a later blog.) The rest of the insets are more subjects that I found while I was blissfully wandering around with my camera. You will notice lots of lovely fall leaves, but also mushrooms and even a ridiculous sign on a path sprayed on by someone who has dyslexia! ENJOY! Pam, today it's such a bright and beautiful day, I can't stop smiling when thinking about the hopeful situation for you that's coming up. There is nothing like hope. Now there is a large sprig to grasp onto and I'm so glad!! Have you recovered from your procedure and feeling better? I'm wishing the best for you and sending lots of *HUGS* your way! Explored on 12/02/19; highest placement #7.

(+6 insets!) (please view large!) For info about the pictures today, please scroll down, down, down to "Today's Pictures". Trip Talk: Taking Time to Relax on a Trip Steve and I know all about the problems of trying to pack too much into a trip. Even when we specifically built in extra time for a destination or made sure to do less, we still felt stressed out over the desire to see more. It's made us realize that when we travel, we need to spend a lot more time at each place so we can relax and enjoy ourselves. This tradeoff means we won't see as many places but we'll feel much more satisfied and happy with each destination. It's important to have the freedom to say, "Today we're just going to hang out and do nothing." So, when we went to Joseph Stewart State Park, we made no plans except to relax and enjoy ourselves however that meant. It helped that we'd been there before and knew what to expect. Neither of us felt compelled to visit all that the park had to offer. We just did whatever we felt like with no agenda. The Joy of Being In the Moment with my Macro Lens... It was GREAT! I got to spend all the time I wanted to creep around with my macro lens and just "be." I took my camera out on several outings that were just for me--my very favorite situation! When I can just do whatever I want and have no constraints on my time, I open up and just drift around, exploring without any worries. Sometimes I just stand still, listening and looking around to see what captures my attention. It's one of the ways I find special subjects, but the only way I can do this is if I'm free to let time pass without worry. Scoping Out Subjects! One day Steve, Pumpkin, and I went on a wonderful walk (we have a "front-pack" carrier for her that allows her to be outside but still be protected ) and as we strolled along, Pumpkin whistled and carried on happily as she looked around and munched on her food. I kept my eyes open for macro subjects because I planned to return with my camera. I got more and more excited as we found countless mushrooms, interesting leaves, and plenty of other things. After we returned to the trailer I bounced out the door with my camera to retrace our steps. I made sure to take my walkie-talkie with me so Steve and I could stay in contact. Out there our phones had no signal so having those walkies was a great alternative. The range is also very impressive--seems like I can be nearly a mile away and we can still reach each other. Is She Dead? I spent about an hour wandering back to all of the things we'd seen, blissfully taking pictures as I went. At one point I was splayed out on the ground in the middle of the path--a common position for me, lol! I was focusing on a group of darling mushrooms when I heard the campground hosts approaching in their atv. The second they saw me I heard the atv slow down as they tried to figure out if the person laying there was alive or not, heh. I knew what they were thinking so I immediately sat up and moved around so they didn't worry. Reassured, I heard the atv speed up again and I crawled over to the side of the path, grinning to myself. We all waved and said hi as they drove by and I couldn't help noticing the look of relief on their faces. About ten minutes later I heard them returning from their little trip and moved off the path again so they could drive by. I wonder how many crazy macro photographers they've encountered as camp hosts? Probably just me I'm guessing, judging by their reaction! Magic Happens When You're Not Rushed I continued my macro walk for a while longer until I felt creatively "full". I was about to turn around when I noticed glinting from a large conifer in the distance. It appeared to have many sawed-off lower branches and though I couldn't see from where I was, I wondered if it would be worth taking a closer look. My curiosity about the glimmers I saw got the better of me and I strolled over to investigate. What was that I was seeing?! Why, there was sap oozing out from every sawed-off branch! All around the tree, the resin formed countless beautiful golden droplets that seemed frozen in place. They were actually dripping very, very slowly , but even warm weather wouldn't make the sap drip fast enough to watch. At least that's my experience. I've seen resin droplets on trees when it's hot and though the sap is more liquid in appearance, it drips too slowly to see. Taking a closer look, I was totally blown away by the beautiful globules. Though the sun was just about to drop behind the trees, I'd caught the light at exactly the right moment and some of the