“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and
respecting her seniority.” — Elwyn Brooks White, Essays of E.B. White, 1977
This red-eared slider turtle lives in a green world in the creek that runs through Springfield Park in Rowlett, Texas. — Photo by Pat Bean
Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged green, pat bean, postaday, red-eared slider, Rowlett, Texas, turtles | 4 Comments »
Looking in one direction there were the Smoky Mountain foothills dressed in Mother Nature’s autumn best. — Photo by Pat Bean
“Sit in reverie, and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Adventures with Pepper: Days 46-48
It’s been a little over three weeks since I spent three days at Misty River Cabins and Campground Resort. In case you hadn’t figured it out, my blog has been trailing way behind me in my two-month meandering cross-country journey from Mountain Time to Eastern Time and back to Central Time.
Turn around and there’s the river, where treehouse cabins were available for retreats from the daily chaos. — Photo by Pat Bean
I mention it now because my days at Misty River felt like a time out, which is what I took from blogging the past couple of days here at my oldest daughter’s home on the outskirts of Dallas. I felt rejuvenated after both. We all need breaks now and then. Thankfully, I’ve finally, after way too many years, stopped chastising myself for taking them.
I couldn’t have chosen a better spot than the Misty River one for my break. It was an awesome campground with both delightful scenery and bathhouse. I had only meant to spend two days, but stayed over that extra day because it simply didn’t seem right to leave so soon.
I had reached that point in my journey when I needed to simply try to put some meaning to my travels, a time to review my notes and discover my own thoughts about all the fantastic things I had been seeing, from dinosaur bones to magnificent sunsets.
I’m still pondering.
Book Report: I took a break from Travels with Maggie, too.
Bean’s Pat: Philosopher Mouse http://tinyurl.com/amsfkwe Cowboy advice after you skip the first few paragraphs of the blog. As a kid who grew up with these cowboys, I loved this blog.
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Gaping at sights like King Kong as I drove through Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is probably one of the reasons I missed my turn. I shot this photo out my RV window while stopped at a traffic light. — Photo by Pat Bean
“Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness.” – Ray Bradbury
Adventures with Pepper: Day 46-47
After a week’s layover at Yogi’s in the Smokies Campground, I finally decided it was time for me to get back on the road again.
I came across this scene on my way down Big Cove Road just outside of Yogi’s in the Smokies. It stopped me and my camera in its tracks. — Photo by Pat Bean
First I said my good-byes to Dolly, the matriarch of the family group that adopted me and Pepper and fed us campfire steaks. Dolly was 75, the mother of seven children and lots of grandchildren, but she told me she still had plenty of get-up-and-go. I left her with the encouragement to get up and go often. And she promised she would take my example and do so
My goal for the day was to drive through Smoky Mountain National Park. It was steep, which by now I had become used to, but it was also crowded. I only stopped a few times and left the park early so I could go through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Pepper and I had lunch by this small gurgling stream in Smoky Mountain National Park.
They were crowded, too, but full of interesting sights. I guess I gawked too much because I missed my turn, a mistake that added several hours to what was only going to be a short day’s drive.
I drove one section of Highway 441 twice because I got wrong directions – most likely because I asked the wrong question.
I ended up taking Highway 411 to Marysville and back-tracking a few miles on Highway 321, the road I had missed.
I ended the day at Mystic River, which turned out to be a Passport America campground, which was good because the full price was $45. As a passport member, I paid only half of that. It was a very nice campground and I stuck around the next day. .
Book Report: I drove the 300 miles back to Dallas from Lake Jackson yesterday and never got to Travels with Maggie. Hopefully I’ll get an hour’s worth of writing in later today.
Bean’s Pat: A Trip to Antarctica http://tinyurl.com/c6te3yc This sounds like an awesome arm-chair traveling event.
