A Snapshot and The Scoop: My Spot

Last year's mountain climbing adventures actually left us with quite a bit of time on our hands, and we spent one afternoon just driving around, exploring Colorado by car. It was getting towards evening and we were on our way back to camp when I realized where we were - near the town of Salida, and not too far away from a favorite childhood haunt. I began looking for the turn off, going completely by landmark memory from I don't even know how many years ago. We drove past the road and I knew it immediately; I flipped a u-turn and, with mounting excitement, took the turn. Not far up the road, just inside the national forest, I found it: one of my family's favorite places to camp in Colorado, revisited year after year, affectionately named "Natasha's Spot." I'd had My Spot marked on nearly every map of Colorado I owned up until we all grew up and stopped being able to go together on week+ family trips and lost track of it after that. I hadn't even realized Torrey and I were driving close by until something about the drive jogged my memory, and at that point I knew I'd have to find it just for memory's sake. It was almost exactly how I remembered it, with the little creek rushing by and a wide empty space that perfectly fit a large tent, or a small camper. There was an additional fire ring now, two instead of just one, but the little gravel beach with the boulder overhanging the creek was still there, and I could all but see my younger self along with my sister sitting there for hours pretending we were surviving in the wilderness all on our own. I could smell the smoke from an early evening pine-wood campfire and taste the grilled potatoes my mom was so fond of making on every camping trip. I could hear my dad shuffling outside of the camper at night on us kids' side, pretending to be Big Foot and scaring my sister so bad she made me sleep against the outer wall (because what else are big sisters for but to protect you - and be eaten first?). It was way past berry season in late August, but I wondered if the strawberry patch was still there, a short (sketchy) walk across the swift stream. I don't know exactly how long I stood there among the trees reminiscing, but Torrey left me to dwell in my memories for a little while with a content smile on my face as I walked around and around, touching everything and taking way too many pictures of a few compact yards. If we hadn't had plans the next day with an already established base camp I probably would have asked if we could set up there that night, but there's always next year.

2019 Wrap Up: It Was A Quiet Year

Muted. As far as travelling is concerned, it's been a quite year for me. I've been just exhausted this year, which has led me to choosing to stay home more often than not, spending my weekends, long weekends, and even longer breaks around holidays lounging around my house and yard. I have been able to get out and run, though, so I'm still spending plenty of time outdoors - on both streets and trails- so I'm not lacking in the sunshine department at least. I did manage to get a few trips in this year, so read on below for a recap:

I kicked off 2019 by taking a week-long vacation to the deserts of Arizona with my cat. Hoodoo and I volunteered at an ultra race along the borders of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, then we took off on our own to explore the deserts for a few days before heading home. We saw quite a bit of Arizona on our trip, and are already looking forward to going back again in the new year.

We adopted a new dog, and I "had" to travel to pick him up from my friend/his foster mom in Oklahoma. Bullet is a gentle, incredibly affectionate shepherd and fits in with our family like he's always belonged. And yeah, seeing Julia and her family while picking him up was the icing on the cake.

Callie, Hoodoo, and I took a weekend in late March to run away and look for alligators, and to spend a night on the gulf coast. We found plenty of gators, and while Hoodoo didn't appreciate the wind off the gulf we still got in a gorgeous sunrise stroll along the coast.

Hoodoo's and my trip to White Sands National Monument (now National Park!!) was . . . not great. It began with a hot day and a spectacular sunset followed by a lovely and quiet sunrise, then devolved into chaos and whipping sand and a flying tent with its occupants (us) still in it. One terrified cat, shredded tent, and broken wrist later, I don't think I'll be visiting White Sands again for a while. It took me six weeks to physically heal, and probably way longer than that to get over the disappointment of that disaster of a trip.

Despite still being in a wrist brace I took off by myself for ten days of driving and travelling around the east coast on what might be my most epic driving adventure to date. I visited 24 states plus Washington D.C. in that amount of time, saw the borders of Canada and the Atlantic Ocean, hit a ton of state and national parks, and tent camped most of those nights. It was a much needed retreat from normal life, and one of my top adventures of the year.

For the second year in a row LeakyCon was hosted in Dallas, and for the second year in a row I got tickets! Eleven year old me would never have forgiven myself if I had the chance to see Tom Felton (who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films) in person, and I am thrilled that I went.