droplets were glowing in the last beams hitting them. Working quickly, I evaluated the best droplets to photograph before I lost the sun. Around the tree I creeped, clicking away and hoping that I'd be successful getting at least one crisp picture in each set. As I composed my pictures, I couldn't keep myself from exclaiming, "WOW!!" I've seen plenty of resin droplets over the years but I cannot recall every seeing so much on one tree. The poor tree was probably suffering, with so much of its "blood" flowing out through the cuts all over it. Hopefully the pine beetles don't get to it before it can recover from the damage. In any event, the sap did allow me to take dozens of pictures that show how incredibly lovely the droplets can be. Today's Pictures I'm sharing a total of seven resin pictures from my visit to this wonderful tree. It was tough to decide which one to lead with…let me know if you have a favorite! Pam, I thought I remembered a picture you took of pine sap so I looked it up… wow! Three awesome posts, two of which are super cool collages! I love that you appreciate these natural jewels as I do. This tree would have you yelling and screaming when it got too dark to take pictures! :D I really would have loved to go back the next day to take more pictures but it wasn't in the cards. However, I'm mightily pleased with my results of about 10 minutes of frantically getting pictures before the light left! Been thinking about you all day…so happy about the news and so is Steve. I have my fingers crossed for improvements in the future! So glad for this win! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 11/26/19; highest placement #4.

(+13 insets!) (please view large!) For info about the pictures today, please scroll down, down, down to "About Today's Main Picture". And yes, I know, I know…War and Peace…get your coffee or fall asleep! Trip Talk: Metal Detecting is Great Fun! About six months ago my younger brother got his hands on a metal detector, something that I was curious about too. Soon he was sending me pictures of his finds and relating the fun adventures he went on to get them. I couldn’t get enough! I was always asking him for updates--what did he find today?! I just loved the idea of snooping around with an odd-looking device, hearing beeps and then digging up something buried for who knows how long. No matter what Brian found--junk like nails, screws, bottle caps…or extra cool prizes like lost jewelry, coins, or even military medals--I was bouncing up and down to congratulate him on his treasure. A couple of weeks into September, Steve surprised me with an early birthday present…a metal detector! In all truth, he actually didn't have it for me then because he wasn't sure which one I wanted. We decided to get an inexpensive one from Costco to find out how much I liked this hobby. Immediately I was digging up my own treasures, all on our own property! Almost everything was metal junk--nails, screws, wire, lumps of melted metal from past fires in the area--but I also found fun stuff like a dog collar, pennies, nickels and dimes, and even a fork and spoon! Since it was obvious I really enjoyed this hobby, we returned the cheap version and bought a much better metal detector which hobbyists really love. And I love it too! :) Strange Bits of Metal…or Are Those Meteorites? While I was out looking for treasure, I also found bunches of odd, extremely corroded metal fragments. Sometimes as deep as a foot underground but mostly close to the surface or laying on the ground, these bits of metal were spread out seemingly everywhere on our 26 acres. I found them in the meadows and in the forest, on our hill and all around the house. As I continued to dig them up, I pondered what they might possibly be. The only thing that might make sense was shrapnel…but…HOW?! Since when was our property a war zone? The more bits I dug up, the more perplexed I became. Hopping on the internet, I began to look for clues. I knew that our town, White City, was home to the WWII military installation, Camp White, but it didn't answer my questions. It was a dozen miles away and totally remote compared to the bustling area just north of Medford. Then I discovered a popular, nation-wide metal detecting forum which had a place where I could introduce myself. Along with my greeting, I asked if anyone had thoughts about the metal shards featured in the picture I included. I crossed my fingers that somebody could help me out. Lo' and behold, one of the friendly folk spoke up and announced that he knew EXACTLY what I had and where it came from. How could he know so definitively? He lived less than a mile from me and his property was covered in these shards too! Initially believing these strange, heavy chunks to be from a meteor, my new friend wrote to a university professor. Following the advice he got, he bought a test kit which would tell if the fragments were indeed other-worldly. However, the results were negative. Back to the drawing board, he then found out about Camp White and dug further until he discovered the answer we both so badly needed. He was delighted to tell me what he learned! Camp White purchased the entire area where we lived and it was used for artillery exercises! For miles