Posted in Dogs, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged gatlinburg, pat bean, pigeon forge, postaday, smoky mountain national park, tennessee, yogi's in the smokies | 4 Comments »
“The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” — Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912
Pepper investigating that purple cow back in Waynesboro, Virginia. — Photo by Pat Bean
Adventures with Pepper: Days 38-45
As my regular readers know, I lost Maggie, the dog who was my traveling companion during my first eight years of living on the road.
Pepper and me taken at the SPCA shelter in Plano, Texas, on the day she hopped into my lab, looked up at me and with her eyes clearly said: I’m going home with you. I hadn’t been looking for either a puppy or a terrier. — Photo by Pat Bean
After a horrendous period of grieving, I acquired Pepper, who has been my travel companion since April 20th. She was a four-month-old rag mop of a Scotty-mix, the Plano, Texas, SPCA Shelter staff said, when I rescued her.
Since then, she’s doubled in size to about 20 or so pounds, and has become a piece of my heart. Where Maggie was the Grand Diva of dogs, Pepper is a rowdy tomboy whose greatest joy in life is giving me chin kisses and rough-housing with bigger dogs.
At Yogi’s in the Smokies campground, where I spent a week, the dog she played with was a young black lab that belonged to a large family group that were my neighbors. One afternoon, after we had laughingly watched the two of them play, I got a knock on my RV door.
Pepper keeping an eye on me from her high perch on our over-the-cab bed. — Photo by Pat Bean
“Would Pepper’s mom like to come have steak around the campfire with us,” two young girls asked.
Pepper’s mom said, “Yes.”
Book Report: Travels with Maggie is now up to 61,868 words.
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: Hunting Trolls in Norway http://tinyurl.com/b9bovh6 Travel is all about learning something new, and not getting eaten by trolls.
Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Dogs, Travel, Writing | Tagged dogs, pat bean, yogi's in the smokies | 2 Comments »
A Ducky Family
Half-breed ducks at Springfield Park in Rowlett, Texas. — Photo by Pat Bean
When I first began bird watching, a flock of ducks like this had me scrambling through my guidebooks over and over in my efforts to identify them. A seasoned birder finally took pity on me and explained that they were hybrids, half mallard-and half something else, usually the white domestic ducks that hang about in civilized ponds.
“You won’t find them in any birding field guide, and the AOU (American Ornithological Union) discounts them as a legitimate bird species,” he said. “And they can’t reproduce,” he said.
These days I recognize such hybrids immediately. And in my crazy mind, they speak to me about how life, in all of its forms, is constantly trying to renew itself.
Posted in Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged ducks, mallard hybrids, pat bean, postaday, Rowlett, Springfield Park, texas parks, weekly photo challenge | 4 Comments »
The view out the rear window of Gypsy Lee at Yogi’s in the Smokies. — Photo by Pat Bean
“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Adventures with Pepper: Days 37-45
I was ready for some days away from being behind the wheel of Gypsy Lee after finishing the 469-mile drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I also needed to plant myself somewhere for my vote-by-mail election material to reach me.
Pepper and I walked this trail every day while at the park, but never went as far as the falls. –Photo by Pat Bean
While I avoid politics as much as possible, I do keep up with what’s going on in the world, and being aware of how hard my sisters fought so women could vote, I repay their efforts by voting. I feel strongly that anyone who doesn’t vote has no right to complain, and while I don’t talk politics much – frankly it’s usually too depressing – this is an issue I’m always vocal about.
And just for the record, since I’m far ahead of my blog in my travels, I will tell you that the presidential election results pleased some of my five children and displeased some of them.
Here’s a view of Mingo Falls, which I did get to see in my armchair travels. — Wikipedia photo
That’s the kind of family we are, and the fact that everyone can be vocal about it regardless of which side of the fence they’re on says a lot about America.
And for the sake of my own serenity in the family picture, I ain’t saying who I voted for.
And, yes you can be jealous, while all the pre-election day chaos was taking place, I was nestled beneath a couple of big trees right by the river that ran through Yogi’s in the Smokies campground in North Carolina, where I sat in perfect serenity for a whole week.
I slept each night to the gurgle of river water as it flowed past my camp site — and was rejuvenated.