For the sixth year in a row Torrey and I headed to Colorado in August, where we spent a week hiking 14,000 foot mountains, camping, sight-seeing, soaking in hot springs, and attempting but failing to backpack in sand dunes (no more sand dunes for me for a while, dammit!) We also went to Pikes Peak for the Ascent and Marathon for the sixth time, with me once again acting as cheerleader. We've got 49 more 14'ers to hike, and I can't wait for the years and adventures to come.

In September Jared and I actually travelled together and spent a weekend on the Texas Gulf Coast celebrating a friend's beautiful wedding. Not only did I get Jared to travel, but I even got him to go swimming in the Gulf with me! Talk about miracles!

Another wedding, this time for my cousin, led me back to Nebraska in October, where I hung out with family and celebrated a couple's love by partying the night away. It was a super short trip for me, with really only a single day and night with my family before turning around and heading home, but it was all the sweeter for it.

A day trip in November when Torrey came down to my neck of the woods for a visit found us in gator country along the Texas coast, where we saw quite a few of these reptiles and also made a trip to see the gulf before heading home at sunset. A long day with many hours in the car, but good company makes the miles and hours fly by.

On a random Saturday in mid-November I was heading north to meet my dad somewhere in Oklahoma to exchange a precious package: the little kitten pictured above, now named Nova, had been hit by a car the week prior while on my way in to work. I found her, began her recovery, and proceeded to bombard my family with pictures and videos of the little kitten with a bobbed tail who just wouldn't give up. My sister decided she wanted her, so my dad and I met up halfway between our homes for lunch and to get Nova to her new family. It might be the craziest adventure I've ever had: driving 12 hours for a one-hour lunch and to exchange a cat, but who cares. Nova is happy and healthy and now I get to see her any time I visit! It's a win for everyone.

Again, it's actually been a pretty quiet year this year. I travelled the least amount this year since I started tracking back in 2014, and while it seemed like it was okay while it was happening I now wish I'd made a little more effort throughout the year. Of course, some things that prevented my travels were beyond my control, but there's always next year to be more enthusiastic. Anyway, the usual stats are below:

Adventures: 11
Hours: 986.86
Miles Driven: 18,298
Total Cost: $3,078.92
States Visited: 29 plus Washington D.C.
Hiked: 59.6 miles
State Parks Visited: 6
National Parks Visited: 9
National Monument Visited: 3
National Forests Visited: 3
Wilderness Areas Visited: 1
National Seashore: 1
Navajo Tribal Park: 1
Number of Nights Tent Camping: 12
Number of Nights Sleeping IN the Car: 8
Number of Nights Backpacking: 2
Number of Nights in a Hotel: 4
Number of Nights in a House: 10
Number of Nights in an RV: 2
Animal Companions: 31
Human Companions: 33 plus various wedding guests

2020 is a new year, a fresh start, and I may or may not already have all of my vacation time planned out for the whole year. I've got several week-long trips booked already, with the first one beginning in February in the deserts. I just know this year is going to be a good one, so goodbye to the adventures of 2019 and hello to the new ones of 2020!

Four Years in Texas

Settled. I moved to Texas four years ago today, but who's counting? I am, apparently, even though this year I had to go back and double check the date I moved, way back on that blustery winter day. I guess the number of years I've spent down here aren't feeling as relevant to me anymore as I settle deeper into life with my husband, pets, home, and career. And I don't think that's a bad thing; the more I lose track of the time, the less I feel like a transplant trying to grow roots. At the risk of a bad analogy, my roots have finally dug deep into the red dirt of the Piney Woods in East Texas. And so, what has the last year brought for me?

Jared and I have finally settled in to our new house. Everything's unpacked, and if it's not unpacked it's because we rarely need it and it's sufficiently organized. I've been working on home improvement projects that make our house more of a home, including finally putting together a vegetable garden. I've wanted one for years, though we weren't quite settled enough by the time growing season in Texas came around last year for us (read: me) to be able to plant anything. This year's my year, though! I've been prepping my not-so-little garden plot since September, and already have potatoes in the ground for the spring/summer growing season. If I do things correctly I should also manage to hit the summer/autumn growing season for most veggies, and get even more out of year one.

