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I'll try to put a few pictures here, and describe the trip as I go along.

Missouri

Since my first destination was in southeastern Missouri, I didn't go through Memphis -- if I had, perhaps I wouldn't have seen this:

Yes, it's a pink elephant...

It's visible from the road as you go through Hayti, MO.

Tennessee

The MidSouthCon convention was great, in Memphis, but I got so busy talking to students and convention-goers that I never got a chance to see the masquerade contestants, which is where I usually take the most pictures. However, I did get some shots, and I put them in the gallery of convention pictures.

Arkansas

The trip to Little Rock was uneventful, and my students there showed up ready to work. We took advantage of the good weather to work outside, since Sage House (at White Wagon Farm) has a nice porch. It was a small group, and everyone finished more quickly than I expected, so we ended up doing bracelets and rings all in one day.

Texas

(Denton) We were in a beautiful old house, and worked on a porch again. The ladybugs were out, or at least their larvae were, and turned out to be pretty annoying, but we still got everything done in one day, so I could head down to San Antonio. I went by way of a few rural roads, to see if I could find the Regency Bridge, a wooden suspension bridge. The weather got worse and worse as I got closer to it, as though the weather gods were determined to prevent me from seeing it.

Wet Texas...

(San Antonio) No ladybugs, even though we were out on another porch. The weather, other than the rain that was beating down on me between Denton and San Antonio, has been glorious. I taught for two days at a house in the King Williams area, and then for another day at a small studio a few miles north of there. Now I need to go on a crash diet, because everyone's been feeding me far too well...

I got a chance to see some bluebonnets along the way:

Texas bluebonnets

Arizona

Since I arrived a bit early, I got some down time, to shop for supplies, visit favorite haunts, and find an Apple Store to get them to look at my laptop and determine what ails it. Got a good meal at the Silver Saddle, a steakhouse that's right next door to the Lazy 8 motel, where I have stayed several times in the past.

The workshops were southeast of Tucson, a few miles from the Saguaro National Monument, so I went through there again and took some pictures.

Saguaro National Monument

I stopped in Yuma on my way down I-8, and had an "Orange Dream" smoothie at the deli a block north of the Arts Center there. I highly recommend them, if you're in the area.

California

It was really sandy, west of Yuma, and it looked like there were a lot of off-roaders and dirt-bikers out, Saturday, raising rooster-tails of sand alongside the freeway.

Sand, west of Yuma.

The trip through the mountains was interesting -- nothing but rocks, all sizes of rocks, quite barren-looking.

Mountain passes east of San Diego.

I stayed in Oceanside for a few days, and got to see the flower fields.

Too many flowers...

When I got to Van Nuys I stayed at the same yard that I was at last August, but this time I discovered that they have a cat -- not one that the owners knew about, it seems.

Feral cat in Van Nuys.

Oregon

Moving north, after a few more workshops and visits, I managed to reach Oregon. I didn't do a lot of photographs this time, since I took quite a few a couple of years ago, but this one appealed to me:

Green fields in Oregon.

Washington

The workshops in Seattle were great, as expected, and then I moved on to my most distant stop, Lopez Island in Puget Sound. My host lives in a remote area, and I found the surroundings very peaceful. Beautiful views, too; here are a couple of pictures, one looking out toward the Pacific, and another looking up a slope in the local woods.

Pacific Ocean, from Lopez Island.
Lovely wooded slope.

Oregon (again)

I drove back down to meet students in the middle of Oregon. Driving along, I noticed a sign:
Society for Creative Anachronism
I was in too much of a hurry to stop and watch them whale on each other while wearing period garb, but it was nice to see that they're an active bunch.

I saw some nice scenery, going across the mountains.
Some mountain in central Oregon

Yellowstone

Since I have extra time on my hands, I decided to visit Yellowstone National Park. I put just a few pictures in the directory, and here's one, of a very hot puddle:
Geyser

Wyoming

Moving south, still. I couldn't get all the way through Yellowstone, because the southern entrance is still closed, but I zig-zagged in so I could see Jackson Hole.
Looking over Jackson Hole
The next day I headed west, back over the hills from Wyoming into Idaho. Nice little pass, near Freedom, WY.
Going from Wyoming to Idaho.

Idaho

I decided against one rather undeveloped-looking road, and missed seeing Bear Lake, but when I came over a hill and saw Blackfoot Reservoir, I felt somewhat better.
Blackfoot Reservoir

Utah

Well south of Salt Lake City, I turned east on I-70 to head for Denver. It got pretty dry, after a while, but there were enough clouds to make the scenery interesting.
clouds and rocks
Later on, I saw a beautiful tree.
Tree at rest area on I-70 in Utah.

Colorado

It was late when I got to Glenwood Springs, so I waited until morning to take more pictures. Here's a view from one of the little rest areas almost in town.
Glenwood Springs, CO
I went over Vail Pass, a bit more than ten thousand feet up.
Brr, definitely not Florida...

(This site last updated on 12-12-2020)

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