Just in case you want to see some good photos from my cross country all camping trip....Ill be staying in some of the most beautiful places on Earth and visiting with a few animal shelters on the way. Its all on my ME page too, in case I forget to post.
. . -----------April 12---------------- 
My first full moon.....of the trip, of course:). 
Me now
Me then, that's me on the left, back when my Mother used to dress me....dont laugh!
And many of you know Ive been working to create a no kill shelter here in Alabama, here is my inspiration, my Golden Retriever, Murphy....he loves everyone and everything.
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The Trip
Here's a few photos, I took great shots of some mother/foal pairs in the setting sun with that beautiful lush green Alabama grass and the long afternoon shadows...check back and Id love to share some with you.
Murphy saying goodbye to old friends. "Oh, the things I have to do for a little tummy rub and the occasional snack"
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And making new ones.
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Well, maybe not just yet but give him time:)
------ -----April 8th, a day in the country and an evening with friends.----- -----
Im not sure why, but Ive always been drawn to water towers, so I have to throw in a few of these every now and then.
One of my best friends practicing a little before the show....mostly just goofing off.....looks so serious:)
And my buddies ...just singing and having fun..they write their own music...too bad I cant get audio on here....youd be very impressed.
Well thats a day in the country and an evening with friends, who could ask for more than that?
My first full moon.....of the trip, of course:)But, nevermind that....if you have a minute go to art4critters.com and check out the artists of the month. Its always hard to choose because everyone is so incredibly enthusiatic and they are all doing what they can without expecting ANYTHING in return, but these are definitely 4 of my favorites....not only for their attitude and compassion but for their talent as well....or maybe the other way around, either way theyre great!
Ill even make it easy for everyone....here they are!
Wyanne Chase http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZwchase66QQhtZ-1
Lisandro Peña http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZ3nextQQhtZ-1
Manuela Valenti http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmvstudio*galleryQQhtZ-1
Gail Hogan http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlagaviotaQQhtZ-1
And check back here in a few days, Ive got a lot of great ideas for photos and internet access is little easier for me once I get a little further west.....Oh yeah, email me your address(mailing) and Ill send a postcard......yes, YOU!
-----------------------April 17-------------------------
I had a strange dream...not the strangest dream, just one of those that seem so real that you feel like you havent really been asleep. I dreamed my niece was living with me,(Ill have to get a photo, she is BEAUTIFUL)...anyway she came home crying because her teacher wouldnt let her share her "show and tell" with the class. So I read the tear stained letter her teacher sent home with her. It explained that among several other items, a pencil was simply not interesting enough to warrant a show and tell discussion. I believe hair barrettes, soda cans and driftwood were also on the list. Now, being the open minded artist uncle, I can see how hair barrettes might not be all that terribly interesting...not to me anyway, but Id surely give someone a chance to make them interesting, but cmon...driftwood..it comes in all shapes and sizes, it could look like ANYTHING, how could someone say that isnt interesting? Im betting that if it were shaped like Elvis and she sold it for 82 bazillion dollars on ebay it would be interestng. And....a pencil? Not only did this pencil have a picture of monkey island and her name on it, (HOPE), she got it in the zoo gift shop, which I just know has to be a magical place to a 5 year old....and just think of all the things she can do with it....I think she calls it a portable handheld communications inscriber(she takes after me)....she draws with it, she writes love letters to that cute boy that sits next to her in the lunchroom(she didnt get THAT from me:), and if anyone ever gets fresh with her they might feel the business end of that pencil in the last place you want someone to stick a pencil...yeah shes tough:)
So I asked Murphy, what the heck does this all mean? Now he usually has just the right answer for me, words to make sense of it all, but today he is just rambling about how Baskin Robbins has been brainwashing people for decades.....telling us we can only have ONE cherry on our banana splits,...he's been a little upset about that ever since we made banana splits at a friends house and she had a giant wholesale jar of maraschinos and still only put one on hers. And he made me swear to tell everyone you can have as many cherries on your ice cream as you want!!!
But he did promise to tell me the answer if Id take him panning for gold. How can I argue with that?
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-------------------------April 22-------------------------------
An old car and some goats.....ahh what a busy life I have:)
And with all my visiting out of the way, I should start putting some miles behind me now so it should get interesting now, and dont let me forget to make Murphy tell me what that dream meant!
