Tag: Blog Postings
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Nicodemus, KS, 2023
African American families stayed in the area, settling on farms in the surrounding township.
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Road Runner Rest Stop
Passing the Rest Stop many times over the years, to finally visit at my leisure
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2020, MN, ND, Harvest Hosts and destinations.
Six other RV’ers arrived and we closed down the tasting room.
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Saguaro National Park East, Again
I have returned with more of my desert hiking experiences forthcoming.
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Happy New Year, 2023
I wish everyone’s dreams, desires, and expectations to become a reality in 2023 and beyond.
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Washington State’s Pacific Coast
An ocean becomes visually mesmerizing with never-ending waves of water breaking upon a shoreline, is nature’s melodic, soothing sounds.
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Voyagers National Park
International Falls MN becoming one of the best outdoor actives destinations in the U. S.
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“My nomadic travel origins,”
One aspect I thought of was my self-diagnosis of having a hyperactive personality with a dose of attention deficit disorder. :-)
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“2018 Key West Fantasy Fest.”
Before I created this blog post, I took time organizing my thoughts to shape the narrative for the photos I captured during the 2018 Key West Fantasy Festival. I was ambivalent because none of the images represent any form of wildlife, wilderness landscapes or US National Parks. Since I began my nomadic travels around the…
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“Zombie bike ride.”
I recommend you visit Key West during the Fantasy festival with a daily schedule of events, there is something for everyone.
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“Hiking and backpacking fears.”
On many occasions, my family and friends have voiced they’re concerned about me backpacking or hiking into the forests and deserts. They fear for my safety of everything and anything from zombie hikers to lions, tigers, and of course, bears. I see a trail as natures peaceful serenity revealing the visuals of various trees,…
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“New tent and picturesque islanding camping in Vermont.”
During the last couple of years, I have traveled mostly in the western US and back home to my much beloved Florida beaches and the Florida Keys, I have seen and witnessed many forms and types of camping, but the new phenomena is the roof-top tent. I have viewed thousands of Youtube videos about roof-top…
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New Mexico; Trail Days.
My freedom is traveling nomadically, one destination to another, exploring, discovering and learning. (MJL) In April I attended the 2018 Continental Divide Trail Days held on the Campus of Western New Mexicos University in the town of Silver City NM. The quaint little town is situated at 6000-feet above sea level and is an…
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“The circle of life: Birth to Death.”
A man and woman conceived a child. Some people debate when the circle of life begins, but for this poem, the ring of a lifetime starts when a mother is aware she is carrying a child in her womb which begins the symbiotic bonding before birth. Upon birth, infants around the world are, breastfed, allowing…
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“Juxtapose, the yearly ceremony.”
Again, as usual, I am seated watching the archaic traditions leaving no assumptions for what is to happen at this ceremony that has been held every year since 1877. I glance around to see the awkward familiar faces and, I imagine many other narcissists have gathered here guiltily pretending to care, making this entire ordeal infectiously…
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Arizona’s Route 89A, a scenic drive.
Everyone who visits Arizona always recommends the Grand Canyon and their next recommendation is usually the city of Sedona AZ to see the picturesque red mountains surrounding the town. Many travelers use some form of an electronic map on their cellular phone or the built-in mapping system in their vehicle providing the most economical way…
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“Petrified Forest National Park.”
Oh yes, the Petrified Forest National Park has been on my must-visit list for years, and my recent scenic drive tour has only conjured up plans for a re-visit to backpack the backcountry overnight and hike some of the incredible trails. The park was initially dedicated in 1906 and became a National Park in 1962.…
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“Age and Wisdom.” (poetry)
We do not celebrate wisdom, because it comes with age. Many fear age while never gaining its wisdom. Youth spends money, wisdom would never consider. Youth is fertile ground for speeding through life for what can be obtained patiently in time. Time builds wisdom, celebrating, living or suffering through life. Age is celebrated, reminiscing about…
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“Places in the World.” (poetry)
There are many places in the world, but none compare to traveling to witness vistas, landscapes, and wildlife. My current place on this planet is the above photos inside Bluewater Lake State Park in Prewitt, NM campgrounds. At over 7000ft above sea level, my current vistas are spectacular, from sunup to sundown. The night…
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“Travel destinations and tours.”
My travel aura was projecting as I sat reading about my next destination inside my vehicle at an eastbound I-10 rest-stop in East Texas. Actually, it was my Florida tags Jess Duran observed who greeted me with a hearty “good morning and our conversation continued for the next hour or more about our travels past and…
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“Vaguely bestowed history.” (short story)
Ms, Charlotte Wetzler, was seated on the main stage, looking out upon well over 500-hundred guests who are her former students and the recipients of her 42- years of teaching eight and ninth grade American and World history. Accompanying the stage with Ms. Wetzler are members of her school’s administration, School board members, politicians and…
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“Rubber Mallet.” ( short story)
With each swing of the mallet, I pound the spike deeper into the ground. Anger, jealousy, envy, and hate fuels my swings but, I cannot stop pounding the spike more profoundly into the ground until my arm and shoulder begin to ache as tears and sweat streaming along my cheeks. I hear the faint echo…
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“Authentic Migrations.”
