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Archive for the ‘Adventures With Pepper’ Category

Standing Above the Virgin River in Zion

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Favorite Places, Journeys, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , on May 8, 2013| 6 Comments »

             I rate enthusiasm even above professional skills.” – Sir Edward Appleton

To enjoy the view from above, one first has to get to the top of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. -- Photo by Pat Bean

To enjoy the view from above, one first has to get to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. — Photo by Pat Bean

Weekly Photo Challenge: Above

My enthusiasm to get to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park every year on my birthday was motivated by my belief that if I could make it, I could handle anything the next year threw at me.

My immediate reward, however, was a view of the Virgin River and the winding canyon below, where birds flew below me and  people were dwarfed to bug size.

It was an exhilarating experience made even more awesome one year when a pair of peregrines flew below the edge of the ridge. For the first time I got to view the back of these falcons and not just their bellies as they flew.

I suspected the pair was nesting below in the rocks, an occurrence that closes down Angel’s Landing to rock climbers every year. I also suspected that the rock climbers had an even more exhilarating enthusiasm for the view from above after their strenuous efforts to get to the top.

It’s been a few years since I stood on top of Angel’s Landing.  Thankfully, since my children are grown and I’m now into the joys of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, life isn’t throwing me as many curves as it did in my earlier years.

So walking my canine companion, Pepper, up and down three flights of stairs for her four daily walks, has become my motivating challenge to keep me in shape to handle life’s more difficult moments.  But who knows. These efforts might get me into good enough shape that I might once again stand on the top of Angel’s Landing for yet one more view from above.

Ahh! I made it! -- Photo by Pat Bean

Ahh! I made it! — Photo by Pat Bean

            Bean’s Pat:  Wild Junket: http://tinyurl.com/buy5x2e Take an armchair exploration of St. Vincent

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Morning Walk with Pepper

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Dogs, Nature, tagged , , , on May 2, 2013| 5 Comments »

         “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” — George Eliot

Think all doves do are coo. This white-winged species has a nest in a tree that I walk beneath and screeches loudly at me every time I walk past. -- Photo y Pat Bean

Think all doves do are coo? This white-winged species has a nest in a tree that I walk beneath and screeches loudly at me every time I walk past. — Photo y Pat Bean

Letting my Mind Wonder as My Legs Wander

            I’m recovering nicely from my broken ankle, but still not up to the adventure of a trail hike. Instead I have to get my kicks from walking on level ground. Mostly, on the four daily 15-20 minute walks I take with Pepper around the apartment complex, she and I retrace the same territory over and over.

Pepper off on one of her scent trails. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Pepper off on one of her scent trails. — Photo by Pat Bean

But each walk is different because of the people we meet along the way, a suddenly blooming plant, an old sight seen in a new way, the variety and activity of birds at the time, and always the varying thoughts in my head.

My best and brightest or most absurd and ridiculous ideas bounce through my brain like a ball in a pinball machine when I’m walking.

Pepper, who sniffs every twig, every new flower and urine bulletin board messages left behind by her doggie colleagues, always adds a layer of fun to the walks.

This one little flower in a big pot seems awfully lonely/ == Photo by Pat Bean

This one little flower in a big pot seems awfully lonely/ == Photo by Pat Bean

So far she’s never met another canine or human whom she didn’t like, although thankfully she’s come to know which four-footed and two-footed beings don’t want anything to do with her, and has learned to sit quietly by my side while they pass.

Dogs, I’ve come to believe, have much better instincts than we humans

But a smile or a tail wag from any of our apartment neighbors is enough to make her deliriously happy and playful. She is forever bringing smiles to my face.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Like a moment from Midsomer Murders: http://tinyurl.com/d2rrved  A First of May sunrise. I suspect the reference to Midsomer Murders is because there is always one village celebration or another taking place in the English TV mystery series, which is one of my favorite shows. The blog’s title is what caught my attention, but the photo is awesome.

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Every Day Should Be Earth Day

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , on April 22, 2013| 5 Comments »

        “Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves – or whether it should be ours here and now and on this Earth.” —Ayn Rand

            “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different. – Kurt Vonnegut

I've never seen a picture of me taken in Mother Nature's playground where I'm not smiling. -- Photo by Kim Perrin.

I’ve never seen a picture of me taken in Mother Nature’s playground where I’m not smiling. — Photo by Kim Perrin.

            “Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life.” – Rachel Carson

            “The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and … our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.” Wendell Berry

I’m a Tree Hugger

I don’t get on my soap box every day to tell you this, but today is Earth Day and I decided it was a day to let it all out. I really am a tree hugger.

