I loved Pacific Grove, known as Butterfly Town, USA. The monarch sanctuary was a great place to clear my head, literally, as it was a forest of pine and eucalyptus. Photography was challenging because the park is set up with some distance between the trail and host plants. While photography was fun, I intentionally put …
Author Archives: retiredgirlbeautifulworld
Maui Monarch
I am a Tree
I am a tree. I am strong. I am grounded. I am flexible with branches waving. I extend from all directions accepting what I need from the universe. I am a shelter. I am a protector. I am beauty. I am dormant and resting. A shadowy figure on a backdrop of grays. Learning to appreciate …
Rocky Mountain High
Our final national park destination of the trip was Rocky Mountain National Park. We spent a day and a half there. We arrived in the afternoon and scaled the narrow, winding and sometimes shoulder-less Trail Ridge Road which ascended to the Alpine Visitor Center and the highest point in the park. On the trek, we …
Bearly made it through the Grand Tetons
The Grand Tetons National Park is small when compared to the other parks we visited, but it was tall on beauty. The mountain range towered over the grasslands, meadows, river, and forested areas below. The mountains guarded the horses grazing in the fields and provided a gorgeous backdrop to the colorful wildflowers. This view was …
Wildlife fun
One of the goals my dad and I had with our national parks visits was to have some “wildlife fun” and by that I mean observing and photographing. We definitely hit that goal during the trip! During the drive we saw antelopes and a wolf. One of our largest and closest encounters was with this …
Yowser! Yellowstone!
Yellowstone may not have won the beauty pageant of national parks I visited, but it certainly won the “oh, wow!” award! It is a thermal wonderland that covers three states. The most famous geyser, Old Faithful, is a must see event. She erupts every hour to hour and half or so give or take ten …
Marvelous Montana
Montana is a beautiful state of mountains and rivers. Big Sky Country did not disappoint. We visited the Missoula/Lolo area. The Bitterroot River ran right behind the house of the friends we stayed with and made a beautiful scene for morning yoga. We took several day trips. We visited the small town of Anaconda, which …
The hills are alive…
If the national parks I visited were a beauty pageant, Glacier would get the crown. Glacier National Park was breathtaking with alpine mountains, grassy meadows, glassy lakes, singing streams, cascading waterfalls and beaches covered with colorful rocks. The air was refreshing. If it was possible to capture a photo of it the way it looks …
No Rush to get to Mount Rushmore…
There’s no rush to get to Mount Rushmore, not because it isn’t worth the visit, it is. It’s pretty amazing to come face to face with four presidents carved in stone. It is hard to imagine how sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, could have envisioned such a masterpiece as he first faced the mountain. The memorial rises …
Not so “Bad”…
The air was fresh and the sun beat down on an early September day at the Badlands National Park. They were named for the rugged conditions, extreme temperatures and lack of water. They were called “les mauvais terres pour traverse” by French trappers in the 1900’s literally meaning “bad lands to travel through.” Despite the …
Dedicated-Determined-Creative
(Author’s note: It is a common interview question to be asked to describe yourself in three words. My typical response was the title of this post. The balance is tipped toward creativity now, but the other traits will come in handy.) Nestled under the bluffs that touch the sky and above the maze of underwater …
Waterfall
Trickling tumbling, rolling, splashing. Each drop of water falls on the wings of gravity through the path of least resistance flowing into a collective stream to parts unknown. #waterfall
We’d rather be roadtrippin’
My dad and I had been planning a road trip out west for several months after I chose retirement at the end of the previous school year. I had never visited any of the national parks this direction, nor several of the states we would traverse. He had, but was looking forward to seeing them …
Dawn
The dark fingers of night with her sparkling jewels loses her grip on time in a fiery sunrise battle that results in a victory for the clouds of gray. Tiny spots of blue peek through with the promise, they will have their time too.
Goodbye, Summer
I’m holding the hand of Summer as it slips into the starless darkness serenaded by frogs, crickets and cicadas. It has left us for a while. I resist the urge to cling and scream, “Noooooo!” because it is futile. I must let Summer go. It is the natural order of things. The water in my …
Fresh
Walked out of hot yoga to the fresh scent of the gentle rain dancing on my skin.
Returning to the rhythm…
I woke in Branson to a fiery sunrise peeking through the trees. The flame was extinguished by a gentle rain from a blanket of gray that danced on the leaves and trickled through the blades of green flooding the home of an ear worm.
Dolphin!
In a previous post, I mentioned that no matter how many times I saw a dolphin in the wild during our trip, I felt an adrenaline rush as I pointed and hollered, “Dolphin!” It was the new “squirrel” as this word and gesture involuntarily interrupted conversations unrelated to dolphins. I can blame this new behavior …
Clicks and whistles…
Ever since I watched the movie, “A Dolphin’s Tale,” I have entertained the idea of visiting Winter, who was the star of the show. After her amazing rescue and rehabilitation, she became a permanent resident of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium along with her best friend, PJ, and many other terrific sea animals. When my bestie …
Don’t Worry, Beach Happy…
If you’re looking for the compromise between a deserted beach and retail tourist attractions on the Florida Gulf Coast, try Madeira Beach. We stayed at Madeira Bay Resort, which just across the road, with a sunrise view of Madeira Bay. The condo was clean and seemed recently remodeled. The less than five minute walk to …
…The Other is Gold
This post is somewhat of a continuation of the “Heart Prints and Wings” post, but the venue and the focus has changed. I’ve moved on to the part of the song that goes: “…keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.” While I would prefer to change the word “old” to another …
Who ever said principals were boring?
I met a kindred spirit at Anamaya. She was a lovely lady with a quick smile and a patient voice, who quickly became an inspiration to all in our group. We sat together at dinner one night and through conversation discovered that we were both retired principals. E had been retired for several years and …
Dreams with Wings…
Monarch Travels Application Video Today would have been our 35th wedding anniversary. I celebrated by applying for a scholarship for educators to research Monarch butterflies at their winter roosting site in the forested highlands of Mexico. I figured that submitting the application today would somehow be lucky. In the application materials, I included a link …
Heart Prints and Wings…
It was my first trip out of the USA and I was traveling solo. There were many firsts on the trip… Costa Rica… the smallest airplane I’d ever been on… living in the Casita with three ladies I had never met… and more. I should have referred to “the three ladies I’ve never met” as …
Retired Girl in a Beautiful World 