Capturing sunrise photos while stopped at the “Sols Cliff scenic overlook with views of Bar Harbor Maine from inside Acadia National Park. The crisps winds of an early September cold weather front, caused my eyes to tear and blur my exquisite views leaving only the distant ocean waves sounds lapping against the shore for my…
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“Montgomery Alabama.”
On a cold rainy spring day, I toured several critical locations in the city of Mongomery Alabama which is ground zero of the Civil Rights Era in America. In 1877 the Dexter St. Baptist Church was founded when congregants moved from the First Colored Baptist Church in Montgomery Al. In 1954, at 26-years of age,…
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“Our timeless love.”
Our family, our children, forty years we made. The mind-numbing daily routine we made. Our separate sleeping bedrooms we agreed. Because of commitments, our love has become veiled from one another, allowing our hearts to become etched hallowed caves. Our separate cars to attend church we agreed. Our time for one another is thwarted with…
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“Churn or grind.”
The daily WordPress word prompt inspires thoughtful, creative writing ideas based on the WordPress user’s past experiences with the word which can hold various meanings and definitions. The word churn, cause me to think of the word grind. Let me explain, the word “churn” based on my history holds significant connotations, when my high school football coach used…
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“Layers upon layers of hope.”
Attending a funeral, a retirement gathering, a college or high school graduation, of a family member or friend allows for personal self-reflection. Your thoughts peel away layers of life’s reality igniting and stirring emotions, to bring tears to your eyes similar to peeling layers of an onion. Life is similar to the layers of an onion when reaching…
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Betrayed and frantic, I think not!”
Since Feb I have enjoyed and settled into the Florida warmth, and because of cold temperatures, I used my backpacking pants’ less than a week. As March winds to an end, my mind repeatedly drifts to traveling the roads in the vast western US and hiking/backing treelined canopy trails. Although my focus has been to…
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“I’d Rather Be.”
The weekly photo challenge asks the question where would you rather be. The following photos reveal where I would rather be as photography allows for the repeated return to moments when the original photo was taken, over and over and over forever. Within the past two years, I have traveled to many different locations…
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“Identical.”
Every day since forever, I have seen you, and we are identical twins. I look into your eyes, and I see the mirror image of me. I have seen pictures of you, and you look like me. Your cheekbones, lips, eyebrows, and chin are all like mine. We are identical twins? As far back as…
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“Invisible.”
See my elegance? My jet black hair was cooked and processed with waves galore, against platinum silver and neon green, circumferencing from temple to temple rising to the cowlick above the top of my head. My head held high, arms across my chest, I stood erect and poised like the dandy I am, dressed in my…
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“Blushed.”
Casandra entered the room, and I could not make eye contact, She walks past my table, and I look down at my paper, I sensed a connection, but I’m too shy to speak. Brian will not notice me when I walk into the classroom. He will not acknowledge me with eye contact. I walk past…
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“Meander.”
During my lifetime of travel along the back roads, my reason to stop is best described as “distracted.” by what my eyes witness and I want to learn and discover the details of my initial distraction. I developed this type of travel during my twenty-five plus years of riding my touring motorcycle across the US…
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“Suddenly there is no sound.”
Suddenly there is no sound of the trail, but I feel and hear my heart pounding after my climb to summit the small peak of 2500 feet. My breathing slows matching the calmness surrounding me, and I pause to absorb the silence. I have replaced my forty hour work week noises of voices, car horns…
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“Travel guts: A special mode of travel.”
For over forty years I have traveled around the US for which my family and friends were astonished by the journey and marveled at the destinations completed on a motorcycle. My mother, forbid me to tell her when, or where I was going but demanded I call her immediately upon my returned home. Adventure travelers…
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“Valentines Day of love”
Well, it has come around again the commercially celebrated Valentines Day of love. It is the erotic, exotic, enticing, inspirational day for the expression and confession of love for one or more particular persons or ourselves. I write this blog post watching the sunrise from Smathers Beach in Key West Florida on this yearly holiday…
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Travel Fears? “Carpe-Diem”
Within the imaginations of everyone who’s creative ideas and thoughts are inspired or influenced by anything seen on television, read in a book or magazine, can become a reality. MJL I was influenced by television shows like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, hosted by Marlin Perkins, National Geographic magazines and the used encyclopedias my mother bought.…
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“Wedding anniversaries and a birthday: part #2”
At 4:45 pm, their father, Jefferson Wheeler, was a third-generation farmer, who stood six-foot, seven-inches tall, with muscular arms, and a matching barrel chest. He was a hardworking, strict disciplinarian, and his deep baritone bass voice commanded the attention of everyone when he spoke. When he drove his tractor into the barn, he saw the…
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“Wedding anniversaries and a birthday: part #1.”
