Still enjoying Glacier!

This is one of the locals. You can usually find him or his friends hanging around Logan Pass.

Some of the views here will just take your breath away!

Lord O Mercy! And to think I drove to Marfa, Texas to see their mystery lights and all I really had to do was come to Glacier! Those guys that photograph the orbs on the TV ghost shows got nothin' on me!

Okay, this one is not from Glacier. It's kind of weird. I feel like I've been on this road before!

I just checked the weather for the upcoming week. The highs are predicted to be around 80 degrees and the nighttime lows are going to range from 45 to 50. I never thought I'd be using my furnace in July but I am.

I've been in Columbia Falls, just outside of Glacier National Park, for a little over a week and have enjoyed it tremendously. I've made several trips into the park at different times of day and have gathered a lot of subject matter for future paintings. My ol' trusty camera has taken a turn for the worse, though. I've talked with a camera repair shop and they seem to think it's an issue with the software (they call it firmware) in the camera. I tried to download the "fix" but my computer skills, or lack of them, prevented me from getting the job done. So, once again, I got in touch with my nephew, Ron the photographer, and we have taken care of the problem. It seems that real photographers have cameras just laying around that they aren't using. I talked him into selling me one of his spares and my new camera is now on it's way to Montana. Thanks, Ron! The check is in the mail!

While I'm having some downtime waiting on my new camera, I've been taking care of some other business. I've stretched canvases for paintings that I'm going to put in the Tulsa Gilcrease Museum's "Collectors' Reserve" show, which opens in October and have also varnished three Big Bend pieces that I'm getting ready to ship to the Whistle Pik Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas. I have also just completed my first painting of Glacier National Park. Oh, I may have taken a nap or two during my downtime also!

Until next time!

Glacier National Park!

Lake McDonald, which is just inside the west entrance into the park. 

McDonald Falls, on the northeast end of the lake. 

Hmmm. I must be gettin' old. I can't remember the name of the distant waterfall.

A tiny segment of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

I shot this when I was on top of Logan Pass. Logan Pass is at elevation 6,646 feet.

I'm at Glacier National Park in Montana and it is beautiful! The weather is perfect and the scenery is spectacular! I've driven a lot of miles to get here but it has been worth it. I am not disappointed. This is a location that you have to put on your bucket list of places to visit.

By the time I arrived in Columbia Falls, it was late afternoon.  I got my trailer leveled and the utilities hooked-up and decided to make a quick run into the park to see what I could find. The sun sets late here so I still had several hours of daylight. I entered the park at West Glacier and took the Going-to-the-Sun Road up to Logan Pass before I decided it was time to turn around and head home. Just as a side note, when I first saw the name of the road, I thought it was kind of silly. But after driving on it, I understand how it got it's name. The road goes up and up and up and up!!! When I'd find a place to pull over and take pictures, I'd look ahead and see the road continuing upwards as far as I could see. But let me tell ya, the road is very narrow in places, enough so until I thought I might lose the mirrors on my truck. So far, so good. I still have my mirrors!

Until next time!

Along the way!

My first view of Scott's Bluff National Monument.

Overlooking the North Platte River.

This is just to the west of Scott's Bluff National Monument.

Sunset. 

Once again, I'm having to play catch-up. I've put quite a few miles behind me since my last post and have taken lots of pictures since then. After leaving the Texas hill country, I stopped in the Texas panhandle to visit my brother who is ill, and my sister who is there helping to take care of him. I spent 15 days there but finally hitched-up in early July and started making my way to Montana. I spent my first night on the road in Oakley, Kansas, but didn't take any pictures there. The next day, I made my way to Sidney, Nebraska, where I would spend the next two nights.

Being in Sidney, I wasn't far from Scott's Bluff National Monument but wasn't sure I wanted to make the drive. It was about 50 miles away but I'd already spent plenty of time in the driver's seat of my F-250 and the thought of just having a lazy day appealed to me. But the chance to see new country and possibly find new subjects to paint finally won out...and I'm glad it did.

Even though Scott's Bluff is a relatively small park, it is very scenic. The road from the visitor's center to the top of the bluff is only one and a half miles long but I passed thru 3 tunnels on the way. Once at the top, I was impressed with the view. The bluff is located in the middle of the plains, so being on top of the 800 foot tall monument allowed me to see for miles and miles and miles. Looking to the east, the city of Scott's Bluff was the backdrop which, in my opinion, detracted from the view...but that's just me. The views to the south and west were beautiful!

After leaving Sidney, I spent the next night in Casper, Wyoming. I was only there one night and didn't bother unhitching. The next morning, I headed out with Montana in my sights!