around, the land was heavily bombarded with all kinds of ammunition, missiles, bombs, and the like. After the war was over, an effort was made to use bulldozers to turn the soil in heavily-hit areas and bury much of the shrapnel. One detail shocked me: the area was also littered with unexploded ammunition and signs were erected to warn people of the danger. The last unexploded ammunition was found years ago but it's likely there are more, which is really chilling to think about. Over the years, memories of Camp White's use of the area were gradually forgotten and today it's fair to assume that most residents have no clue what's scattered around on their land, or where it came from. Just like I was saying in my last post, most people--myself included--put history on the back burner and so the rich history of where I live is lost to the majority of its inhabitants. Once Again, History is an Important Key to Full Understanding When I finally learned what I'd been finding on my property, it hit home in a big way for me. I held a piece of shrapnel in my hand and thought about how it came to be here. I read the articles online about Camp White and watched the documentaries I located. For the first time since we moved here a dozen years ago, I finally felt like I knew this place. No matter how many picture's I've taken, or exploration I've done, or people I've met…it was these pieces of metal which gave me a true understanding of where I lived and one of the important stories in its history. It's a funny thing to realize how important history is. It's something we've been told all our lives but it's so easy to brush off and ignore as a waste of time. Especially if you really don't understand WHY it makes a difference to your present self. This lesson added another speck of wisdom to my life and I am so happy to gain this knowledge--and a true reason to learn about history! About Today's Pictures: When Steve and I stayed at Joseph H. Stewart State for a few days, I made sure to pack my metal detector! In fact, I'd made sure that it was ok to use my cool new toy there. (If you're interested, here's the Oregon State Parks page on metal detecting. There are laws against using metal detectors in many places and a million rules about what you can and can't do, what you can keep, what tools you can use, and how to conduct yourself. I was delighted to learn that it was ok to use my detector there because most parks are off-limits. In this park, I was allowed to detect at my campsite and any unoccupied sites on our camping loop. Also, I could snoop around other areas within the loop so long as I was respectful about keeping everything neat and tidy. I had a wonderful time cruising around and digging up all sorts of stuff. Of course I found plenty of junk--nails, screws, wire, aluminum foil, pull-tabs, etc--but I also found neat stuff too! In fact, I found so many fun objects that I'm going to share two sets of pictures over the next few days. Half of each set will include pictures of prizes I found at Joseph Stewart, and the other half will be pictures of stuff I found on our property. You may need to stifle your laughter over the "artwork" I've created from some of this stuff but I couldn't help myself! :D Hopefully you guys enjoy the show! Main Picture: One of the places I snooped around was the wonderful little playground in the center of our "A" Loop, which was a large, beautiful meadow dotted with oaks, maples and conifers. The second I saw that playground I couldn't WAIT to get over there with my metal detector!! In front of one of the swings, I got some high-quality "silver" beeps from my detector and after some digging, I discovered a pretty little bead from a necklace or maybe a bracelet. "OH! I wonder if there's more!" YES, THERE WERE!! As I searched the area, I found four silver-plated oblong ferrule beads and three more of the round, textured beads. HAPPY DAY!! Insets from Joseph Stewart: a bottle cap, hair clip, a child's ring, an electrical spade connector and a button cell battery. Insets from home and nearby: a selection of shrapnel found around our property, a piece I call "Cowboy Art" (a circle of baling wire that somebody squeezed into this fun shape!), a cookie dough press form, a corroded penny, a fish hook and swivel (found at the edge of the Rogue River), a fork (in the front yard! :D), a flattened pencil top and a Winchester 300 casing on end. Pam, I know you expressed an interest in metal detecting, and I don't blame you--it really is a lot of fun. But it can also be really boring when you find a dozen pieces of junk in a row. Or when you dig and dig and can't find the prize! The nice thing about better metal detectors is that you can make it ignore metals common in nails and screws, but you still find the better-quality ones which are made of mixed metals. You can see by my presentation here that I am delighted by my otherwise silly prizes…a grungy bottle cap is cool? YES IT IS!! :D I do wish we could play together with this detector! :D Just imagine the artwork we'd come up with for our piles of nails and screws! :D :D I hope you're having an ok day my dear, my thoughts are with you!! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 11/24/19; highest placement #4.