Our personal zoo is thriving. While we unfortunately lost a few within the last year, including my first hedgehog, Chesler, we also added to the family. Hoodoo and Rey, a brother/sister pair of kittens came to us at the end of July. Just this past weekend, I traveled up to Julia's house in Oklahoma to pick up our newest adoption: Bullet! Julia has been fostering this German Shepherd pup for a local (to her) rescue, where my husband saw his pictures. Jared saw something in Bullet that called to him, and so he applied for adoption. A couple weeks later, and here we are! Ghost and Bullet are around the same age (and size) and we expect them to get along like brothers. Speaking of dogs, we're almost at the one-year mark since Marley's last seizure. Marley seizured frequently after moving to Texas, but his last seizure was six weeks after we moved into our new house. Our lives have changed drastically on so many levels since moving that we can't pinpoint a single thing that may have been triggering those terrible fits, but if he's no longer having them I am definitely not going to question it.

Jared and I both still work at Tiger Creek, which really has been business as usual.  I never, ever want to take my experiences for granted, but working with and raising new animals has become such an integral part of my life that I can't imagine myself without it. We raised a lion cub, you guys. A lion! And a cougar cub. And a lemur. And I may or may not be able to scratch an itch and go to work to get raccoon cuddles whenever I want. Because I love domestic animals with all my heart, but the wild ones are something special.

My traveling hasn't stopped. As a matter of fact, my (new) fridge is already becoming overwhelmed by the magnets I collect from the places I visit. I'm actually looking at magnetic alternatives, because I might be running out of room. You can read about the last year's adventures here, but suffice it to say I'm still travelling at every chance I get, with or without a partner. I've been developing my style as a hobby photographer as well, focusing on landscape but also fairly proud of my animal photography. It takes a certain amount of skill and no small amount of cooperation from your subject to get a good photo of an animal, whether in the wild or in captivity, and I feel like I'm taking strides in learning how to do so.

I remember those first few months after moving down here and feeling like my life never settled down, even though I expected it to. Now, I feel like my life has settled, but at a faster pace. Not so much a high-speed wobble anymore, more like cruising along the interstate with nothing in your way to slow you down. And I don't intend to slow down. I enjoy being busy, always having something going on, whether it's work related, something to do at the house, seeking new adventures on the road, or caring for animals (which can be either work-related or personal - or both). I am somehow managing to balance my home life, my work life, and my travel life, with a fair amount of finesse. I'm not saying it's perfect; I'm not saying me taking off on my own is easy for Jared, left to take care of all our animals, go to work, and come home to do it all over again by himself. I'm not saying I don't miss him, my animals at home, and my animals at work when I'm gone. And as much as we try, Jared and I still slip up and bring work home with us, especially if there's an animal that requires extra care. But we make it happen. I am able to work, yet I have a life at home, and I'm able to be home, yet still travel to my heart's content. And all the while there are threads of something animal-related in every aspect of my life. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Four years in Texas. Here's to another one.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Hoodoo's Second Mom

My little orange adventure kitty has two moms. He may not live with his second mom, and he only gets to see her when we adventure together or I'm visiting her back in Nebraska, but there is no doubt Torrey is Hoodoo's mom just as much as I am. She's known him almost as long as I have, as he traveled with me to Pike's Peak last year just after I got him, and then proceeded to climb six 14'ers with Torrey and I. This cat is clearly comfortable with her, choosing to go to her, climb on her shoulders, and calls out for her when he knows she's nearby but not within his eyesight. He'll follow after her if she walks away, and spends half his nights of adventuring sleeping in her bag instead of mine. This little ball of fluff even chooses to spend a car ride on her lap rather than mine! It's okay, I'm not jealous at all (maybe just a little). Seriously, though, I'm so happy Hoodoo has accepted Torrey into his adventuring routine just as easily as he's taken to adventuring itself. And if I hand him off to her on the roof of an RV while volunteering at the Grandmaster Ultra, and he just happens to climb into her lap like he belongs there? So be it. That just cements her place as my sister as far as Hoodoo and I are concerned.

The Happy Jar of 2018

Upbeat. It's already January 1, 2019, I have my travel Wrap-Up posted (read it here), so I guess that means it's time for my Happy Jar summary! All year long I write down what makes me happy and slip the little colored papers into a glass jar on my dresser so that I see it every day. Usually just seeing the jar and the tiny pieces of happiness it contains is enough to get me out of a bad mood, but in the case of extreme melancholy I'll take out those slips and read each one of them, reminding myself that I have a lot to be happy about. This year's Happy Jar contained a whole lot of animal-related joy, as well as a bunch of excitement and accomplishment regarding our house. In case you missed it, Jared and I bought our first house in December 2017, and we moved in during January 2018. The house has kept us (mostly me, because I'm a busy-body) occupied with minor improvement projects, including gardening. Gardening, surprisingly, also featured heavily in my Happy Jar this year, as did travelling (duh). Check out a few examples of my happiness below, and feel free to share bits of what made 2018 great for you!

