Author Archives: explorenewness

NEW update to my N.P. bucket list

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Happy Wednesday!

I guess I need to update my National Parks bucket list that I posted after our Mesa Verde trip. One National Park down, many to go! I’m at 16 out of 63. Oh boy…gotta get busy!

The photo above is of the Great Smoky National Park from near Clingman’s Dome. And here’s one with a little ‘smoke’:

The walk up to the top of Clingmans Dome is quite steep…here, wait just a minute and I’ll look up the stats….haha!

“The half-mile trail to the summit of Clingmans Dome is paved, but very steep. During the short hike, you will gain 332 feet, which makes the climb gradient almost 13%!” (per THIS site). On a clear day, you can see into 7 states!

The Appalachian Trail crosses Clingmans Dome, so now I can say I’ve been on a portion of that trail! (They kind of need new signage! :o)

I love thematic bucket lists! Checking off a list is strangely satisfying, right!?

Have a great day today! Do or learn something NEW!

Miscellaneous Monday…NEW stuff i gotta share

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Happy Monday!

As I mentioned yesterday, we recently traveled to North Carolina and I learned some NEW miscellaneous stuff while we were there. So, of course, I gotta share!

We were chatting with a local, and she mentioned the Brown Mountain Lights. She was saying her husband has seen them twice, but she’s never seen them. I had never even heard of them! Apparently, the mysterious Brown Mountain Lights have been appearing in the Linville Gorge area of North Carolina for hundreds of years. No one can explain them. Here’s a website with more info: CarolinaCountry.com. My great-grandfather lived in Linville in the late nineteenth century, so I’m curious to know if he ever saw them! Maybe you’ve heard of them if you saw the movie Alien Abduction. And here’s an interesting YouTube video about them.

The next miscellaneous NEW thing I learned in Asheville was how oddly shaped a lawn bowling ball is! It is very cool that the city of Asheville has provided a lawn bowling green in their public park. You don’t see that every day! One of the players at the park noticed our interest in the game and came over to explain and show us the balls they use. Let’s just say they aren’t perfectly round. The game is similar to bocce {i think}, but there are obviously some differences. If you’re interested, here’s a site that explains the game {HERE}.

This is the bowling green in Asheville’s Carrier Park, which has a fun history of its own. It’s a former speedway turned into a public park!

Oh, the miscellaneous NEW things you learn when you get away from your own neighborhood!

I’m not sure of the author of this quote…but I luv it!

“The best education you’ll get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experiences.”

Have a great day today! Do or learn something NEW!

NEW updates to my waterfalls bucket list

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Happy Sunday!

Well, October passed in a blink, right!?! We had a blast the last week of October. We traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, and saw the beautiful fall colors in the area right at their peak! How lucky was that? Some areas, like in the Great Smoky National Park were past peak, but around Asheville the colors were GORGEOUS!

We hiked almost every day and saw multiple waterfalls. So, today I updated my Waterfalls Bucket List. We added 11 to the list, just from this trip, and we barely scratched the surface of NC Waterfalls!

Our hikes were spectacular! Perfect weather for hiking and check out these colors:

Another waterfall…

I’ll probably share more pics in a few days if I get around to it.

If you Google “Best places to visit in the fall”, Asheville NC is top of the list. I definitely agree, Google!!!

Have a great day. Do or learn something NEW!

i learned something NEW

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Happy Tuesday!

I learn so much from others! This morning, as I was reading Nancy’s Two Trails One Road blog, I got introduced to Dale Chihuly! Nancy posted a photo of her standing by a glass sculpture and the caption was “It’s always nice to see a Chihuly”. I wasn’t familiar with that name, but I thought, WAIT A MINUTE…I’ve seen something very similar recently.

Hubby and I went to dinner and a concert last month, and the photo above is the sculpture that was in the lobby of the concert hall that night. It wasn’t until this morning that I serendipitously learned about the glass artist Dale Chihuly.

So, thank you Nancy! You know I love to do and learn NEW things!

Have a great day!

miscellaneous monday…NEW stuff i gotta share

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Happy Monday!

Isn’t this a fun tablescape? My friend hosted an event at her house recently and I had to post about this NEW (to me), incredibly yummy Pumpkin Crunch recipe. See the little cupcake holders under the Ferrero Rocher chocolates? Instead of cupcakes, she put in some Pumpkin Crunch dessert. Then, when it was time for dessert, she just passed around a can of spray whip cream for people to put on top of the crunch. How easy and perfect is that?!?

Here’s the recipe, but obviously she didn’t frost it with the cream cheese frosting: https://www.holoholokauaiboattours.com/blog/hawaiian-style-pumpkin-crunch/

Another food-related thing is my NEW proofing box. Many of you may know Leanne Cole’s blog. Well, I’m a huge fan of having the right tools for the job, and I’ve been wanting to learn to make and bake with sourdough for a long time. After reading her post, I purchased a proofing box, and I’ve been baking bread and other items with sourdough!

One of these days, I’ll get a really pretty loaf and actually photograph it, rather than just a snapshot! :o)

Here’s the proofing box I bought. As Leanne mentioned, it’s a bit expensive…for a box! But it is a great tool.

Since this miscellany monday seems to be all about food, I’ll share this last NEW hack I learned recently. So, I’ve been wanting (but putting off getting) these cookie sheet stacker-divider thingamajiggers:

BUT…someone hacked a (maybe) better solution – definitely a cheaper solution! They simply laid two flat pieces of wood over the cookie sheet. Probably like a long paint-stirring stick. I’m gonna try it. I’ll let you know whether I still want the fancy ones or not.

That’s it for today’s miscellany. Have a great week and do or learn something NEW!