Trip Talk: History is the missing puzzle piece to "KNOWING" a place! I must admit that I haven't made much time in my life for history since I graduated high school. I enjoy the subject but it's so…yesterday! Present day and future events have always grabbed my attention and left me saying to myself, "I'll look into the history of this later." Except that I never get around to it…and now I'm 55 years old and most of the history I learned as a student has drifted away over the years. Lately I've come to realize how much I've neglected the past. More importantly though, I've been presented with compelling reasons to add history back into my life. Here's a question for you: how do you get to know a place you've visited? In other words, what do you do when you traveled somewhere, in order to walk away feeling totally satisfied that you got a true feeling of a place? This is something I've pondered since I began travelling as a 21-year-old and in the end, my answers never quite sit right. The first idea I came up with was, "Take pictures!" Well, that's certainly a really big step but it's not the whole answer, is it? "What about making videos?" Heck, I've never even tried that but I can tell that it's also just a facet and wouldn't be the whole answer. "Get to know the locals!" That's a good one! Still, you'd have to talk to a lot of people to get a true feeling of a place. "Write about your experiences there!" Definitely a strong choice and this really gives an immersive quality to the place you visited. One of my favorites is, "Hike, cycle, walk all over the area…see as much of the area as possible!" Now that's a really awesome thought! And yet…it's still not quite enough, is it? Maybe it could be, "Visit and experience all of the local attractions!" Well, we all know about the value of tourist traps and the need to carefully prise the promised quality of the experience from the money-grubbing garbage. The fact is, to truly "KNOW" a place, one must employ many of these ideas to get the whole picture. And yet…even though I did this, I couldn't stop the annoying voice in my head which kept telling me I was missing an important angle. When Steve and I began travelling in our first RV, we learned about state parks and I kept wondering about the names. Why weren't the names all about the location? Reading the origin suddenly added an element which hit home for me: HISTORY! Gaining a true understanding of the background of a place--or even the reason behind a name--adds a crucial depth that can't be skipped. However, it's not enough to scan the information--something I've always been guilty of. By reading about, understanding, and then reflecting on that information as I'm appreciating a place has given me that complete sense of "knowing" it. Joseph H. Stewart State Park's History in a few words: Named for the leader of the pear industry in southern Oregon, this 910-acre park opened in 1978 after the Lost Creek Dam and Lake was built on the Rogue River. The land is leased from the Army Corps of Engineers and the campground has four loops which contain 151 campsites and 50 tent sites. The park also has a boat marina, store and boat moorage facilities. Annual overnight attendance is 64,787 and annual day-use attendance is 301,816. Joseph H. Stewart moved to the Rogue Valley from Illinois in 1885 and began planting apples, prunes and almonds on his 160-acre farm. Within 5 years he was shipping his harvests all over the nation. In 1898 he and his son-in-law bought the land where the park sits and planted pear, apple and walnut trees there as well. Most of the trees are still alive--and now I want to visit the park again just so I can visit this man's heritage. (Here's their brochure with map if you're interested) Today's Pictures: My main picture today is another incredibly beautiful view of one of the park's stunning meadows. Really, all you can do is just stand there and sigh, it's so pretty! Insets today include a trio of white mushrooms, festively colored blackberry leaves, another pretty view of the park, a pair of "yin-yang"-leaves with clover leaves, a pair of maple "shoes", an elegant stem of dried grass, a fanciful leaf caught on a pine branch, leaves on a stump, a mushroom I found at the base of the tree with the huge burl, and finally, an ancient mushroom family growing out of a stump (that picture wasn't as crisp as I wanted so I turned it into a creative image!). Pam, wouldn't it be fun to wander around this park and visit some of the trees planted here by Mr. Stewart? I would love listening to your stories of some of your camping adventures and also…did you ever spend time on a farm? That would be fun to hear about too! Today it's very cold but sunny--how about you? I hope all is well in your world my dear! *BIG HUGS*!!!! Explored on 11/22/19; highest placement #10.

