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Slow Start
Mornings are better in retirement. I like a slow start so much that I try to avoid scheduling anything before 11 am. While I usually get up between 7 and 8, there’s no pressure to do so. Sometimes I set an alarm, but if I don’t want to get up, I just shut it off. …
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Flow
One of my minor goals this year is to achieve a psychological “flow state” most days. I consider myself successful if I accomplish that state of timeless immersion while birding or cleaning or gardening or tax planning…. My approach, which might be ridiculous, is to have 5 to 10 tasks on my calendar for the…
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Greenhouse from Costco
We have been home just over a month and spent a chunk of that time building a Yardistry 8′ x 10′ greenhouse from Costco. We have lots of rocks on our property so used them before adding the landscape stone that we purchased. We chose to install the greenhouse on a flat area near an…
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Illinois: Barns and Windmills
Today we visited friends and family in Iowa and Illinois, only progressing about 200 miles towards home. Today’s photos theme is “Old Barns and New Windmills”. The barns were here when I grew up in the area. The windmills arrived after I left, and they make my heart soar. I’m not looking forward to getting…
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Nebraska and Iowa
This was not an exciting day. We started with a quick and friendly oil change at Jiffy Lube before driving 400 miles for the day. Our truck will have over 200,000 miles on it by the time we get to Virginia, and we try to take good care of it. We will have driven 20,000…
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Sandhill Cranes and White-sided Dolphins
We are in Kearney, Nebraska, which would be a great place to visit during the Sandhill Cranes Spring Migration. Maybe some year we will get here to see (and hear!) thousands of cranes along the Platte River. Both C and I loved hearing their distinctive calls overhead in Alaska. I enjoyed watching Sandhill Cranes dance…
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Wyoming
While we started the day in Laurel, Montana, most of our 360 miles of travel was in Wyoming, ending in Douglas. The best part of the day was the Thermopolis area with Hot Springs State Park and Wind Canyon. It was fascinating to walk around the park with the hot water, sulfur smell, and surreal…
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Montana
We drove further than planned today, 533 miles, all Interstate. We started in Washington and crossed North Idaho, but most of the miles were in Montana, ending in Laurel. Our only brief stop was at Three Forks for Chinese food and a short stroll. We saw 30 Pronghorn, 33 Deer, and 5 Elk today. Some…
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Washington State
We woke up at the western end of Washington State, and have stopped driving just shy of Spokane, near the eastern border. This morning, we got off the ferry and drove to North Cascades National Park. It was beautiful, though hazy with smoke, and busy. After visiting North Cascades in the morning, the impressive Grand…
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MV Columbia, Day 4
After a foggy start where the ferry used its fog horn every few minutes, the day turned gloriously sunny as we were approaching Vancouver Island. We saw so much marine wildlife after it cleared! Today, I saw 3 Orca, 11 Humpback Whales, 27 Sea Otters, 2 small pods of either Dall’s Porpoises or Pacific White-sided…
Me & C
Roaming: Shenandoah River to the Alaska Range
Me & C 