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“Get Your Kicks” at Route 66 Museum!

August 16, 2026August 17, 2026Posted in blogging, environment, history, Travel, writingTagged environment, history, travelLeave a comment

Here’s a museum when you’re driving Interstate 40 east and needing a break in Oklahoma? Route 66 Museum is in Clinton, Oklahoma, a few miles north of the interstate and worth a visit!

The history about this road’s creation is fascinating and the museum shares it all. The 1920’s is when the concept of driving a road from Illinois to California comes into its own. Nine thousand registered OK drivers in 1914 grew to 144,000 in 1920, then to 576,000 in 1930. More people driving meant gas stations, cafes and motels were needed for travelers. The migration of people in the 1930’s due to the lack of rain, the Dust Bowl, increased the use of the “mother road”, Route 66, as many headed west!

Thanks to Cyrus Avery in envisioning such a road, the WPA workers building the road and the business owners along the road providing services to travelers. Unfortunately with President Eisenhower’s Interstate Plan, many towns were bypassed and Route 66 roads were not used. However as we now drive the interstate, there are some people who do drive as much of the old 2448 mile road where possible through the 8 states from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica Pier in California.

Map of the road; now some people cycle it!

You too may stop at Cadillac Ranch by Amarillo, Texas. Cadillacs from 1949-1963 are part of a 1974 installation. The cars are nose-dived into the ground and you can walk up to them and add your spray paint or creative touch!

I have driven and cycled parts of Route 66 and love seeing the old motels, gas pumps, etc. Go out and “get your kicks” on Route 66!

Navajo County Museum – Know of It?

August 13, 2026July 27, 2026Posted in blogging, history, Travel, writingTagged Arizona, history, NAtional PArk, travelLeave a comment

I did not know of the Navajo County Museum in Holbrook, Arizona. Yes, I knew Petrified Forest National Park is down the road, but this museum? No. As the local said to me, “Once you see the national park and this museum, you’ve seen Holbrook!”

We spent at least 45 minutes at the Navajo County Museum walking through rooms with different historical info. This building was the old courthouse with the sheriff’s office and jail. Other rooms included items from Native Americans, ranchers and other settlers in the county. I had never seen so many old typewriters and cameras in one place. Display cases had fossils, arrowheads, pieces of pottery and old horse saddles. One room was the old post office. There was so much to look at!

We just happened upon this place as we continue our drive east with many more miles to go in the day. Lovers of history could spend hours here with all this historical material.

So … If you are in Holbrook, Arizona along Interstate 40, visit the Navajo County Museum. And if you have not been to Petrified Forest National Park, get there also to see petrified wood and the “painted desert”. Worth a stop!!

Petrified wood and more of it at the national park down the road!

Exercise While Traveling on the Road?

August 9, 2026July 19, 2026Posted in blogging, fitness, Travel, walking, writingTagged exercise, fitness, travelLeave a comment

Exercising while traveling has its challenges. Yet older travelers may say, as we age, exercising anytime has its challenges. It’s surely not like what we accomplished decades ago. When we travel though, our daily timeline varies so much we need to work at finding time to fit in any exercise … and that’s not always easy!

Our cardio days, strength training days, and rest day per week becomes a jumbled mess while traveling. A poor night’s sleep, driving weariness, change in eating plan, dehydration and whatever else can lead to lack of interest in doing a workout of any sort, let alone trying to find time to fit it in!

But here are a few of ideas to consider if you want to do any exercise/workout. At least these are what I tell myself to consider … as I have this challenge too:

Take a walk after every meal. Got more time? Walk further and/or faster.
Use luggage as weights. Can bicep curls or tricep extensions with hand luggage be accomplished? Or chest press or shoulder press with larger luggage?
Use own body weight for squats, planks or yoga poses.
Use exercise tubes and/or straps for strength training.
Access to a pool, swim; a jump rope, jump; a canoe; paddle away! Ask: what’s at this new town/park/environment providing me a way to be active?

Realizing that maintaining a level of fitness while we travel is a challenge is an important start. Sitting/driving a vehicle for hours, often eating more food and not getting our best sleep is often part of travel. But our bodies need to be active, hydrated and strong to travel as we wish!

