Merry Christmas!

In Alabama Again! LOL!

I'm back in Alabama for Xmas & New Year's! And typical AL weather...almost shorts temps & rain...good 'ol southern thunderstorms!

Will be headed back to Tx about the middle of Jan. So nice long visit...and getting a few things done on Europa.  😁

If i don't get on here again in time...

Merry Christmas 🎄🎀🎁🎄⛺⛄to all....and i hope everyone has a fantastic New Year!!! 🍷🍹 🎉🎆🎇⛺🍻🍸

Scanning!!

Good Sunday Morning!

Winter is struggling to get down into the southern area where I am! It has actually been rather "chilly" here a couple of times in the past couple of weeks!  LOL!  And I'm sure that is a nasty thought to some! 

I'm in the middle...almost exactly the middle...of scanning in a massive collection of family pictures that range from the 1930's to the early 2000's...

My G'mother on left, don't know the man in glasses...but that is Pres Lyndon B Johnson & Ladybird

My G'father in San Antonio 1939

& it's still there!!! Just updated some!!

                               

That's my grandparents & I think that is ME!  LOL!

Tiffany & Joshua

 and so far...I've scanned 1,547 pics, that's 20.6gb worth of pics in to over 135 different folders...and it is maybe half of the pics!  LOL!  I still have a little over 2 tubs of pictures to go!

 It is really amazing just how many pictures have been "collected" over the years! But, one suggestion for folks...if you still take hard copy pics...use a Sharpie and write on the backs of the pics explaining what/when/who/where pictures are taken! If you use an album to keep them in, DO NOT WRITE ON THE PAGES and expect them to still be on the same pages and over the same writing FIFTY years later!!  LOL!!  The odds are they will not be still attached to the page!!!

Any way...yesterday & today I'm letting my brain have a break! I basically did a 40 hour week last week scanning, and some "overtime" if you count the time that I spent sorting them into the different groups/people.

Hope everyone has a good week...I'm getting into my planning stage again to "lay out the next few months" the places I'm headed, and things & people that I want to see. And for anyone interested in a real trek...end of March upcoming, I'm going to head for the AZ Strip...that's the NW corner of AZ, the western end of the Grand Canyon Nat'l Park...there are NO modern conveniences for basically 200 miles-to include no gas, cell coverage - NOTHING!  Heheheh...can't wait!

photo by Joshua

So, once again, have a good week upcoming...more to come soon!   






And remember...when you think that the past seems like a dark, damp, lonely place in the depths of the earth.....

They can be and are just the beginning of an adventure into the past of your life......

And the start of the future!!!

A lot of Miles!!

Corps Of Engineers Marine Museum in Duluth, MN

We've been a bunch of miles since my last update!!  Sorry!! We have been really travelling around...from MI to WI to MN and now we're in TX!  Been through a lot of pretty country, saw some awesome fall colors, really full rivers & some neat cities & towns!

We spent almost a week with Christopher in Madison, WI...a neat town, capital of the state, UW there, and LOTS of doggone bicycles!!! When you're driving around in Madison, you spend as much time looking at the sights as you do watching out for the bike riders!!

 

 

 It's hard to tell where I was when I took these shots...but let's just say that I was traveling thru the backroads of the USA & really enjoying it!! Even when it was rainy & blustery!

 

 

 

 

There a quite a few really nice gardens in the city, and green spaces. LOTS of water all around the place...especially since it is on an isthmus! That's a piece land that wants to be an island...but we just won't let it!  LOL!

 

 

 

The views from the capital building are really nice...and you can really see the growth of the city.

 

 

 

 

Got to go see the capital...a really nice one...with a really neat history! And the stonework on the building is just magnificent! And the dome is awesome!

My favorite pic from Madison, WI visit!!

Stopped in and went thru the "Allen Centennial Garden"..the home of the Ag Dean in the past. Neat old home,that they are working on and is closed to the public, 

 

 

but the outside is worth seeing! And the gardens are just great! You almost feel like you are in the country..instead of the middle of a big city!

AND THEN CAME THE ZOO!!!

Spent a few hours at the City Zoo...and it is a free zoo! And for a free zoo, it is quite nice! Well kept, the animals look good, nice play zone for the kids...just a nice little zoo!

Also stopped by "The Terrace"...it is a concrete beach/marina/patio kinda area on the big lake...nice view of the lake, very well laid out, LOTS of people! 

LOL!  But a neat spot to sit down and watch the boats, water and people.

Also took time to go thru the "Olbrich Botanical Gardens". They were awesome! The gardens are divided into "regions" with plants for each type of region. Very well laid out, nice paths, spots to sit in & under the trees...

 

just a very nice place! I could go there on a weekly basis...and it is free! The "arboretum" (grand green house!!!  LOL!) is free on two days weekly, but it is only, if I remember right, $2 to go in for seniors (I notice those things since I now are one!!!). 

When we left Christopher, we were headed for a cabin in the woods!! In MN!!

 

  My friend Barb has a really neat little place in the middle of 4 acres of MN woods! And her 4 acres are in the middle of about 2 square miles of basically undeveloped MN woods!! It was a glorious place to spend a couple of weeks! 

Spent part of a day at Banning State Park, only about 15 min from the cabin. It is a nice small state park...was originally a quarry. It was about the height of the fall colors...was beautiful!

I also made a couple of trips to Sandstone, MN, about 20 miles away. It was the closest grocery store of any account, and a really nice drive. While there I also spent time in "Robinson Park".

 

       

It is a city park that is on the old quarry that is the reason for the town! For a "city" park, it was/is really neat! It has several campsites, for tents/vans, that are free! A lot of walking areas and trails, right on the Kettle River.

 

 

Even has a "cliff" that you can see the drill marks from the quarry days still, and lots of stone still laying around. If you ever get there, it is worth spending a relaxing couple of hours at!

The next part of this journey was the trip down to Texas! And we got out of there just in time!! The cold weather was just starting to move in, had a couple of days of hard frost before we left out.  Spent almost a week coming down to Texas. Was a very good run overall...

if you take out of it the strong winds for almost the whole trip!! And I mean nasty at times! And the cold followed me all the way down here!

Just a note..left MN on a Sunday...that following Thursday.................left just in time  LOL!

It was an Interstate Hwy trip! It is just easier on me and Europa...and fuel mpg's are better that way. And spent every night at a Wally World RV Center!!  LOL!!  Nice to have a relatively flat spot to park, and lights all night, and usually fuel the next morning. And don't feel guilty running the generator for a few hours each night to charge and cook.

So we are now at my daughter's for a stay. Will be working on Europa, scanning in pictures, resting up and working on a few other projects.

Doing some "unpacking", re-arranging, purging of unneeded items...and watching a LOT of football!!!!

Our next journey will be short, running over to see my 3 grandgirls/daughter/ s-i-l in the DFW area. Will be there for a few days...then headed to spend T'giving week with the Folks. From there we will be headed  back to Alabama for Christmas and a few weeks visiting. Then comes the first of the year...and really don't know yet just what we will be doing after the first of the year. I do know that sometime before it gets hot.....

we will be heading out to the NW corner of AZ to the Arizona Strip for a couple of weeks to see the western end of the Grand Canyon...a spot where there are NO tourist traps, cell coverage, fuel, water, lodging...Heheheheheheheh....just desert for 200+ miles!! And a few ghost towns to visit!

Might be a couple of weeks before I update again. Thinking about making a couple of short trips around the NE corner of TX to see the sights. So stay tuned for more on the road with Frog!!

18 States since Jan 31,2017!!!

Stick with us....hope to fill in most of the western US by end of next year!!!