Until next time!

Headin' North!

This is near Boquillas Canyon, on the eastern side of Big Bend National Park. In this photo, the U.S. is on the right side of the river and Mexico on the left. 

This is at the mouth of Boquillas Canyon. Obviously, I'm standing on the U.S. side and Mexico is on the right side of the river. 

A few Mexican Burros grazing near the river. 

I don't know what kind of cactus this is, but I'm pretty sure the flower is safe from any intruders!

I'm getting a later start than I had planned, but I'm finally heading north to escape the heat. As of now, I'm in the Texas panhandle, visiting with family. My brother lives here but is in poor health so my sister, who normally lives in Georgia, is here helping to take care of him. I've been here a little over a week and plan to stay another 5 or 6 days, but will continue my journey north soon.

I'm not certain exactly where I'm headed. From here, I'm going to head up thru Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. Soon after that, I'll have to decide if I'm going to turn left and go into Montana or turn right and head towards Minnesota and Wisconsin. I guess I'll play-it-by-ear, as they say. It should be a fun adventure, regardless of where I end up.

I haven't taken any pictures recently, so I've looked back through my recent trips and decided to share a few more pictures of Big Bend National Park, in Texas. Hope you enjoy them.

Until next time!

Can you hear me now?

Northern end of a rainbow near Medina, Texas.

Southern end of the same rainbow. On the right side of the photo, there are traces of a double rainbow that was trying to form. 

I'm back! For the last five weeks, I've been in Medina, Texas, (just south of Kerrville) an area known as the "no phone zone"! I don't know about other phone services, but in that area, my Verizon phone was not much more than a paper weight. I couldn't place nor receive calls in my trailer. To use my phone, I'd have to go outside and sit in a lawn chair. And often times, I'd have to relocate my chair several times during the call once the signal starting getting even weaker. Trying to text message or email was even more difficult and trying to get online was practically impossible.

Since I updated my blog only once during that time, I'm going to have to play catch-up for awhile. You can expect to see pictures of Big Bend and also a few of the Medina area for the next several posts. For this one, I decided to post some pictures of a rainbow that I saw near Medina. In fact, if you'll look closely at the right side of the picture of the southern end of the rainbow, you can see traces of a double rainbow that was trying to form but just couldn't quite make it.

Until next time!

The Marfa Lights!

Are these the Marfa Lights? Nope, these are headlights from vehicles on the highway just north of the viewing area. 

This is the "Marfa Mystery Lights" viewing area, just a few miles east of Marfa, Texas.

The Marfa Lights! For many years, I've heard of them and finally decided it was time to check them out for myself! Once I left Big Bend National Park in south Texas, I decided to spend a couple of nights in Alpine, only 80 miles to the north. I knew that the Marfa Lights viewing area was only a 20 minute drive west of Alpine so I made it a priority to spend one evening there.

As I arrived, I was surprised to find that I was not the only person to visit the viewing area that night. There must have been 20 to 25 other adults waiting to see the lights. And one of those other adults decided that it would be a great idea to carry a bus load of kids out that evening to see the lights also, a bus load of kids that were much more interested in jumping from the railing, screaming, chasing each other and trying to decide if the stars that were visible might actually be the lights that they had come to see. I did my best to tune them out.

So, you may be wondering if I actually saw the Marfa Lights. Yes, I did. It was well after dark when I began to see small pin-points of lights to the south. Sometimes, the lights were white and at other times, they were red. And every once in awhile, the light would change from white to red. I saw it and so did the other adults...I know because I could hear the murmuring in the crowd. As the sky grew darker, the small pin-points of light actually got brighter and larger. They were positioned just at the horizon and, instead of just being pin-points of light, it now appeared to be one single light that had some width to it. The light wasn't as bright as I had hoped it would be and as for the width, I think if I had held my thumb up at arms length, it would have blocked the entire light. But there was no denying it...the light was there!

I took my camera and tripod with me that evening, in hopes that I'd be able to photograph the lights, but it didn't work. Before going out, I had called my nephew, Ron, who, by the way, is a great photographer. He gave me pointers on how best to capture the lights but when he asked about the lens I'd be using, he told me that my lens was "slow" and that it might be difficult to photograph the lights unless they were extremely bright. So my attempts to photograph the lights didn't work. At one point, just to make sure my camera was working and that I hadn't overlooked something very simple, I turned my camera to the highway behind us and took a few shots. I have posted one of those shots for you to see. The lights you see in the photo are the headlights of vehicles zooming down the highway. Even though I failed at getting pictures of the Marfa Lights, I was kind of proud of the headlights photo, since it was my first attempt at nighttime photography.