NEW fotos on friday

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Happy Friday!

This week we took a quick drive up the canyon to view the fall colors. The yellows were definitely out! Plus, we’ll probably be able to go again in a couple of weeks and see another show, with more oranges and reds – AWESOME! Usually, we’re on the tail-end of the season and after one trip, they’re gone.

That’s it for today’s fotos on friday. Have a great weekend. Do or learn something NEW!

NEW photos of mesa verde and a NEW national parks bucket list

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We made a quick trip over to Colorado last weekend and visited Mesa Verde National Park. Perfect weather! Not too crowded! Nice!!! Here are a few more pics:

If you go, DEFINITELY get a guided tour. The park rangers are so knowledgeable and can answer most of your questions. The history of the area is fascinating.

Sadly, a lot of the area had burn scars because Mesa Verde is prone to lightning strikes and can receive up to 100 strikes in a 24-hour period during the summer. 70% of the park has been burned by wildfires since it was established in 1906!

One thing I love about blogging is having posts to reference anytime/anywhere. I’m going to use this post as my National Parks Bucket List and keep track of where we’ve visited and where we still need to go! So many! It will take a while to finish this big bucket list. But so fun!

LIST OF US NATIONAL PARKS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

  • Acadia National Park {done}
  • Arches National Park {done}
  • Badlands National Park
  • Big Bend National Park
  • Biscayne National Park
  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
  • Bryce Canyon National Park {done}
  • Canyonlands National Park {done}
  • Capitol Reef National Park {done}
  • Carlsbad Caverns National Park
  • Channel Islands National Park
  • Congaree National Park
  • Crater Lake National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Death Valley National Park
  • Denali National Park and Preserve
  • Dry Tortugas National Park
  • Everglades National Park
  • Gates of the Arctic National Park
  • Gateway Arch National Park 
  • Glacier National Park
  • Glacier Bay National Park
  • Grand Canyon National Park {done}
  • Grand Teton National Park
  • Great Basin National Park
  • Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park {done}
  • Guadalupe Mountains National Park
  • Haleakala National Park
  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park {done}
  • Hot Springs National Park
  • Indiana Dunes National Park
  • Isle Royale National Park
  • Joshua Tree National Park
  • Katmai National Park and Preserve
  • Kenai Fjords National Park
  • Kings Canyon National Park {done}
  • Kobuk Valley National Park
  • Lake Clark National Park
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park
  • Mammoth Cave National Park
  • Mesa Verde National Park {done}
  • Mount Rainier National Park
  • National Park of American Samoa
  • New River Gorge National Park 
  • North Cascades National Park
  • Olympic National Park
  • Petrified Forest National Park
  • Pinnacles National Park
  • Redwood National Park {done}
  • Rocky Mountain National Park {done}
  • Saguaro National Park
  • Sequoia National Park {done}
  • Shenandoah National Park
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park
  • Virgin Islands National Park
  • Voyageurs National Park
  • White Sands National Park 
  • Wind Cave National Park
  • Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
  • Yellowstone National Park {done}
  • Yosemite National Park {done}
  • Zion National Park {done}

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!

miscellaneous Monday…NEW stuff i gotta share

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Happy Monday!

This random photo is of a bunch of padlocks near the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. And in honor of the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth, here’s another shot with the British flag in the background:

We visited Lake Havasu earlier this year. Fun place! AND, if you want to learn WHY someone would move a bridge, stone by stone from England to the Arizona desert, Wikipedia’s got you! (HERE).

In other miscellany:

Did you know there are apps to learn perfect pitch!?! I’m {thinking} of giving that a go. I’ll let you know if I do! I’m doing well enough to keep up on my Duolingo streak of learning Spanish every day. But when I can squeeze in the time to train my ear for perfect pitch, I think I’d love that!

I’ll mention too, that we bought this piece of equipment a few months back. I need to stop reading blogs, writing blogs, and go downstairs and pump some blocks of iron! I’ve learned a lot of NEW ways to get sore muscles! But that’s a good thing. I especially like Pinterest to find NEW and different exercises. (HERE)

And lastly, I have a miscellaneous question: Do people say “You’ve got another thing coming” – OR- “You’ve got another think coming”??? I ask, because I always thought people said “thing”, but I recently saw it in writing, and they wrote “think”! Have I been mis-hearing that phrase wrong all these years? Haha!

That’s all the miscellany for today. Have a great day and do or learn something NEW!

a NEW quote Thursday

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Happy Thursday!

I recently took this photo of these cute Black-Eyed Susans and they made me smile. THEN, I visited the blog, Unexpected in common hours, and found what I think is my NEW favorite quote! I love it!

I wasn’t familiar with Leo Buscaglia, so, of course, I had to go look him up! One thing leads to another = more books by Buscalia are now on my TBR list! :o)

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!

a NEW photo of Pando Aspen Clone

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Happy Wednesday!

I learned something NEW a few years ago. I learned about Pando, but only recently had the opportunity to take this photo of the “world’s largest living organism”. We took Stebi (our fifth-wheel trailer, which we named Stebi…acronym for “Spending ThE Boys Inheritance) to camp near Fishlake National Forest. This is where the Pando Aspen Clone is located.

This photo may look like a grove of individual trees, but it’s actually a one-tree forest. Underground, everything is connected by a single, vast root system. This one-tree aspen forest is made up of 47,000 trunks, and millions of leaves, connected through one root system! Therefore, it is the world’s largest single living organism. Very cool!

You can learn more on Wikipedia: HERE.

This photo was taken about July 8th. I’d really like to go in the fall and see the changing colors. That’s on the bucket list!

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!