Sometimes, as I was driving in Gypsy Lee, Mother Nature demanded I stop and look at her. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Sometimes, as I was driving in Gypsy Lee, Mother Nature demanded I stop and look at her. — Photo by Pat Bean

I want to scream curses at people who dirty this planet with war and hate, people who take from the land without giving back, and nasty litterers who offend the senses of all who appreciate beauty.

As one who has traveled this country from coast to coast and border to border, I can truly tell you that nary a day on the road did I not see the beauty all around me. Perhaps it was the way a small stream flowed downhill laughing all the way, or the sudden appearance of a white-tailed deer as it stepped out of the woods.

No artist can capture the majesty of a purple and pink sunrise or a fiery desert sunset like Mother Nature gifts us with so very often. No architect can build a structure that matches the majestic grandeur of mountains.

Being born in Texas’ flatlands I didn’t see my first mountain until I was 14, but from that day forward the sight of these uplifted landscapes have never failed to touch my soul.

Wouldn't you stop and look, too? == Photo by Pat Bean

Wouldn’t you stop and look, too? — Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve used the beauty of this Earth often to let go of stress and tension, which when I was a working journalist, helping put out a daily newspaper on deadline, were daily annoyances.

I’ve walked in nature when I was sad, and when I was happy, and when I just needed to be renewed.

I’ve often wondered how people handled daily life without the help of Mother Nature to walk beside them. I suspect the psychopaths who kill, murder and rape must be among them because I can’t imagine people who truly love this Earth and Mother Nature would ever be so cruel

My heart fully celebrates this special day. But then I think every day should be Earth Day.

          

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

  Bean’s Pat: Look on the bright side of life http://tinyurl.com/c4587du If this doesn’t make you smile you’re a real grump.  

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The Desert Around Me

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, tagged , , on April 16, 2013| 11 Comments »

            “Balance, that’s the secret. Moderate extremism. The best of both worlds.” – Edward Abby, “Desert Solitaire”

I love the way the yellow tree tops contrast with the mountain off in the distance just a ways. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I love the way the yellow tree tops contrast with the mountain off in the distance just a ways. — Photo by Pat Bean

Morning Walk with Pepper

I can’t tell you how many times in my travels, I’ve come back from visiting an awesome  landmark, like a waterfall that required an easy half-mile hike to access, and have a local who’s lived within five miles of it all his life tell me he had never seen it.

What a waste, I always thought.

The path behind my apartment's parking lot. - Photo by Pat Bean

The path behind my apartment’s parking lot. – Photo by Pat Bean

I thought about this facet of life this morning as Pepper and I strolled around the outskirts of our Tucson apartment, which sits in balance between city development and Mother Nature’s desert creation.

I can walk across the street and have a Starbuck’s latte, and then come back and watch a gila woodpecker sit on top of armed saguaro cactus or admire how the season has turned the desert to gold.

I’ve found the balance I wanted in a rooted life. I don’t have to travel – although I still plan to do so – to enjoy the wonders of the world. It’s all around me. I just have to take the time to look.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Boston Rainbow http://tinyurl.com/d72e3v9 Something to remember as we mourn the senseless tragedy that marred the Boston Marathon. May the hearts of all those who lost life and limb find comfort in knowing this. My heart aches for you all.

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Weekly Photo Challege: Change

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , on April 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

Zion National Park 

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” – Harold Wilson

When I took my canine traveling companion on her morning walk at Zion National Park, the view across from my RV glowed. -- Photo by Pat Bean

When I took my canine traveling companion on her morning walk at Zion National Park, the view across from my RV glowed. — Photo by Pat Bean

 

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Englebreit

An hour later, when I was getting ready to leave the park, the view's intensity had changed significantly. I'm glad I' an early riser. -- Photo by Pat Bean

An hour later, when I was getting ready to leave the park, the view’s intensity had changed significantly. I’m glad I’ an early riser. — Photo by Pat Bean

 

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” W. Edwards Deming

 

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: http://tinyurl.com/chabzlm The first thing each morning… I make coffee, walk Pepper, and plan my day while I drink my coffee. What about you?

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Vermillion Cliffs

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Travel, tagged , , , on April 10, 2013| 12 Comments »

The late afternoon sun bathed the Vermillion Cliffs in a glow that set off their redness. -- Photo by Pat Bean

The late afternoon sun bathed the Vermillion Cliffs in a glow that set off their redness. — Photo by Pat Bean

            “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming: Wow! What a ride.” — Hunter Thompson

Colorful Detour

            My canine traveling companion, Pepper, and I took off in my RV, Gypsy Lee, this past week for a 1,700-mile roundtrip from Tucson to Ogden, Utah. It’s the first road trip we’ve taken since I kind of put roots down in the Arizona desert city in January– and then promptly broke my ankle.