(+10 insets!) For photo info, please scroll down to "Today's Pictures". Trip Talk: State Parks RULE! Until Steve and I got our first trailer, neither of us had ever stayed at a state park before. Honestly, we didn't think they would be anything special. Knowing that state parks often don't get proper funding, I imagined that the campgrounds would be plain, simple and boring--just a place to stay which was close to park trails but otherwise forgettable. How much more wrong could I be? Joseph Stewart State Park was the second place we went camping at with our first rig (the first spot was a private campground at Upper Klamath Lake) and I'll never forget our reaction when we pulled in to the campground. The park is very wide-open and carpeted with literally miles of mowed meadows dotted with oaks and conifers. The view as we drove into the area literally took our breaths away--it seemed like a rich country club, not a state park! How could such a gorgeous place be a mere 45 minutes from our home? Where were the run-down campsites and over-capacity outhouses? Not here, that's for sure! We would come to learn that RV-friendly state park campgrounds are extremely well-designed with campsites which can often accommodate even the largest rigs. They arrange the sites around one or more very large, one-way loops with lots of space between spots and angles which are easy to back a rig into. In fact, some camping spots are known as "pull-throughs," which means you just drive into the space and park! When you're ready to leave, you just drive out and off you go! How's that for easy?! Our first visit with the Grey Wolf was so much fun that we knew we'd be back many times. What's not to love about the place? Right on Lost Creek Lake, one can go boating, fishing or swimming. Photography opportunities are everywhere! There are miles of biking and hiking trails which showcase the gorgeous local. Just riding our bikes around the three loops was great fun and a really super way to see all of the different RVs staying there. We wondered if all state parks were this spectacular. We would learn that more times than not they are just fantastic. Another fabulous thing about state park campgrounds is how INEXPENSIVE they are! Nightly fees range between $26 and $34, which is a lot less than the average private campground fee of about $45. Think about the price of staying at a motel or hotel--good luck finding a decent room for less than $75/night! (The maximum number of nights you can stay at a campground is 14 in any 17-day period. So you could leave for three days and then return for another 14 days!) State campground staff are also amazing! They are super friendly and helpful and whenever there's a question or problem, it's easy to find someone for assistance. We also learned that state campgrounds are run by hosts who are RV campers too. They aren't paid but instead get to camp for free during their stay in exchange for a part-time work schedule. What an incredible way to save money while enjoying a park! Steve and I will definitely be signing up to be campsite hosts down the road and look forward to being part of the park system. Are there any downsides to state park campgrounds? Ok, yeah…that. As amazing as they are, almost every campground we've stayed at has no internet or phone coverage whatsoever. Our first stay was pretty annoying because it didn't occur to us but we got comfortable with the idea once we realized that state parks are black holes for data. Other than that, it seems that state parks are the absolute perfect place to stay! Our second stay at Joseph Stewart State Park was every bit as wonderful as our first visit. In some ways it was even better because we'd been there before and knew what to expect. It's such a pleasant place to be and I hope that we will be back many times in the future! Today's Pictures My main picture today shows one of the breathtaking, expansive meadows found everywhere at Joseph Stewart State Park. The autumn show was mostly over but I still managed to get plenty of seasonal images and you'll notice that many of my insets feature a favorite subject: LEAVES! :) You'll also see one of the many mushrooms I found, a pretty park bench scene, the husk of a cicada (I think), another scenic view, madrone bark, another maple "bat", and a "flower" on a pine tree where the cone had broken off, leaving wooden "petals" behind to enjoy! Pam, I wonder what your favorite season is? It's so hard for me to say…I'm crazy about whatever is current--well, maybe with the exception of the end of summer when everything is dry, grey-brown and listless. But then the leaves begin to turn and suddenly everything is glorious again! :) BTW, thanks for your lovely remarks on my latest series, it makes me so happy that you enjoy my pictures so much! :) *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 11/19/19; highest placement #2.

