Laura's Retirement Journey

Keith channeled his Grandpa Charlie today. In 1911, Charlie went to Alaska for the gold rush. He came back with  gold nugget he formed into a ring. The other nugget paid his fare back to New Hampshire. We were more successful. We are returning to CT with a haul of of crystals and 25 pounds of quartz.  The day started with our getting lost on the way to the mine. No GPS, no cell. No wifi. Not much of a road. And have you seen Ozark on Netfix? They're drug dealers in them thar hills. Finally we found Bee and Joe. They are leasing the mining rights so we can dig. And dig we did. Essentially it was a strip mine and we used garden implements and sand box toys to find our rocks. Keith hit pay-crystal. Two big ones and we both found lots of small ones.  Here's our haul. Crystals Quartz with crystals growing. Still working on cleaning Plus about 25 pounds of quartz. The most common rock on the earth.

I really enjoy these two original signed 4x6 collages I picked up in the Farmers Market. They are landscapes and the artist photographed them and turned them into cards.  After I purchased she said "I appreciate you." Made me feel good.

Camping people are lovely. By and large they are a relaxed group. Most enjoy the same things ... the fresh air and hanging away from home. Today was the first day I encountered Breaking Bad. Jesse Pinkman (he was a character in BB) announced his arrival by dragging the belly of he rotted-out RV along the road. His tow vehicle had flattening tires, no springs and was barely able hold up the front end of the trailer. Then out came his two pit bulls. They were beautifully trained (definitely in his plus column). Then I saw  him  teaching them to go for a rope hanging from a tree. I thought it was a drug dealer thing. It isn't. It's is a tug of war game used with dogs with exceptionally strong jaws. Anyway I will try not to be too judgy. He treated his dogs well, so maybe he was a nice guy.

The media: plants. Rocks. Bridges.Water. and Light. They change with the time of day and the seasons and each of the 40 different gardens are individual creations in their own right. Together they are 40 acres  planned around the shape of the land and to be looked at from every direction. My experience with botanical gardens is very limited. But I am now a fan. And I have a feeling this garden managed by U of Arkansas is world class. My pics don't do it justice.

Coal plant seen from campsite@ Lake Catherine State Park. Has absolutely nothing to do with this post. But rainbows and waterfalls are irresistible.  We are in a doldrum. Its 100°F every day.  The humidity's embracing us like a wet sweater. Both Keith and I picked up some kind of itchy toxin (mine was poison ivy). Keith thinks he was allergic to algae in the Buffalo River.  (Who knows.  It's as good a guess as any).  And we were go-go-going. Everything was so exciting. As a change of pace we are now in the middle of a 10-day stay at Lake Catherine State Park in Hot Springs; we have decided to keep our feet in Arkansas through Labor Day.  We'll go for short strolls, groom Django, read, and take it easy until we get bored.  Then we will maybe go for a swim once our itchies clear up. The best thing about Hot Springs is the hot springs. There are collection faucets all over town. Bring a jug and get 130F mineral-rich water.  For 10...

The two Democrats were camped next to us and when they saw our CT License plate, they made it a point to meet me.  We talked vaccines and masks and Obama. The said Trumpism is dividing their family. They both came down with Covid in January, then they got the vaccine. I thought it was just so funny that they made an effort to meet me 'cause I might talk Democrat.

In the spring the Buffalo National River is filled with canoes, kayaks and inner tubes taking advantage of spring rain and swelling currents. It's exciting, I'm sure. But it's mid August. The river is low, temperature is hot and humidity is high. The river is filled with middle age people floating to nowhere. Drinking their beers (no glass please.) It's is an Arkansas thing.   Not to be be outdone Keith and I headed to the River in our little phosphorescent $5 floaties. I envisioned a couple of hours in one place soaking up the sun. But no. Keith found the little current there was and we slowly headed down stream under the massive granite cliffs. I wasn't worried because the River was so shallow we could walk back up stream.. NOT. Turns out it was deep in the middle and we had to paddle our way back up stream in those ridiculous inner tubes that looked like tutus on five year old girls. I don't have a pictu...

Six days without Cell or Wifi. Even my Netflix downloads aren't working. Good for the soul? Sort of. Hard. Definitely.  Every other day we go to the septic dump to doom scroll about Covid and the weather, big news, FB. Otherwise, I'm ... reading a paper based book ...which is fun.  making up recipes since I can't get into NYT Cooking app. Cole slaw with yogurt and Yum Yum sauce worked out well. Playing with my phone hoping I can get some kind of signal. I can't. In the RV world wifi is spotty. Even when the say they have wifi-- they don't. We have learned... How to tether the computer through the phone. That T-mobile/Sprint is damn good. And how to use the library when feeling desperate. If I was a working girl, I would be going to the dump 4 times a day to check my email and return calls. But I'm not. Things can wait and I can always read Louise Penny my new favorite mystery writer.

My favorite part of our 1.5 days in Joplin was going to the laundramat. Not that it was immaculate (it was). Not that the staff person was upbeat and kind (she was). It was the chance finding of a beautiful mural and a very nice local art gallery staffed by an artist who used to live in Orange CT. I am loving slow travel. And our pace only comes with retirement. Not having to be somewhere at a specific time. Whether we are walking or driving, it is gift to have the time to appreciate to the world around us.  This chart rock looks like a painting I also want to take a moment to appreciate Keith. He sees different things than I do. Rock formations. Battlefields. Weird technologies. Infrastructure that is falling apart. A bridge underside in Souix Falls Keith is fun to travel with.

Washington, Jefferson. Roosevelt, Lincoln. The artist picked the presidents.

The Badlands come alive in the early morning and at dusk. Big horn sheep graze by the side of the road. (This guy posed for pictures for an hour). Mule deer are out looking for water. (The big difference between mule deer and white tailed deer are the ears.  Mule deer have really big ears. The guy we saw was a white spotted fawn.) I only start started noticing the birds at dusk. A mountain Bluebird flapped his wings and suspended in mid-air looking for bugs. A great horned owl took off from his perch near our campsite and was silhouetted by the setting sun.  Added benefit...no crowds. 97°F days become beautiful, dry and breezy evenings in western South Dakota. 

Big Horn Sheep Ewes (3) We saw so much widlife at Custer. The animals were so prevalent we hypothosized there're some animatronics happening here. For God's sake they posed long enough for me to fumble with my camera-phone security system.  Pronghorn (2) Some call these beautiful animals antelopes. Unfortunately we didn't see him run but it was a great thing to see on a hike through the prairie. Buffalo (herd of about 20) Dung Beetles (about 20 working on Buffalo poop) White tail deer (about 10) These were substantially bigger than the ones in CT) Bison (maybe a 1000) Showing off for the tourists. Rabbits (about 25) These were substantially smaller than CT. And cuter. Turkeys (10) Right by the campsite. No fear.  Tourist Horses (10) and Cowboys on Horses (2) Wild borros (about 10) These are descendants of prospectors' borros. They came during the 1870s Black Hills' gold rush. Ground Hog (1) He was getting out of the ro...