My goal is to travel the world, thus I need a healthy body for the miles ahead! I’ll find time each day to do something active. Of course, I love trips where I bicycle or hike each day. Unfortunately my upcoming 2 month road trip will not include any bicycling, but maybe some hikes. What exercise(s) do you do when you travel? How do you stay active? Got a favorite full body exercise? Please share!

PS. I am reminded of an 84 year old woman who walked a half hour before breakfast every morning as she travelled for 6 weeks with our tour group. Why can’t I do that for starters! Our group was in awe of her and she motivated us to get moving in the morning! That’s a start!

Strap and tubes for strength training are my go-to pieces of equipment.

White-winged Dove With A Dilemma

August 6, 2026July 19, 2026Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, wildlife, writingTagged Arizona, birds, food, wildlifeLeave a comment

White-winged doves fly around our homes this time of year. Often they’ll sit on a railing and watch other birds visiting our bird feeder.

And with a closer look … is this do-able?

Recently I saw a dove attempt to latch onto the feeder I set out to attract woodpeckers and small birds. It was a puzzle for the dove as it sat on the feeder. Then looked below from the cap of the feeder to the food cylinder in the feeder. Finally the bird made some flying starts at the feeder to catch on …

… all unsuccessful attempts. This feeder is not designed for this large a bird. I have seen black-headed grosbeaks, pyrrhuloxia and woodpeckers, but white-winged doves don’t have a chance! No worries though as I know the doves are getting enough food from the wild and looking healthy!

Splooting … Who Does It?

August 2, 2026July 16, 2026Posted in Animals, blogging, environment, wildlifeTagged cats, dogs, environment, squirrels, wildlifeLeave a comment

Splooting is a behavior sometimes exhibited by furry, 4-legged animals. They’ll spread out on their stomach with legs and feet extended to stretch and/or cool their body. So on a warm day the animal does this behavior to regulate its body temperature. You may have observed it with your own cat or dog. I observed a Harris’ antelope squirrel splooting on our back patio.

The squirrel was cute to watch! I also realized the squirrel’s fur was thinner on its stomach so body heat could be released onto the cool patio floor. The squirrel took its time to stretch and rest, obviously a safe place for it to hang out. But usually an animal will not sploot for long since that body position makes them more vulnerable to predators. Fortunately this Harris’ antelope squirrel soon took off and was on his way to probably one of the holes dug in our backyard.

Southeast Arizona Bird Festival is Coming Soon!

July 30, 2026July 16, 2026Posted in Birds, blogging, wildlifeTagged Arizona, birds, Nature, TucsonLeave a comment

Bird festivals offer fantastic opportunities to anyone with an inkling interest in birds. At these festivals one can attend presentations about specific bird topics. Or sign-up for field trips to local areas with an expert and others to see birds in the area. Plus they often have keynote speakers. Festivals have vendors in attendance to present binoculars, cameras, etc where you can put your hands-on the items and environmental groups sharing their goals for our natural areas: land, water and air. Have you been to a bird festival lately?

Upcoming: August 12 – 16, 2026 is the Southeast Arizona Bird Festival in Tucson, Arizona. Many birds fly through the southeast and at the festival you’ll have an opportunity to view birds on field trips, meet fellow birders and learn from presenters. Stop by the nature expo too. You can register for the festival at tucsonbirds.org

Happy birding!

Vermilion flycatcher can be seen in Tucson!

New Pedestrian Bridge in Tucson, Arizona

July 26, 2026July 6, 2026Posted in Bike paths, blogging, environment, Travel, walking, writingTagged Arizona, environment, travel, TucsonLeave a comment

The new pedestrian bridge has been here for a year and I wondered if you have seen or made use of it? People who walk or bicycle ride on the Huckelberry Loop now have a faster way to get across the Santa Cruz River. It’s near Sweetwater Wetlands and Danny Lopez Park. For people on the west side of town, this bridge provides a safe way to travel from one segment of the loop to another. It’s called Suzanne Shields Pedestrian Bridge. Who was Suzanne Shields?