Last year Alisha and I scored permits to hike the Grand Canyon, this year we got permits to backpack the Tetons! Backpacking permits for major national parks are notoriously difficult to come by, and you usually have to book your trip on the first day it becomes available to reserve. The first Wednesday in January saw me glued to the NPS website, waiting as the site crashed for a nerve wracking two hours until I could be sure our reservations were accepted for our desired hike and dates. We got them!

2018 was filled with babies! Not mine (don't get excited) but there were a whole lot of the furry kind of babies that filled a vast majority of the year. The first was Leonard, an infant ring-tailed lemur who I took in turns with a couple coworkers to care for. Leonard was tiny when we first got her, about the size of my palm, and her favorite place to be was clinging to my neck. She still prefers sitting on shoulders, and it was our pleasure to have her home with us for a few days over Christmas.

I did say our house has been the source of a lot of my happiness, and I meant that. Including buying "adult" things, like a new couch! Of course, we had to make sure it was big enough to fit Jared, myself, Marley, Callie, Ghost, and all of the cats. It is!

I have wanted chickens for years, ever since some friends of ours had a flock back when we were kids. One of my requirements for buying a house was it had to be able to accommodate chickens! Just over a month after officially moving in, we got chicks!

Gardening has always been enjoyable to me, and I've kept at least a few potted plants throughout the years and several moves. Now that we have a house of our own, I can put plants into the ground! I started working on garden plots within a few months of moving (winter in Texas is a great time to do so!) so when spring came and I had the time, I planted my front and back gardens. I still have a lot more I want to do, including gardens along the sides of my house as well as a vegetable garden, but that's what this year is for.

Never underestimate the amount of joy I get from having visitors. Jared and I really aren't the most sociable of people, but when we have the time and energy to entertain, we love having people over. My sister in particular seems to practically live at my house for as often as she shows up here, but Jared's parents, my brother, and my mom and aunt have all come to visit in the last year, and we're always open to hosting more!

An absolutely enormous part of the last half of 2018 was the addition of Luna to the Tiger Creek family. Luna was a six week old little white ball of lioness fluff when we got her at the beginning of July, and to everyone's utter delight most of the staff at Tiger Creek were allowed to help raise her. As in, we got to take her home on a rotating schedule and care for her. Yes, we had a lion in our house. Frequently. And holy cow did she cuddle hard! It was awesome.

You guys, I finally got my orange kitten! This is not news to anyone who's been following along since August, but Jared surprised me with a couple of kittens at the end of July, one of whom happened to be a fluffy little orange tabby. Hoodoo and his sister, Rey, have settled in wonderfully with our already extensive personal zoo, and Hoodoo regularly accompanies me on my trips, including hiking six 14,000 foot mountains in five days (read it here)!

My last visit to Nebraska was not only a surprise to my sister (who graduated with her Masters Degree, woohoo!) but also a bonding moment for myself and Torrey. We've known each other since we were in grade school and have travelled together to Pikes Peak every year since 2014. This year, we decided to commemorate our annual vacation with a tattoo! That's right, we got a matching tattoo of Pikes Peak, where our artist took one of my photos and drew our tattoo from it. Torrey had the vision to color the mountain in shades of purple, and I think it turned out amazing. So much love!

I have always had a thing for photographs, going so far as to take as many photography classes in school as possible and even considering going to an arts college in Denver to pursue my passion with an acutal degree. I didn't follow that path, but my love of taking pictures has trailed me through the years. Now that I actually have a house where I can knock holes into the walls as I see fit, I knew I wanted to start hanging up my photos. The only problem was, I didn't know where to start. It was a conversation with my sister that inspired me to turn my hallway into a photo gallery, with various canvas prints of my favorite photos lining the walls. I finally began to turn my dream into reality (canvases are expensive, if you didn't know!) and have slowly started hanging my pictures. I love seeing my art on the walls of my home, and can't wait to take and print even more photos as the years and my travels progress.