Book Report: I spent an hour writing on Travels with Maggie this morning, but cut more than I rewrote. Word count is 61,162.
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: Thought for Today: http://tinyurl.com/b88qq2s This made me laugh, and it’s oh so true.
Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged mingo falls trail, North Carolina, pat bean, politics, presidential election, smoky mountain national park, yogi's in the smokies | 5 Comments »
The many interpretive and information signs along the parkway enhanced my experience of the parkway. It was also great to drive a road where Mother Nature was the focus of all the attention. — Photo by Pat Bean
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T.S Elliot
Adventures with Pepper: Days 37
It was a cold morning in Ashville but it warmed up quickly. This last day’s drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway was the steepest, the road traveling up to 6,047 feet, just slightly less than half the altitude of the highest point of 12,183 feet on Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park, which I drove near the start of this meandering journey to Texas.
While I didn’t stop at every overlook I know I got over half of them. — Photo by Pat Bean
In addition to being the steepest, today’s colors were among the most brilliant, meeting all my expectations of catching Miss Appalachian in her finest autumn dress.I stopped for lunch at the 3,570 Stony Bald Overlook at the 402 mile marker, and looked out at layer upon layer of color and mountain ridges.
“Wow!” I said to Pepper as she chewed her pork-skin bone while I ate a peanut butter and orange marmalade sandwich.
Thirty-point-four miles, half a dozen stops and two hours later, Pepper and I were standing at the Richard Balsam overlook at that 6,047 feet for a zillionth replay of beauty and color.
Ponds always stopped me for a closer look, and this one had a great short hiking trail to go with it. Ahhhh. Blue Ridge Parkway I’ll miss you. — Photo by Pat Bean
“Where in Texas you from?” I heard a voice say from behind me. Because of my Texas license plates I heard those same words at least once a day on the parkway. Many of the speakers were Texans themselves.
I suspected the speaker probably wasn’t really interested in the answer. The question was just the icebreaker for sharing a few minutes of conversation with a stranger. It’s one of the rituals of traveling – a ritual I love.
Book Report: I wanted to skip reporting about Travels with Maggie today. I’m sure you know why. And today, after posting this, I have a 300-mile road trip to make, from Dallas to the Texas Gulf Coast via Interstate 45. I think I’ll be listening to an audible book as I hate freeways, but I have loved ones waiting for me at the end of the trip so the drive will be worth it.
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Beans Pat: http://tinyurl.com/bzttg42 This one just seemed appropriate for today. My wish is that this time around the losers will help the winners do what is in the best interests of the country, and that the winners will put the interests of the country above personal ambitions or gain. OK. I’m a dreamer.
Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged appalachians, autumn colors, Blue Ridge Parkway, pat bean | 6 Comments »
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.” – May Sarton
Linn Cove Viaduct — Wikipedia photo
Adventures with Pepper: Days 35-36
One of the best things about the Blue Ridge Parkway is that it’s totally decommercialized, which means if you need gas you have to exit the parkway.
I found the rock walls along the parkway just as fascinating as the more spectacular autumn views at overlooks. — Photo by Pat Bean
I needed gas, and according to my maps, Linville, North Carolina was where I needed to get it. Right before I got there I crossed the Linn Cove Viaduct, a 1,243-foot bridge that snakes around Grandfather Mountain. It was completed in 1987 at a cost of $10 million and was the last section of the parkway to be finished. As I was crossing it, I thought how nice it was for a change not to be going up and down ridges for a little bit. The thought turned out to be cause for laughter almost as soon as I got across the bridge. Linville was in the hollow at the bottom of the bridge crossing.
Some times Mother Nature makes words seem inadequate. — Photo by Pat Bean
So down I went, and then back up again to continue my slow, winding, uphill-downhill journey on the parkway. I would spend the next five hours driving just about 100 miles. While the parkway speed is 35-45 mph, most of the time that’s way too fast for road conditions . And then of course there were the overlooks and Mother’s Nature’s wonders around every bend in the road that needed to be explored on foot.