Just before leaving for the evening, I turned to the short guy with big dark eyes standing next to me, and asked if he thought the lights might be the lights from alien spacecraft. Looking up at me, he responded in a series of clicks and beeps, none of which I understood. I concluded that he must not be from around here and didn't pursue the conversation any further.

Until next time!

One crow and four buzzards!

I'm not familiar enough with Big Bend to recognize the landmarks. I can just tell you that this is a pretty typical view in the desert areas of the park. 

This one, I do recognize. It's the Mule Ears Peaks.

I'll just call this one "Big Bend desert and mountains".

As I've mentioned before, I recently spent a week in the Big Bend area of Texas. With the daytime temperatures starting to soar, most tourists have left the area and only a few stragglers, such as myself, remained. On some of the days, the temperature was bearable, but most were really hot, dry and windy. I wasn't the only one to notice the challenging conditions. One day when I was in my trailer at the RV park in Terlingua, I looked out the window and noticed a worker watering the newly planted trees. He had built a small dike around the base of each tree and would fill it with a few gallons of water before moving on to the next one. No sooner had he left the area before one crow and four buzzards swooped down and landed at the base of the tree and began to drink the water. I realized at that point that I was truly living in the desert!

I'm currently in Alpine, Texas, which is only 80 miles north of the Terlingua area, where I was last week. There is something in this area that I wanted to see for myself. I'll tell you about that soon.

Until next time.

Nothin' works in the boonies!

As I was on highway 118,  just a few miles north of Study Butte, I saw this interesting rock...or mountain...I'm not sure. 

Here's a little closer look at it. 

The wind was kicking up a lot of dust on my first day in the park. This is on the western edge, not too far from Maverick Junction.

Hey! It's been awhile since I've created a new post but I have a good excuse. For the last week, I've been in Big Bend National Park in Texas and had my trailer stationed nearby in Study (pronounced Stoody) Butte. I found that getting online is practically impossible in either location and my phone only worked in a few areas and, even then, it only worked if I held my head just right. So, updating my blog wasn't an option.

Big Bend is a large park with a few main roads and a considerable number of dirt roads. The main east/west road is approx. 50 miles long and stretches from Maverick Junction on the western side, to Boquillas Canyon on the eastern side. From that road, there is a paved road that goes to Santa Elena Canyon, another to the Chisos Basin and a third to Persimmon Gap on the northern edge of the park. And of course, along each of those, there are many other places to stop and explore.

When I first entered the western edge of the park at Maverick Junction, I decided to take one of the dirt roads called Old Maverick Road which is approx. 13 miles long. It is essentially a short cut to Santa Elena Canyon. What I didn't know at the time is that it is 13 miles of dirt road that has a washboard surface and, if you're in a truck with stiff suspension like my F-250, it will beat you to death!!! I didn't think I was ever going to get off that road. Over the next 7 days, I visited Santa Elena Canyon several times but only once did I get there by taking Old Maverick Road.

I left Big Bend this morning and will spend the next couple of nights in Alpine, located only 80 miles north on highway 118. I took hundreds of photos while in Big Bend and will be posting some of those over the next few days or weeks.

Until next time.

Flaming debris!

I'm on my way to Big Bend National Park in Texas but stopped over for a couple of nights in Ft. Stockton. Tomorrow, I'll drive to Big Bend to see the park for the first time and will also check out the RV parks in that area. I'll come back to Ft. Stockton tomorrow night and then pack up and move Wednesday morning to a park closer to Big Bend.

The drive from Stonewall to Ft. Stockton was uneventful...almost. I was east of Ft. Stockton on I-10, just driving along and minding my own business when I was passed by a gang of about 6 or 7 motorcyclist, all riding one behind the other. As the last motorcyclist passed me, I noticed what appeared to be smoke coming from the bike. My first thought was the bike was burning oil but then I realized the smoke seemed to be coming from a nylon type of bag on the rear of the bike. It seemed unlikely to me that smoke would be coming from the bag itself so I didn't give it much more thought. Once the bikes were out of sight, they were also out of mind.

A couple of miles down the road, the driver ahead of me swerved to miss something in the middle of the interstate so I followed his lead and swerved also. As I passed by the object in the road, I looked at it and it appeared to be a T-shirt...that was on fire. It seemed unlikely to me that I had just seen a burning T-shirt in the middle of I-10...but that is certainly what it looked like. No sooner had I passed the flaming T-shirt when the driver ahead of me swerved once again, this time to avoid other flaming objects. I swerved also and once again, tried to get a good view of what was on fire this time. It appeared to be straps...or maybe a belt, I wasn't sure. Not a hundred yards further down the road was yet more burning stuff. This time it looked like it might be part of a bag of some sort...and then it dawned on me...it wasn't my imagination that the bag was smoking on the motorcycle that had passed me earlier, it truly was smoking and apparently, eventually, burst into flames.