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. My favorite photos so far....you will probably see one as a painting one day.
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Regarding Murphy with suspicion....if they only knew:)
Abe and his Lincoln
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The Amish farm I promised, which reminds me...back when I was In North Carolina. I heard a radio commercial just before Mother's Day. The announcer was explaining that flowers were a symbol of fading beauty, that they wither and die as part of the inevitble cycle of life...so instead of buying mom a bouquet of roses for her special day, you should get her...now get this.....a gift certificate from Tobacco World! Cause I know nothing says I love you mom like Emphysema! Please tell me no one gave or received a carton of Marlboro reds for Mother's day:)
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Headed West
After enjoying the agricultural views in Pennsylvania it started raining, and I made some pretty rotten time for a while, driving so slow. And on the 15th the sun finally came back out and I figured Id make up some distance today, after all, the plains were starting to look the same. And my goal today was just to get across Iowa, it shouldnt be too hard....I only had about 300 miles to go, right? After driving for a bit I saw a sign...."The birthplace of John Wayne, 19 miles"....now my Grandmother is a HUGE fan so I just had to take a quick detour.
So, I'm headed toward The Dukes birthplace....I see another sign, "Covered Bridge 5 miles"...So...I figured it might be a good photo op and when am I going to back in the area?.....So, on the way to the bridge(theres 13 of them)....I saw this guy
And spent a good 4 hours trying to get a good shot, unsuccessfully....This was the best I could do...
Ok so....back to the bridge, which was on the way to John Waynes birthplace. I finally found it....well worth the time. If nothing else it was a great place to have a very late lunch.
"Madison County Bridge Reflected in a Chrome Teapot"
Yeah that's a fancy title:)....so, now Im lost and after driving around for forever without seeing a soul found The Dukes home(grandma is gonna love me)
And.....after making it back to the highway,...sunset.
Goal for the day: Make it across Iowa, 300 miles.
Actual distance traveled 48 miles....mission failed.....but hey its nice sunset and Ive always got tomorrow:)
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I finally made it!...Colorado! Yes now it starts getting good. My first stop....one of my favorite collectors winter hideaway, Breckenridge
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Where I met the cutest girl....man am I bad with a camera.
I tried my best to get her to come with us but Im guessing the strange guy with a camera that she had just seen brushing his teeth in the parking lot wasnt her idea a good risk:)...Oh well I tried, and if youre out there reading this, feel free to click on ask seller a question and I will turn this car around:)
My second full moon....almost. I missed it by a couple days because of rain
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Now Ive got a million photos from here but Ill just put one up for now
Bozeman, Montana
Murphy enjoying his first sunset here.
I LOVE this place!, Anywhere you can take your dogs into a restaurant with you and the waiter brings them a bowl is a good place for me to be. And walking down main street, store owners have bowls of water out front and come out and give th dogs a treat if theyre not too busy.
Just a tiny church in the middle of nowhere.
From a mile a way
Beautiful animals in a beautiful place.
Oh I almost forgot....this is from a shelter in Livingston, Montana.
I am hoping Art 4 Critters can help them out a little.
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I spent this morning sitting on a bench outside the Bozeman public library, reading Carlos Castaneda.
I was sitting there and this man and his son came running up out of nowhere,...they ran over to the bridge that seperates the small park I was sitting in from the library grounds, and were looking intently over the side. I figured they were waiting for something they had dropped in the water somewhere upstream from here. So, I asked and the young boy told me they had dropped home made boats in the water from a bridge I had never heard of and were waiting for their arrival. Of course, I thought that was pretty cool and watched too.
It made me remember when I was a kid, I did the same thing, though I wasnt as ambitous....Id just drop something on one side of a culvert and run to the other side and count til it came out. I remembered being fascinated with what might have happened while it was out of view. Id make up crazy stories that made perfect sense at the time to a 5 year old...the same 5 year old that thought the President of the USA was moonlighting as our trashman....I have no clue where I got that idea but I used to run to the curb to salute him every day:)....Anyway...that got me to thinking,...here I am sitting on a bench waiting for a library to open, talking to this father and son, reading a book, my dogs at my feet and not a care in the world(at the moment).....Its a good day and I owe it to you.
Thank you!
The trip so far...