Navajo Bridge with the mighty Colorado below -- but not looking so mighty at the moment. But having been eaten by Granite Rapid downstream, I do know it is mighty. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Navajo Bridge with the mighty Colorado below — but not looking so mighty at the moment. But having been eaten by Granite Rapid downstream, I do know it is mighty. — Photo by Pat Bean

Being on the road again feels wonderful. Even Gypsy Lee, who has over 135,000 miles on her, seemed happy to be traveling again.

The plan for one day of travel was to spend the night in Page, Arizona. That plan went awry when I came upon a road block at Highway 89’s junction with Highway 89A. I had driven Highway 89 into Page many times and I suspected a landslide had occurred somewhere along the scenic route.

Later research showed my suspicions exactly right. It had happened in February, but I hadn’t heard the news.

The detour didn’t really add miles to my drive, but did mean that I would spend the night in Kanab, Utah, instead of Page. What made me a little grumpy is that it meant I was traveling Highway 89A, which goes over the high Navajo Bridge, beneath which flows the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, near Lee’s Ferry.

And this is why I had to detour. -- Arizona Highway Photo

And this is why I had to detour. — Arizona Highway Photo

It was not an unfamiliar route, and even one that I had planned to take on my return trip home so I could double my landscape viewing. Twice, in my younger more fit days, I had floated beneath this bridge at the start of a 225-mile, wild, white-water raft ride through the Grand Canyon.

What I was grumpy about was that I was hitting this stretch of road late in the afternoon and wouldn’t have much time to linger long along the way to gaze in awe at the awesome landscape. I don’t drive after dark.

I did, however, stop briefly at the bridge’s overlook for a view of the magnificent Vermillion Cliffs that lay to my north on the Arizona-Utah border. They were brilliantly bathed in the evening light showing why they had been named.

 

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This Makes Sense to Me

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Art, Journeys, Writing, tagged , , , on March 30, 2013| 6 Comments »

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” — Kurt Vonnegut.

Writing Advice

My writing companion, Pepper. She lays on my bare feet when I'm sitting at my computer. -- Photo by Pat Bean

My writing companion, Pepper. She lays on my bare feet when I’m sitting at my computer. — Photo by Pat Bean

I just read an article that said it is better to write tired than not write, especially when working on a major project.  The author, I would give credit except I deleted the article and couldn’t find it again, said, if you don’t, then you often have to start at the beginning again.

That’s exactly where I am with my book, Travels with Maggie. I’ve left it untouched way too long, and I’ve got to at least read it again from the beginning.

I also know that writing tired sometimes even turns into really good writing because the brain lets go some of its control. But even if I have to rewrite the next day, the continuity hasn’t been lost.

Now all I need to do is take this advice.

Recent doodling by me. I make a connection between it and Vonnegut's quote.

Recent doodling by me. I make a connection between it and Vonnegut’s quote.

The truth is I’ve been doing plenty of writing, the past couple of months. Just not on Travels with Maggie. And I’m at the point that I need to finish it, because I can’t move on to all the other ideas bouncing around in my head until I do.

So what’s stopping me?

I keep trying, so far unsuccessfully, to figure it all out.

Bean’s Pat: I’m giving it to myself today.  One of the writing projects I have been working on faithfully is the blog I do for American Profile magazine called Discovering America. I’d love it if you would check it out at: http://blogs.americanprofile.com/author/patbean/

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Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , on March 13, 2013| 6 Comments »

            “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” —  Harvey MacKay

I dawdled to watch squirrels at a campground. == Photo by Pat Bean

I dawdled to watch squirrels at a campground. == Photo by Pat Bean

Time Always Runs Out

            A few years back I planned a trip to Maine. I left in early May with the goal of reaching the state’s Atlantic Coastline before the puffins, the sandpipers, the plovers and other shore birds migrated south. Too much dawdling along the way made me arrive two weeks too late.

 

I dawdled to see all the sights along oute 66. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I dawdled to see all the sights along oute 66. — Photo by Pat Bean

           It was a missed opportunity that most likely will never come again. At the same time, my dawdling along the way visiting places like Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas, the Budwieser Brewery in Missouri, Wolf Park in Indiana, the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan Niagara Falls in New York and many, many other places along the way were memories made that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss either.