Another couple hundred yards down the interstate, I saw 5 or 6 motorcycles pulled over to the side of the road and all the riders were gathered around one bike, a bike that appeared to be smoldering towards the back of the seat. They seemed to have the situation under control so I continued on my journey.

Another 2 or 3 miles down the interstate, I passed one more motorcyclist that had also pulled over to the side of the road. The rider was looking longingly back towards the east, the direction from where he'd came. He had a puzzled look on his face so it didn't take me long to figure out that this guy was the leader of the gang of motorcyclist...apparently a leader that didn't check his rear view mirror very often. He was wondering where the other riders were. I knew something that he didn't know...I knew the other riders were back about 2 or 3 miles, busily stomping out the burning bag that had been on one of the other motorcycles only a few minutes earlier.

I've posted 3 pictures this time. Imagine the 3 pictures side by side, with the top picture being on the left. That is the view from the RV park in Ft. Stockton, Texas. Need I say more?

Until next time.

The Willow City Loop!

This is on the Willow City Loop. When I was here 3 years ago, the distant field that you see in the valley floor was solid blue with bluebonnets. 

This is also on the Willow City Loop. It was late evening and the setting sun was casting that warm, orangish light on everything and creating those long shadows that I love so much. 

It's Saturday evening. Tomorrow, I'll start packing away all the things that I won't be needing until after the move so as to make things easier on myself on Monday morning. On Monday, by the time I have breakfast, shower, pack away all of the items that might bounce around and break while traveling, move the slides in, hitch-up the truck to the trailer, disconnect and store the water line, drain hose and shore power cord, about two and a half hours will have passed. I'm probably slower at doing all those things than most people would be, but that's just my nature. I wish I was an early riser but that's not the case either. So, even forcing myself to get up earlier than normal, it'll probably be at least 10:00 A.M. or even later, before I actually head out.

I've already reserved a space in Ft. Stockton, Texas, which is about 310 west of Stonewall. Barring any problems, it should be an easy day's drive. My actual destination is Terlingua, which is another 150 miles away. But, I decided that since I'm not familiar with that area, I want to check it out first before making longer term reservations. My plan is to spend the first night in Ft. Stockton and then, leaving my trailer behind, drive to Big Bend the next day to scout things out. Terlingua is very near the park border, so I'll get to check out their RV park at that time. If I like what I see, I'll drive back to Ft. Stockton, spend one more night there and then pack up and move again the next day. If I don't like what I see...well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

The last few days, I've kind of been in limbo, just waiting for moving day. This evening, I decided to go out one last time for pictures. I drove to the small town of Sandy...at least I think I did. I didn't really see anything that looked like a town, only one or two farmhouses. From there, I drove west to the Willow City Loop, a 13 mile scenic loop off highway 16, between Fredericksburg and Llano. I've been on the loop many times, but the wildflowers aren't doing much this year so, after only a few miles, I turned around and came back home. I took a couple of pictures on the loop and will share those with you.

Until next time.

Wrapping things up!

This is looking north on Highway 1623, just east of Stonewall, Texas.

Some old barns I found along the way. 

This is practically the same as the one from Highway 1623 above. The gate was open so I walked into the pasture to get this shot. 

I'll be spending just a few more days in the Fredericksburg, Texas area so I'm beginning to wrap things up. Yesterday, I finished a painting of some wildflowers and trees and considered starting another new piece but decided against it since the paint wouldn't have time to dry before I move. I'm still trying to work out some of the details of being a mobile artist and storing wet paintings is one of those areas that I'm still working on.

Over the next few days, I'm going to be varnishing some paintings so I can deliver them to the Whistle Pik Gallery before I leave this area. I'll also be taking care of all the little things that need to be done before moving, like doing laundry, shopping for groceries and making sure the truck and trailer are both ready for the move. My next stop will be at the Big Bend National Park but I still haven't decided which RV park I'll be staying in...actually, I haven't even decided which town I'll be staying in, much less which park. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

This evening, I went for a drive towards Blanco, Texas. I took a few pictures along the way and will share them with you.

Until next time.

A change of plans!

Last few minutes of sunlight in the Cave Creek area.

Sunlight filtering down thru the trees.

This small store in the Cypress Mill area looked very tropical to me. 

The same store as seen from the east side. 

I love the louvered shutters!