Bridge across Santa Cruz River, Tucson, AZ

Suzanne Shields was Pima County Flood Control District’s first hydrologist in 1979 and the first director of the flood control district when formed in 2005. The bridge was not only built for recreational activities, walking and cycling, but also to maintain the Santa Cruz River. Construction crews raised the bank protection so the bridge had enough height allowing flood waters to go unimpeded below. It is the first bridge flood control built over the Santa Cruz River spanning over 300 feet and 18 feet wide. We’re having hot days now; few people were there today. I’ll bet early morning hours and once temperatures cool down there will be many enjoying the safe pathway. See you there!

Bridge for recreational used flood control

Pasta-making With Friends

July 23, 2026July 6, 2026Posted in blogging, Food, Italy, Travel, writingTagged food, travelLeave a comment

We visited friends who crank out their pasta-making machine every so often to make pasta, yet I had never been there when they did. Well this time, especially after my couple of pasta-making classes in Italy and Croatia, we decided to make pasta at their home. What did I learn in those classes? I put myself to the test.

Four eggs and 2 cups of 00 Italian flour and mix. My biggest challenge is always kneading the dough enough. Muscle into the dough, fold it over, quarter turn and knead it again…. and again …. Everyone else seems to know when it is quite ready to call it quits with the kneading, so I follow their direction. Let the dough rest, then time to make the noodles. Flattened the dough as thin as we can get it. My friends used their machine and I rolled my pasta by hand and roller.

A sauce was made with garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley. A sauce cannot get any simpler than this. When put on the pasta, shave some parmesan cheese on and it’s all delicious!

We cut the pasta into strips. My hand-rolled and cut noodles cooked in 5 minutes. The pasta flattened by the machine cooked in 3 minutes. Our sauce was simple and delicious … and enjoyed by everyone so quickly, I forgot to take a final photo! Next time!;)

Meet Friends at Black Canyon in CO

July 19, 2026July 5, 2026Posted in Animals, blogging, environment, history, Travel, wildlife, writingTagged environment, NAtional PArk, Nature, travel, wildlife3 Comments

Black Canyon at Gunnison National Park is a place I never visited. So when east coast friends mentioned visiting this Colorado national park, I thought well why not meet them there! Wow, that was a good decision!

We drove the south rim road at this national park after a stop at the visitor center which survived a 2025 wildfire here. From the rim’s vista points, it is easy to understand why this park is called the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Looking down the sheer, black canyon walls at nearly 2 billion year old rock, you will eventually see a river 1800 feet below! The walls are massive and it is amazing to realize the river had cut through the uplift’s core of rock a couple of million years ago.

While still on the south rim road, we saw three big horn sheep walk from the rim, across the road to another location.

We also drove the east portal road. There we read signage about the Gunnison Tunnel and diversion dam built between 1905 and 1909. Want to know about a major engineering project, I encourage you to read its history! We walked the road paralleling the Gunnison River which dead ends at Crystal Dam. Looking up on the massive rock walls was truly a different perspective!

Also notice the hazy sky from wildfire smoke coming from Utah, many miles away.

Plenty of birds were happy in this area.

Protect Native Wildlife

July 16, 2026July 5, 2026Posted in Animals, blogging, environment, wildlifeTagged Arizona, environment, Nature, travel, wildlifeLeave a comment

When we visit a park our expectation is to see native plants and animals there. Yet sometimes a non-native seed flies in, successfully grows to a point where park officials notice and yank those plants out by their roots! Non-native animals are more difficult to control. The animal may walk through one day or another and not be noticed. It may take having larger numbers at the park to ever be noticed. But then where should traps be set for these non-native animals to be relocated outside of the park? Or if it is breeding season, can park officials capture them all and truly relocate all the non-native animals? It would be a huge challenge and this is why we need to be sure to do our part in not creating a problem.

Have you noticed this park sign at a park near you? Or maybe a different sign with other wildlife listed.

A non-native plant or animal is invasive capable of causing issues for native species. The native species could be out-competed, presented with diseases and/or preyed upon. Therefore, we must do our part and not bring other wildlife into a park. An ecological balance exists within the park needing no disruption from an outside influence, thus the park’s signage. It is an important message.

Please understand the importance of a park’s message with their sign. There are agencies to help you relocate any wildlife you may not want near your home. Do not dump them at your local park; help the native wildlife at the park!