            I’ve reached the point in my life when I know that there is more time behind me than ahead of me. Accepting this reality has not made me sad, but it has certainly made me more aware of how fleeting time has become.

            I remember when it seemed an eternity for each Christmas to arrive, and now it seems like I’ve barely put away the Christmas decorations before it’s time to get them out again.

I dawdled to watch sunrises. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I dawdled to watch sunrises. — Photo by Pat Bean

            What got me thinking of time was Tom Brokaw’s book “The Time of our Lives: A conversation about America.” He and I are less than a year apart in age, and we both had journalism careers, although his took him on the big stage in front of a camera and mine took me to a smaller stage on the pages of newspapers.

            I once got to interview Tom Brokaw when he visited my smaller stage setting, the memories of which came to the forefront this week when I picked up his book and read the things he pointed out in his preface of having lived through –  the moon landing, Vietnam, women stepping out of the kitchen and into the working world, civil unrest as black and white cultures integrated, the riots, the prosperity, the stock market fluctuations, the technology takeover, the continuation of war, and the big bang of the internet.

            These were the same things I had lived through and wrote about.

            Looked at in this way, I guess I know where time has flown. I wonder what is still ahead for me to experience – as I continue my dawdling ways.

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A Morning Walk with Pepper

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Nature, tagged , , , on March 8, 2013| 12 Comments »

       “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” — Henry David Thoreau

A view looking east over Tucson from my apartment. - Photo by Pat Bean

A view looking east over Tucson from my apartment. – Photo by Pat Bean

Cactus and Birds and Mountains

          I finally am out of the heavy, clunky boot I’ve been wearing for almost two months after breaking my ankle. 

A lesser goldfinch

A lesser goldfinch — Photo by Pat Bean

         The doctor said I’m healing well and lifted all restrictions, telling me just to take it easy and go to physical therapy for the next six weeks.

          The best part of all this is that I’m now back to taking Pepper on two of her four daily walks. Hopefully by the end of next week it will be all four.

          This morning’s walk, meanwhile, was fantastic. Without ever leaving my apartment complex, I got good photos of an impressive saguaro cactus, mountains to the east and west, and a lesser goldfinch.

          Of course I wanted to share.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: 29 ways to stay creative http://tinyurl.com/a7guy52 Good ideas, and fun, too.

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Pepper has no favorites

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Dogs, Journeys, tagged , , , , , on February 5, 2013| 13 Comments »

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Maya Angelou

Mind Triggers

The sight that greeted me when I looked up from the computer. -- Photo by Pat Bean

The sight that greeted me when I looked up from the computer. — Photo by Pat Bean

            I was just completing yesterday’s blog about Willie Nelson, when I looked up from the computer and saw my canine companion, Pepper, grinning from ear-to-ear as she sat in the middle of a devastated stuffed cat.

The dead cat. -- Photo by Pat Bean

The dead cat. — Photo by Pat Bean

I couldn’t do anything but smile. The toy had been on sale at PetSmart, and I had bought it for her, knowing full-well I would pay the clean-up consequences.            And then Willie’s quote about bigoted people not being his friend popped into my wondering-wandering mind, and I laughed, and continued laughing as I picked up the stuffing from every room in my small apartment.

Pepper is not prejudiced against cats. She’s also destroyed a big stuffed dog, a bear, a raccoon, and several ducks. She even took a bite out of my daughter’s Great Dane’s indestructible dinosaur.

Indestructible was the word my daughter used, even after I warned her that Pepper didn’t know the meaning of the word.

They look so innocent when they're asleep. -- Photo by Pat Bean

They look so innocent when they’re asleep. — Photo by Pat Bean

During Pepper and my first month together, she destroyed three pillows and their pillow cases, two pens (the stain of one which can still be seen on the rug in my RV) a computer cord, half a dozen pairs of socks, two of my daughter-in-law’s flip-flops and just about anything else she could get her teeth into.            Fortunately, she finally learned the difference between things that were hers and things that were mine, well except for socks and these days I blame myself for leaving any within her reach.

In the meantime I, or since I moved to Tucson, also my daughter, keep her supplied with plenty of chew bones, chew toys and occasionally a stuffed animal which can give her days of fun, and me days of picking up stuffing.

But as I said, she’s not prejudiced. She’ll chew up any stuffed animal.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Alastair’s Blog http://tinyurl.com/b4ggr4t How to Wash a Cat. I got great belly laughs from this one. I hope you laugh at it as much as I did. Laughter’s good for the soul. And I’m not prejudiced against cats, just for the record.

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