Time is flying by! On this trip, I'd planned to stay in the Fredericksburg, Texas area for a month and already 3 weeks have come and gone. I can't believe that I'll be hitching up a week from tomorrow. I haven't accomplished nearly as much as I wanted to so I'd better get on the stick.

My original plan was to head east once leaving this area but I've already changed my mind. I've always wanted to visit Big Bend National Park so I've decided that, since it's only a couple hundred miles west,  I'm going to go there before heading east. I'm not certain yet which RV park I'll land in but there are several in the area to choose from.

I've put a few miles on my truck over the last couple of days and I've taken a few pictures along the way. Yesterday, just about sunset, I drove up to Cave Creek, a small town northeast of Fredericksburg. I stumbled onto a back road and took a few pictures just as the sun was setting. Today, I ended up northeast of Johnson City and found a cool old building that appeared to be no longer in use. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Until next time.

A whole herd of 'em!

This is south of Llano, in the Texas Hill Country!

A few wildflowers are blooming but the drought is taking it's toll.

The Longhorns checked me out as I checked them out.

And the Longhorn says " So, what do you think, guys? Should I gore 'im now"?

Once again, I went out for a drive on a country road recommended to me by a local artist. And once again, I found myself out in the boonies...miles and miles from anywhere. This dirt road had a  "washboard" surface, one of those that will jar your teeth right out of their sockets. I'm glad my truck didn't break down because it would've been a long walk out. And my phone wouldn't have been of much use since service is not normally available in these remote areas.

A few days ago, I posted one picture of a Texas Longhorn that I stumbled onto? That Longhorn was in the distance, so I had to zoom in just to get a picture. Well, on this trip, I stumbled onto an entire herd of 'em. They seemed gentle, even though their horns are scary looking.

Until next time.

Up the creek!

This is the southern crossing of the James River. I was able to pick my way through on the rocks so I didn't even get my feet wet.

And this is the northern crossing. I had to think about this one before going for it. 

This is an area just beyond the northern crossing.  I didn't really find anything interesting to paint along this road, however I did find a few interesting barns on my may to this area. 

Here's my trailer and truck in the Peach Country RV Park in Stonewall, Texas.

Actually, I wasn't up the creek, I was in the river...the James River. I'm not 100% certain that's the name of the river but I was driving along the James River Road, so I assumed it must be the James River. A couple of local artists told me that I should see that area, so I took their advice. The James River Road is in Mason County and can be entered from the north or south. I entered from the south and drove for miles and miles along seemingly abandoned dirt roads before finding it. I was out in the boonies, to say the least. I wasn't told that I'd have to cross the river...twice! The southern crossing was a breeze since I could see the bottom the entire distance. The northern crossing caused me some concern. I couldn't see the bottom and there wasn't a flood gauge to show the depth. The water was flowing slowly and my truck sets pretty high above the ground so I decided to go for it. I don't know how deep the water was but I made it across safely. If I had been in a car, I would have turned around. I took a few pictures along the way and will share some of them with you. I'll also post one picture of my trailer in the RV park in Stonewall, Texas.

Until next time.

Herding cows with my truck!

This is the Worm Moon rising. Honest, that's it's name, according to the Farmers' Almanac!

A beautiful sunset, between Stonewall and Fredericksburg, Texas.

GOOD LORD!!! What is that thang?!!! I knew the Longhorns had longhorns but I'd never seen any like this!

It's a rainy, dreary evening in Stonewall, Texas...again. It seems like it's been days since the sun has shone so I've just been hanging around my trailer, waiting for better weather so I can get back out and continue my search for subject matter. This area is in dire need of some serious rain but we've only been getting sprinkles for the last few days. They are predicting storms later tonight but, so far, it's still just drizzling.

About the only excitement that I have to tell you about is getting to use my pickup to herd some cattle! The other evening, I went out for a drive just before sunset and rounded a bend in the highway, only to see 8 cows in the middle of the road. I saw them early enough to where I was able to slow down safely and then, crept my truck slowly through them. With night coming on, I was afraid other drivers might not see them in time and drive straight into them at highway speeds. I called 911 and explained the situation to the operator, who said she'd send a deputy out to take care of it. I waited around with my truck flashers on to alert other drivers and soon, the deputy showed up, as promised. He asked if I was willing to help so, together, he and I were soon herding the cattle down the road. It was kind of fun, being able to drive my pickup from the ditch on one side of the highway, across the highway and into the other ditch and then back again, without being ticketed for it. The deputy finally told me that he had the situation under control and that I could leave. Rats! Just when I was having fun!!!

I haven't taken any photos lately, due to the weather, but I thought you might like to see some that I took a few days ago. Hope you enjoy them.

Until next time.