(+10 insets!) Please view large, you'll love it!! (for photo info, please scroll down to "Today's Pictures") Steve and I arrived home yesterday afternoon from our 4-night stay at Joseph Stewart State Park and it went PERFECTLY!! Everything went as we'd hoped! We got everything packed, the trailer attached to the truck hitch, and away we went! The roads were clear, the weather was perfect and we encountered no problems whatsoever on the 45-minute drive to the park. The exhaust brakes are AWESOME! There is a fairly long hill up and then down the other side on the way and we were delighted that our truck purred the whole time. Everyone knows that feeling safe is priceless and it was just wonderful to experience how smoothly and easily the truck slowed the trailer down. Also, the brakes are quiet! What a great system and a perfect decision to add them to the truck. By the time we got home, both of us felt completely confident that we would be able to take our new trailer wherever we wanted to go! Hooray! Getting into our campsite was a dream--backing up and maneuvering into position is so much easier! And when it came time to level the trailer…all he has to do is press a button! Our Avalanche has its own automatic system so we don't have to do anything but watch! No more ramps! No more leveling apps that never work! No more stress! YESSSS! Our stay was fabulous! Surrounded by lovely parkland on all sides, we enjoyed marvelous weather every day. The mornings started out cold and cloudy and became warm and sunny in the afternoons. And my…what posh accommodations we have now! The Avalanche is a huge step up from our comparatively junky Grey Wolf. Granted, the Grey Wolf wasn't horrible but it was well-used and left us increasingly unhappy with its multitude of problems and shortfalls. Highlights of our New Coach: Living Room and Kitchen: The living room, with its 10' ceiling, is very inviting and has a cozy (electric) fireplace, a large sofa and extremely comfortable lounge chairs (our last coach had a tiny couch but no living room at all!) The dining area has actual chairs at the table instead of needing to slide into a dinette booth. The kitchen has an ISLAND, lots of counterspace and a deep, 2-part sink with a very nice multi-function faucet. There's a super stove and oven and a huge microwave! The refrigerator and freezer are twice as large as the unit in the Grey Wolf--nearly as large as the one in our home! Windows: This coach is absolutely filled with windows! The Grey Wolf was like a cave with its few small windows. The Avalanche has windows everywhere, and most of them are very big! They're tinted so we can look out and nobody can see in until it gets dark, at which point we pull down the blinds! :) The height of our coach allows us to have wonderful views and we enjoy just looking outside with happy smiles on our faces! Bathroom: The bathroom is small but includes a very spacious shower with sliding glass doors instead of a flimsy shower curtain. The mirror is well-lit! This might seem like a small thing but a badly lit mirror will drive you crazy! The Grey Wolf's bathroom mirror had such horrible illumination that our additional lighting couldn't correct the situation…it was so annoying! Bedrooms: We both have proper bedrooms, each with doors!! (Steve snores so we sleep separately, thus getting a good night's sleep and Steve isn't pummeled all night! :D) For this trip, my bed was the couch which folds out into a bed, topped with a memory foam mattress. The situation isn't ideal because the bed fills the room entirely. Eventually we'll have a twin-size bed to replace the couch and it will be exactly right! Our Visit: We had a very relaxing stay and just enjoyed being there. We had bacon and eggs or steak omelets for breakfast and for dinner we ate steaks, roasted chicken, and even cooked hotdogs over our propane fire pit! And of course, we enjoyed our lovely espressos with cream! Pumpkin had a fabulous time too. She really loves the coach and RV life in general because she gets so much attention and one day we took her on a very nice walk that had her full of song! Joseph Stewart State Park really is a marvelous place! Steve and I would happily move there forever except for one thing: ZERO internet. Steve gets the tiniest blip of data so he can read the news but that's about it. However, we knew this from our first trip so we were prepared for being cut off while we were away. I spent my time relaxing, wandering around taking pictures, processing my images, writing, treasure hunting with my metal detector and doing crosswords. Steve relaxed, added mud flaps to the truck, fiddled around with a few things in the coach, and played video games. Both of us played with Pumpkin too, which is always fun. In other words, our trip was pure bliss! Today's Pictures: During our walk with Pumpkin, we ended up looking out over Lost Creek Lake and of course, I just had to take a panorama! I hope that you look at it full-size as it's quite a sight! :D You can see that the water level is quite low right now but will fill up again with the upcoming storms. My insets: I had a lovely time strolling around and just "being in the moment" with my camera. The set today includes bunches of wonderful things I found as I nosed around, including a picture of an oak tree I featured from our last trip (I've included an inset to show the original), a picture of our truck and trailer, mushrooms, leaves, a pretty little foot bridge in the forest, and an oak tree with the biggest burl I've ever seen! Pam, I hope you are doing well…I wish you could have looked out on the water at Lost Creek Lake and toddled around with me on my strolls. It was such a treat to be there. Neither of us felt hurried or obligated to fill our days with a million things. It was wonderful. I hope that you're feeling well! SENDING HUGS!!! Explored on 11/16/19; highest placement #1.