She Loves Alaska!

My mother loves Alaska. Her name is Mattie and she is 92 years old (or will be in July) - and she is leaving next week for her 10th (I think - losing count here) trip to Alaska. She has relatives, nieces and nephews, there, which makes the trip affordable for someone living on Social Security and her savings earned from cleaning homes over the years. Alaska, with its wild and wonderful beauty, is her favorite place to visit, but when she was younger and my father was alive, she made it to all fifty states. With a small motor home, they managed to see the country "on the cheap" but with great joy. Coming from poverty and a tenant farmer's life, she has delighted in the chance to see and appreciate the beauty so many take for granted. She is not a photographer, but she has been an inspiration to my own photography as she painted wonderful mental pictures in her stories of this land, from Hawaii to Alaska and every state in between. I can't wait to hear her latest saga when she returns. Happy Travels! From Janice

Back again

After a long absence, we will try this again - life got really hectic for a long while there, but we did manage to take some neat photo trips in spite of all that.
Last year we were on the road for 5 weeks (7 weeks for Nolan) of photography travel including a trip to the Smoky Mountains (with a bird photo outing at Gary Carter's blinds in North Carolina) and a long trip to Canada, Montana, and parts west (in the USA).
This year we made it to Georgia with lots of gardens along the way, including the gorgeous azalea gardens at Callaway Gardens. We also just got back from an eastern Canada trip, a cruise on the St. Lawrence River from Montreal all the way to Boston. Bad weather on that one, with rain, flooding, freezing cold, and gale force winds - quite a trip that was - with lots of foggy weather photo opportunities.
Flying is more of a hassle than ever - so we are thinking road trips look even better, and there is a lot of this beautiful USA that we have not yet seen or photographed. It remains a beautiful world, one we appreciate even more as we struggle with the challenges of aging.