So there you have it, a few examples of my pride, happiness, and accomplishments throughout 2018. There is absolutley nothing wrong with reflecting over each year and picking out the best parts of it, remembering the year based on the things that made you happy. I already have several things I know will make me thrilled during 2019, but I also keep in mind that I can find joy in little things. Unexpected happiness could be waiting in the future too, but I won't know it until it happens. So here's to saying goodbye to 2018 while ringing in 2019 with a bright and hopeful smile.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Agate Fossil Beds

Sitting deep in an out of the way corner of western Nebraska, nestled between rolling sandhills and towering bluffs, lies Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. A quarry boasting bone and ash deposits from prehistoric times, Agate Fossil Beds was a stop along my dad's and my Father-Daughter trip this past winter. I somehow convinced Dad to make the walk along a windswept prairie path, passing over a baby Niobrara River, to the hills where the most concentration of fossils have been found. We were the only visitors around, so close to closing time, and we had the views and the trail all to ourselves. We took our time walking the paved path around the hills, searching for a hint of fossilized bone sticking out of the earth. We didn't see anything we recognized, but that's not to say there wasn't something right under our noses and we didn't know. It was a bit chilly, especially for me since my blood has thinned from living in the south for so long, and we didn't exactly spend hours outside. The walk was still nice, though, and the quite of the prairie around us reminded me why I like western Nebraksa.

Leave me a comment and tell me if you've ever been to this small National Monument. What did you think of it?

Fifth Annual Father-Daughter Trip

Relaxed. Starting back in 2014, along with my desire to travel, my dad and I began taking Father-Daughter trips once a year. Sometimes we were accompanied by my sister and others, but at the core it was for us. Dad has a goal of visiting each of the five hundred plus historical markers in the state of Nebraska scattered throughout ninety-three counties, and every time we get a chance we hit the road on our quest to see them all. I thought maybe moving to Texas might mean the end of our travels, but I've been pleasantly surprised to find that's not the case. This past spring (ok, late winter in Nebraska) Dad and I took to the bluff country in extreme western Nebraska, searching for historical markers among the state's national monuments dedicated to the Great Western Trails.

Bluff country butts up agains the sandhills, and for anyone who thinks Nebraska is flat you're wrong. Well, partially wrong. Yes, Nebraska is flat if you keep to the I-80 corridor, but if you get off the interstate and head north you'll find a landscape of rolling prairie and sandstone bluffs that rise out of the grasses like the backs of giant sea creatures. The sandhills are my favorite place to visit in Nebraska, and I was more than happy to go with Dad as we scoured them for historical markers. Our quest brought us down some pretty obscure Nebraskan roads to some pretty obscure Nebraskan Monuments, but hey, "Honestly, it's not for everyone."

What's not for everyone? What about the fossil quarries laden with ice age bone and ash deposits at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument? What about the Oregon and California Trails that pass through the state's Scotts Bluff National Monument, rich with pioneering history? Don't get me wrong, I got out of Nebraska as soon as I had the chance because I always knew I would leave the state, but that doesn't mean I don't like to visit. And not just because my family is there. Nebraska boasts a neat assortment of state and historical parks, and a small handful of national monuments, that are well worth the effort of leaving the interstate to go explore. And that's exactly what Dad and I do every time we get a few days to run away to continue tracking down historical markers.

We might have cheated a little bit and drove up the 800 foot tall Scotts Bluff instead of hiking the trail to the top, but on a chilly winter/spring day, driving seemed like the more prudent option. The views of the prairie grasses and the ridge of bluffs receeding past the Wyoming border into the distance are something you wouldn't get if Nebraska really was flat, and I couldn't help but be a little awed at what lay around us. As the gateway to the more rugged mountain country in Wyoming, western Nebraska was a stop for many on the pioneer trails as they prepared for mountain conditions, and as such their trails, camps, and forts litter the area around the bluffs. The bluffs themselves were used as landmarks, breaking up the monotony of the plains.

One such landmark, a rather famous one if you were raised in Nebraska, is Chimney Rock. In my experince with my travels just about every state has a "Chimney Rock", but there is only one true rendition of this rock, and it resides in western Nebraksa. Dad's and my fifth Father-Daughter trip wouldn't have been complete without a stop at the state historical park protecting Chimney Rock, as well as no less than four historical markers near its location. Chimney Rock wasn't our last marker on our trip, but Dad and I began heading home after our visit to the park. I think we only have two or three areas of historical markers left to get, and then we'll have to find something else to do for our annual trips!