The Adventure Begins – June 1 – 7, 2018

Our latest adventure began on June 1^st.  I’ve decided to try something different.  For the travel blog, I will select one image to represent the day.  Each blog post will cover 7 days, so there will be 7 travel highlights.  It may make it easier on those of you who diligently read each of my travel blogs, and frankly, easier on me, too!  Let’s get started…..

June 1^st was a driving day, from home in Edgewood to Amarillo, Texas, as will be just about all the days that make up this first week, as we make our way to Maine.  I just started taking images as we drove along, with no plan in mind.  I figured things would become clear to me once I looked at all the images I took.  I had several images of landscapes, of old billboards that had seen better days, and of deserted homesteads (one of my favorite subjects!).  But, as I looked at everything I shot today, the one type of image that stood out for me was rather iconic of the West, and ranches or farms in the West – the windmill.  I processed this image to create a sort of vintage feel, as that’s what I felt like it represents.  

Tilting at Windmills

June 2 was quite the day!  The word of the day for today was WIND!  Originally, I planned to do some of the driving, to help out Jeff.  However, with cross winds at over 20 mph, Jeff said forget it – I would not be happy.  And, he was right – at times I wasn’t even happy being a passenger in that wind!  Our drive from Amarillo, Texas, to Tulsa, Oklahoma took longer than we thought it would, mainly because we went slower due to the wind.  This image just captured what the wind kept creating every time we looked around, it seemed!

Dust

Day 3, Sunday, was almost the polar opposite of yesterday.  Driving was very pleasant – no wind to speak of – and I even got a chance to help out with the driving!  The other major change was the color green!!  We entered into Missouri after about 1 ½ hours after the drive for the day began, and green took over as the primary color when we looked out the window.  In this image, you can see the cows/steer just lazing about in the shade.  Altho you can’t see it in this image, I do believe a small pond wasn’t too far from where they were.

Green

Driving thru both Illinois and Indiana, a very common sight is of farmland and farms.  They are two of the states that make up the “bread basket” of the US, where most of the crops that we eat are grown.  So, today’s image is a tip of the hat to all the farmers out there – thanks!

Farmland

Almost from the moment we entered Ohio, the skies began to cloud over.  We checked the forecast, and didn’t see any real mention of rain (maybe a 10% chance), but that 10% ended up being 100% wherever we were!!  The silver lining in all this is that at least this wasn’t a day we were going to explore some sights!  The sun did come out at the end of the day, so maybe tomorrow’s weather will be more cooperative.

Overcast Skies

As we drove along the highway in New York State, we passed a small cemetery that had a WWII fighter jet trainer sitting in the middle of it.  It seems to be the way they’ve chosen to honor the fallen.  We don’t know anything about who is buried here, but I am thinking it must be the veteran section of the cemetery.

Honor the Fallen

It’s been a week since we started on this adventure, and we began our last day of the first week with a walk around a pond in the campground where we stayed last night.  It was the perfect tonic for a week of miles and miles of miles and miles!  I always love to watch herons “fish”.

Stalking

This is week 1 of a several week adventure.  Stay tuned for next week!

Enjoy!