A multi-media account of my travels through life
There are so many beautiful flowers here. I wanted to present many of them at once, just as they have been presented to my eye. There will be more…
In the upper right corner are two of my BFFs — Tango and Bunny. ❧
Yesterday was a beautiful day in Trinidad, California. All the locals were out enjoying the sun. Bunny, Tango and I were among them. This is a shot of Trinidad State Beach. We also went to Big Lagoon, north of Patrick’s Point where I took the latest installment in the Tango-on-the-log series. ❧
Well, we made it! Tango and I completed one-half of our cross country adventure on Sunday when we arrived in Trinidad, California. We are enjoying the hospitality of our friends Bunny and Ed Subkis. This view of the Pacific Ocean is not far from their home. In the distance is Patrick’s Point.
The conference in Portland was really excellent. I made some new friends, got a chance to catch up with some friends from the past, and learned a great deal about the endocannabinoid system. This relatively new discovery–a receptor system in your body that mimics cannabis and is enhanced by its use–could revolutionize medicine. I’m not one for hyperbole but, honestly, the ongoing formal research (mainly international, in Spain and Israel) and the reports coming out of states that have legalized medical access are simply phenomenal. Cannabis is curing cancers, treating dementia, dramatically increasing the longevity of patients with ALS and, as most have heard, reducing seizures in young children.
How I wish our federal government would find the courage to embrace this exciting new knowledge. Is there hope? Perhaps. A news report states that federal drug agencies are ramping up the federal production of cannabis next year. Total production will expand from 21kg a year to 650kg! A sizable increase. Such a silly waste of money. I met plenty of growers last week who could provide the federal government with any strain of cannabis they could possibly want. There are none so blind as those who will not see. ❧
We are in Oregon and will spend tonight in Portland. Here my faithful co-pilot views the scene from an overlook in Oregon.❧
Near Green River, Wyoming there is a road called Wild Horse Scenic Loop. The Wyoming Travel and Tourism website describes it this way:
Here, on the mesa-like summit of White Mountain, the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Tour skitters roughly 23 miles along good, gravel-base roads. Travel this route and along the way you gain not only many chances to spy roans, blacks, paints, appaloosas and sorrels, but panoramic views of the Wyoming Range to the west, the Wind River Range to the northeast and the Uinta Range to the south.
The website also notes that there are 800-1000 wild horses on the 392,000 acre White Mountain Management Area. I only traveled about half of the loop but I did see some horses, about 6 or 8. It is comforting to know that horses run free in parts of this country. Quite naturally they are a little skittish of humans but I was able to get close enough to snap a picture of this young one. ❧
My westward journey continues. After a wonderful week in Denver, Colorado, Tango and I are once again in route to Portland, Oregon. I chose to go around the Rockies rather than over them. There is still quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations. One route that I hoped to take in Wyoming — the Snowy Range Rd. — was closed because there is still 6 feet of snow at the peak. Flurries are forecast for Wednesday in Green River, where we stopped for the night.
But today was a good travel day. Things were very mild for the first part of the trip. As we headed further north into Colorado the terrain became more rugged and we stopped for a brief excursion. Tango had great fun on the rocks.
Once we got past the northern most point of the Snowy Mountain range the winds began to pick up and soon the warning signs were advising drivers with light trailers to seek alternative routes. I’m not sure there are alternative routes. The signs warned of 35mph+ winds but, honestly, after my experience in Kansas last Monday it all seemed rather tame. What doesn’t kill us does make us stronger. ❧
The entire country has suffered from this latest bout of “weather”. It should actually be WEATHER!!!! So many died in Arkansas from the tornados and who can say how many others died in isolated, small incidents. There were times on Monday when I thought my van was going to be pushed right off the road. I have no doubt that some were.
I had hoped to leisurely tour Kansas and take pictures of the new season. Fields were plowed everywhere which made the dust all the more prevalent in 40-50mph winds. Pictures were often out of the question. At one point I stopped but could not open the door!! It was a sustained gust and eventually subsided but it removed any interest I had in venturing outside.
I managed a few shots. This one show the grasses bowing before the wind and the light gave the scene an odd, Andrew Wyeth look. Clever stuff, grasses. They can bend right down to the ground, as these did, and be back proud and tall the next day. There’s a lot to learn from grasses. One thing is for sure, both the grasses and the humans are ready for the winds to stop. ❧
Tango and I are in Salina, Kansas tonight. It has been a long short day. I had hoped to visit the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene but the weather had other ideas. About two hours into our drive we encountered this: 
That’s my iPad propped up on the car dashboard showing the thunder cell that descended on us as we entered Kansas City, Missouri. We were under the red section at the time. Being from Florida I thought I knew about thunderstorms but this Missouri thunderstorm was incredible. Hard, blinding rain that did not move on nearly fast enough. I pulled off the road and parked in a hotel parking lot where I sat for almost an hour, eventually stretching out for a nap.
After the rain the winds began and have continued all day. The van, with its cargo carrier on top, was a prime target for wind gusts. It made for an interesting day. I was glad that I had planned a short day of driving but disappointed that I did not get to see Ike’s museum. By the time we reached Abilene it was after 4 and the museum closed at 4:45.
Still, the day was not a loss. The heartland is so beautiful right now. The vast fields are lush and green. Coming out of Topeka the road descends into the plains and for as far as you can see the countryside is a patchwork of green and brown. The winds kicked up quite a bit of dust, giving the view a hazy look that made it all the lovelier.
Tango was quite distressed and disoriented with the wind. He was not a happy camper. The sun finally emerged and I pulled into a rest stop that was nestled into some hills. Here we were protected from the wind for a while and we sat in the sun under the redbud tree watching the traffic go by.
…traffic that included two very large trains. It had been a long while since I had see a train but to see two in a short period time only accentuated the fact that I was in a different place.
Tomorrow we will press on to Denver. The winds are forecast to continue and a planned photo shoot on backroads in Kansas seems less appealing. I’m certain I could not live on the plains. Much too gritty for me. ❧
I’ve completed the first leg of my cross-country trip and I am safely arrived in Columbia, Missouri. This morning I awoke in Oak Grove, KY, just outside of Ft. Campbell. During the night a storm had passed through and everything was wet and gray. Fortunately the storm was moving east and I was headed west. The gray skies disappeared after about an hour of driving and the rest of the day was splendid. The spring colors are everywhere, an endless paraded of pinks, mauves, and whites with backgrounds of soft green or coral colored buds.
Yellow mustard plants are everywhere but nowhere as exquisite as this field that I passed not long after entering Interstate 24West. Farmers plant mustard for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is harvested, other times it is plowed back into the earth, a sort of green manure. I do not know the intent of this farmer but I am grateful to have seen his crop in full bloom. It reminded me of another spring, 24 years ago, when Robert and I were in Italy. We traveled from Rome to Florence by train and along the way there was acre after acre of mustard plant in full bloom, painting the hills in broad swarths of happy yellow. All the world celebrates spring. ❧
Spring is about cherry trees, glowing tulips, and forsythia … big, bright things. But spring is also about very small things. Like this little yellow flower that has popped up all over my driveway. The Roosevelt dime gives you a good idea of just how small it is. We pass these small things by without a thought. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” we say. But in the time that I was sitting, observing this flower it was visited by multiple flying insects, enjoying its sweet nectar. Those insects moved on to pollinate other, larger flowers and also become a morsel for the many birds that are back and very busy. The small things feed the big things and make it all happen. So, it’s okay to sweat the small stuff sometimes. . . .we couldn’t get along without it. ❧
Alice's WanderLand 