Welcome back. It’s been a very long time since I last posted to our blog and much has happened since then. First off, Kim & I are doing well. We’ve managed to stay healthy and avoided any COVID-19 infection. We’re still having fun, however, we are not traveling as much and are transitioning from our life as full-time RVers. In effect, we are taking the off ramp from being full-time. More about that, later.
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(October, 2020) As noted in our previous post, we spent autumn in Bluff, Utah, visiting with long-time good friends Joyce and Paul M.; seeing many sights in the area; and taking photographs. Paul and I took many photo outings to interesting locations around Valley of the Gods, Comb Ridge, Montezuma Canyon, McElmo Canyon, and other sites around Bluff. I also took quite a few solo photo outings.
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(October, 2020) Moving on from Durango, Colorado, we made our way to one of our perennial favorite places to spend autumn in – Bluff, Utah. We planned to spend the month of October relaxing in this southern Utah desert community – enjoying autumn in the high desert and socially distancing with friends. We were also looking forward to sight-seeing and photographing in this land of natural wonders and cultural treasures.
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(Late September, 2020) As the saying goes, “There’s gold in them thar hills!”, and we were determined to find it. Or at least, the Aspen gold of fall color high in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. We had just spent a week at the Alamosa KOA, photographing around Great Sand Dunes National Park, and our plan was to move on to Durango, Colorado. Our hope was to arrive in time for the peak of fall color in the San Juans.
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(Late September, 2020) Towering waves of sand breaking on the shore of a mountain-rimmed cove. That is the impression left by the dune-field at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. This was our first time visiting the dunes. We were excited to see and photograph such a breathtaking land of contrasts. Great Sand Dunes did not disappoint.
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(Mid-September, 2020) If you’ve ever driven the empty spaces of the Great Plains, then you’ve seen them. That lonely farmhouse sitting abandoned in the fields. Boards weathered to grey with no hint of paint. Empty windows. Door standing agape. Roof with missing shingles – or altogether gone.
Perhaps, instead it is a forlorn and leaning barn slouching into ruin; or a solitary windmill with battered and missing vanes; or even a proud old wooden grain elevator standing silent sentinel over rusted railroad tracks. You have just seen a Prairie Ghost – sad relic of past lives and of bygone eras.
In this post we’ll pay our respects to several of these ghosts of the prairies and high plains. Join me now along lonely roads – coming away with melancholic memories …and few photographs.
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(July-August, 2020) As noted in an earlier blog post, I recently purchased an infrared-modified digital camera and am having way too much fun photographing Iowa in IR. I first shot infrared years ago during my film days and always enjoyed the look of stark black and white photos with ghostly-white foliage. Switching to digital IR opens new realms of possibility for my photography.
Like film, these digital enhanced color IR images can be processed many different ways – resulting in different moods and emotional responses to the images. Some images work equally well in color as in black and white – others do not. Here, I have chosen a somewhat stylized and dreamlike style for both the color and black and white images. I hope you enjoy the results.
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(Early April to mid-August, 2020) A quick status update – The past few months have really slipped by quickly. Kim and I remain in good health and have avoided contracting the COVID-19 virus. We have been spending a quiet summer at a campground in rural Iowa and limiting contacts with other people as much as possible. The curbside pickup services offered at local grocery stores and other businesses help us maintain self-isolation.
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(Mid-Oct. to mid-Nov. 2019) This post is a brief summary of the end of our travel season for 2019. It seems we have been so preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic that we have put off many things – including blogging. Time now to try to catch up on the blog posts.
(May 25, 2020) First, a status update – Kim and I remain in good health and are sheltering in a campground in Iowa, near my sister and brother-in-law’s home – as noted in my recent post. Now, on to our 2019 Fall travels…
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(early-March to early-May, 2020) Wow! When we started our journey we never would have imagined RVing during a global pandemic. What a difference a few weeks, let alone a few months, can make.
As of the 1st of March we were still living our “normal” RV life – wrapping up another winter in Southern California, busy planning our upcoming travel season, making campground reservations, and scheduling the last of our annual maintenance tasks. We were aware of the spreading COVID-19 epidemic, but it still seemed distant and not of immediate concern. How quaintly naive that seems, now.
Several weeks later, all of that had changed and we were making very different plans. By April 4th, we were back in rural Iowa and sheltering in place for the long-haul. Enough changes to make our heads spin and ask, “What just happened?”.
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The Williams / Exit 167 / Circle Pines KOA Holiday is family-friendly adventure resort nestled amidst whispering pines in the northern Arizona high country. The park features many fun activities for the youngsters and young-at-heart, including mini-golf, go-karts, hayrides, and access to hiking and mountain biking trails. The campground is conveniently close to area attractions, like the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon Railway, Williams old town, historic Route 66, and Flagstaff. This KOA is a great place to stop, relax, and have some fun while exploring this area of Arizona.
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The Durango North / Riverside KOA is a lovely campground nestled amidst majestic Ponderosa Pines on the shore of the whitewater Animas River. The park features stunning mountain views and the soothing sounds of whispering pines and rushing river. The campground is conveniently close to historic sights, fine dining, and shopping in Durango, as well as high mountain adventure in the San Juan Mountains. The campground is a great place to relax, enjoy stunning mountain views, fish the Animas River, and explore the many area attractions.
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The Alamosa KOA Journey is a well-maintained campground set in the San Luis Valley, a Colorado high desert basin nestled between the scenic Sangre de Cristo Mountains and San Juan Mountains. The campground is close to many local attractions, such as the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Blanca Peak, Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, and championship Cattails Golf Course. The Alamosa KOA Journey makes a great base for exploring the local area.
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The La Junta KOA Journey is a quiet and well-maintained campground set on the High Plains of eastern Colorado. Right on the historic Santa Fe Trail, the park is close to Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, Koshare Indian Museum, and other attractions of historical interest. The La Junta KOA Journey is a convenient and relaxing place to stay while visiting the La Junta area.
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