I spent the night and all the next day at a small, but friendly, RV park just off the parkway in Ashville, North Carolina. It was a welcome break for all that uphill and downhill-ness, even if I had enjoyed every moment of it.
Book Report: Nada. Too busy with other projects. Somehow I’m going to have to push Travels with Maggie back up to the top of my priority list.
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: A Silk Road Forest http://tinyurl.com/b82opv8 I thought this arm-chair travel blog was a nice contrast to the forests I was driving through.
Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged Blue Ridge Parkway, fall colors, linn cove viaduct, Mother Nature, North Carolina, pat bean | 2 Comments »
The Vain Little Bluebird
Is that pretty bird in the window me> — Photo by Pat Bean
This little gal was fascinated by her own reflection in the window of the truck parked next to my RV at the Pinoak Campground at Natchez Trace Resort State Park in Tennessee. I call the bird a gal because males are usually brighter in color.
She kept hopping from the rear-view mirror to the edge of the window frame trying to get a better look of herself. She was so engaged in this activity that she wasn’t even chased away when I opened Gypsy Lee’s side window to take her photograph.
It was my favorite photo of the week.
Do you have a favorite picure you took this week? Post it and tell me about it. I’d love to see it.
Posted in Birds, Saturday's Photo, Travel | Tagged eastern bluebird, pat bean photography | 8 Comments »
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen
When I first got on the parkway this day, fog and mist obscured the views. — Photo by Pat Bean
Adventures with Pepper: Day 35
I ended my travels yesterday, which I had started in Meadows of Dan, Virginia, at Julian Price State Park in North Carolina. It was a beautiful park by a lake, but I had neither cell-phone service nor internet connections.
But when the fog cleared out, the colors of fall were brighter and crisper than I had seen before. — Photo by Pat Bean
I would have liked to have stayed put a couple of days but with a writing deadline to meet the next day, I knew I would have to move on early the next morning so I could connect back to the world.
I didn’t sleep good because it began raining shortly after Pepper and I took a hike around the lake in the early evening, and the dripping continued all night. Normally I love to listen to the patter of rain on my RV roof, but I didn’t want to drive the parkway in the rain the next day. Gypsy Lee handles steep hills quite nicely, but doesn’t do slick well.
The rain finally stopped just before dawn, and as I had my morning cup of cream-laced coffee, I watched the grayness of day overcome the blackness of night. There’s usually a brief moment of this fantastic grayness, before the light of the sun takes charge of the day, that always seems magical to me.
One of many parkway tunnels that I passed through this day, briefly leaving the light behind but finding it just as bright again on the other side. — Photo by Pat Bean
But not when the grayness lingers, as it did this morning. And when I got on the road, the grayness turned into a thick fog that shut down all but about 50 feet of the road ahead, and all of the grand views looking out from the mountain ridges.
Then, as if someone had clicked a switched, the sun popped out, creating light that pleased my camera more so than any other day I had spent so far on the parkway.
If I had to pick one day as my favorite of driving the 466 miles of the parkway, this day might have been it. But then I’m glad I don’t have to choose because every mile, every hour, every day on the parkway had something amazing in store for me.
Book Report: Travels with Maggie is now at 60,701 words.
Bean’s Pat: The Crown of the Continent http://tinyurl.com/crkcmxg Take an armchair tour of Glacier National Park – and prepare to be awed.
Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Hikes, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged Blue Ridge Parkway, grayness, julian price state park, light, north carolinia, pat bean, postaday | 5 Comments »
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
Pat Bean is a writer, avid birder, hiker and passionate nature observer with wanderlust in her soul. She spent nine years living and traveling in a small RV. She now lives in Tucson with Scamp, a rescue who was supposed to be a Schnauzer mix but turned out to be a Siberian Husky-Shih Tzu mix who is as stubborn as his owner, her granddaughter says. She was also a journalist for 37 years, and can be reached at patbean@msn.com
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