It was 4:30 pm on a western Nebraska farm, in the summer of 1969 with the humid July winds blowing as usual while the Wheeler twins Jason and Jacob who were age six and digging a hole in the backyard of their parent’s farm. Their 15-year old brother Johnathan was driving one of the families…
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“Inscrutable trill silhouetted in front of me.”
I was scared almost out of my seat when Sister Abigale screamed at the top of her lungs forcing all of the fifth-grade students to stared forward, but it was apparent the class prankster, Abraham Jefferson had been up to no good as he snickered and laughed aloud. Her anger was expected, as her voice trilled…
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“I’m candid, fairly agile living on island time.”
I was born and raised in the Adirondacks in Upstate New York, and the first time I saw photos of a beach, I dreamed of living on an island. As a teenager and college student, I was a formidable long distance runner with the agility of a Gazel, but my burning desire to live on…
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“The next dominant generation.”
I am a part of what some people call the greatest generation. When I consider how my parents who lived with nothing close to the conveniences I enjoyed as a child, progressing through my teenage years into becoming an adult, I’m proud to have survived based on today’s standards. I survive childhood without car seats,…
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“Blink.”
Fortunately, during my lifetime I have recorded hundreds of hours of video with accompanied thousands of photos of my now adult children. My recorded library reveals decades of family and friends, moments in time to include births, birthdays, milestone accomplishments, critical life-changing events, marriages, family reunions and yes even death. Viewing my recorded library of…
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“Candid.”
Be candid with me, I can take it. Honesty is the best policy when the truth is the foundation for any relationship. However, many lies are spoken in considerations of the feeling for family, friends and significant others. Candidly speaking one’s mind can become detrimental to any relationship or will it? The following candid question…
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“Study.”
As the college semester comes to an end, the mood of the students on the entire campus becomes stressfully solemn. Every nook and cranny is occupied as students seek silent locations for studying to assure themselves a grade worthy of not repeating the class. The University recommends study groups, flowcharts, diagrams, practicing old exams, recording themselves…
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“Natures Transformations.”
The desert is a great place to experience the beauty of nature when the approaching rains transform the landscape scenery. A weather system pushed through the Quartzsite AZ desert providing a beautiful rainbow, and marvelous skies. The mostly volcanic rock, sand, and quartz rock and many other various gems that are prospected in the surrounding…
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“Loophole.”
For twenty years’ or more, the theater’s dancers have taken a ten-minute break every hour during any rehearsal no matter how long they rehearsed. Three months into the theater season a pre-law student dancer read the complete contract and discovered a nutritious meal is supposed to be served during any rehearsals over four hours. When…
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“Horizon.”
My thoughts often drift to the Arizona desert horizon at sunrise during our two week Christmas break. My face brightens with a smile, and yet my heart aches for endless sights of our horizons. I dislike goodbyes as my eyes followed your silhouette beyond the sunset on the horizon. WordPress daily word prompt
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“Treated reservations.”
If you are lucky, your life will treat you to various forms and types of reservations. I have had room and dinner reservations and I have toured nature reserves and visited several 1st Nations Lands for what some people call Reservations also known as the “The Rez.” But my daily reservation is the moment of…
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“A blogger conversation.”
The first daily word prompt “conversation” is appropriate to begin 2018 since a blog post initiates a conversation between bloggers around the world. Four years ago when I began blogging my surprise was the conversations with other bloggers about every aspect of my blog postings. As my blog has expanded to different categories of short…
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“Cozy Confessions.”
My thirty plus years of travel destinations are filled with photos and encountering people who are the inspirations for some of my creative writings ideas. In the beginning, I traveled via motorcycle across the US from coast to coast and border to border culminating with an inspiring road trip from Key West Florida to Fairbanks Alaska…
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“Gorge.”
The images do not reflect the cold temperatures, of the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos New Mexico of the magnificent engineering marvel of the bridge, draped in the beauty of a morning sunrise. One of America’s highest and most famous bridges, the route 64 crossing of the Rio Grande near Taos, New Mexico was completed…
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“Procrastinating Pressure.”
The significance of procrastinating pressure to complete goals is sometimes a necessary emotion when you find snippets of excuses to forgo what should be done. With thirty days to write 50,000 words, it may seem daunting at first, but with proper and essential preparation it possible to find success. Spending each day including Thanksgiving taking bites of the…
Expedition Nomadic Adventures 