We recently visited our 28th (out of 63) National Park. We explored Indiana Dunes National Park. The weather was perfect. The crowds were small. Yay!
I’m not sure if drones are permitted at this national park (probably not), but there are some impressive photos posted online which were taken from above at some point. Here are a few of mine taken from ground-level. Maybe I should look into getting a drone, haha! (????)
35 more parks to go!
I hope you have a lovely day and learn or do something NEW today!
I thought it was time for another A-Z list of all the little miscellaneous NEW things I’ve been learning or experiencing. My first one was back in 2023, (how time flies!). I got the prompts from Deb’s World. Here goes:
Admiring: this beautiful fountain and the lovely gardens at Buxton Park. We spent a night in Indianola, Iowa, and after dinner, noticed a lovely park, so we got out and walked around. Now that’s my kind of after-dinner walk! It was very lovely. I took lots of photos of the flowers and this beautiful fountain. Then I changed the photo into a watercolor painting using the Waterlogue app on my phone.
Becoming: more adept at setting up and taking down our 5th wheel RV (named Stebi = Spending ThE Boys Inheritance). In the past, hubby has done the vast majority of the outside work, and I’ve taken care of the inside. However, I’ve helped out more with the outside lately. It’s a process! I haven’t touched the sewer hose yet, and I don’t plan to!!! :o)
Curious: about Narwhals. I just recently learned about them. How did I not know about this fascinating species earlier?! Do I live under a rock?!
Delighted: by these fun fishing poles my friend gave us for a retirement gift. She knows we’re not really big on fishing, but fishing is symbolic of retirement, right?! Aren’t they SO adorable?!
Excited: to visit NEW places and meet NEW people on our 4-ish month RV trip.
Feeling: like I’m gonna really miss my one-year-old granddaughter while we’re gone!
Going: to take an online landscape design course and maybe an online Master Gardener course. Any good recommendations?
Helping: the victims of the devastating Texas floods by donating to relief funds.
Imploring: people on both sides of the political aisle to “just get along”!
Joking: with my son, whose middle name is Geoff, by sending him this hilarious SNL clip!
Knowing: that computer algorithms feed me certain content, often one-sided content, is concerning. Any good ideas on how to remedy that?
Loving: it when we see awesome sunsets! This was taken in Laramie, Wyoming. I’ve never been to Laramie before. Well, I guess I’ve driven past it, but never stayed there. I love it when the sky says goodnight in such a spectacular way!
Making: my art journal needs to become a priority. Doing art in an RV might be challenging, but I brought a few supplies. Wish me luck!!
Next: phase of our life is beginning! Bring on the Golden Years! It’s gonna be GREAT!
Observing: the world’s largest train yard from the observation deck of the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, Nebraska. The train yard is 8 miles long and about 2 miles wide.
Posting: more often (hopefully), because retirement = more time (again, hopefully). ;o)
Questioning: why my computer keeps spazzing out! Agh!
Reading: My NEW reading challenge is to read a book set in each of these time periods: Pre-1200, 1300-1499, 1500-1699, 1700-1799, 1800-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-present, the future. I found this “When Are You Reading” challenge HERE.
Staying: and traveling in our 5th Wheel full-time until about November. We’re thankful our son can keep tabs on our home for us while we’re gone! I’ve told neighbors to text me if the lawn isn’t mowed or if the weeds in the flower beds get out of control. Haha!
Trying: to remember that we’re actually retired folk now. Haha! This vacation we’re on is permanent!
Understanding: Spanish isn’t really getting any easier for me. I’ve been doing Duolingo for over 3 years, but I think I need a real, live tutor. Will that happen any time soon? Not so sure!
Viewing: fireworks from the soccer stadium. It was great because the entire family was able to attend the game together. Getting schedules to align like that rarely happens. Fun night!
Welcoming: the NEW technology of Starlink for our travel necessities!
X (Our choice): Extra hard finding a laundry mat in certain areas!
Yes: to playing MORE pickleball and racquetball!
Z (Our choice): People watching is a joy! Watching the young man on the riding lawn mower dance and jive to the music (I’m assuming) on his earbuds brought a smile to my face!
Whew! That was kind of time-consuming! But I’ll appreciate looking back at this post in a few years.
I hope you all have a great week and do or learn something NEW! Take care!
Happy Sunday! I recently finished up my A-Z reading challenge and wanted to document and remember what I read.
A: At the Existentialist Cafe
B: Build the Life You Want; (The) Body…a guide for occupants
C: (The) Christie Affair
D: Demon Copperhead; Death Behing the Dumpster
E: Everyday Dharma
F: Freakonomics; Forever Strong; Follow the River; (The) Frozen River
G:Gossamer
H: Hidden Potential; How to Know a Person
I: (The) Invisible Life of Addie Larue
J: James
K: (The) Keeper of Hidden Books
L: (The) Lost City of Z
M: Made to Stick
N: Nurture Shock: New Thinking about Children
O: Outlive, The Art and Science of Longevity
P: (A) Place to Hang the Moon; A Piece of the World
Q:(A) Quiet Life in 7 Steps
R: Rough Sleepers
S: (The) Shadow of the Wind
T: Think Like a Monk; Tiny Habits
U: Under the Java Moon
V: (The) Vanishing Half
W: (A) Woman’s Place; (The) Wager
X: X-Marks the Spot
Y: Year of Wonders; Year of Yes
Z: Zen in the Art of Writing
I’m off to figure out my next challenge. With SO many books on my TBR list, it helps to work on a challenge to filter the books I decide to pick up! Have a great week and I hope you do or learn, or read, something NEW!
I love a good reading challenge and want to keep track of them. Here is a list of reading challenges I’ve completed or I’m in the process of completing:
Happy Saturday! I was recently reading my favorite blogs and learned about something NEW (to me): The Six Sentence Story blog hop. The theme of the post I was reading was RANK, so I immediately wrote my Six Sentence Story about RANK because the theme held special meaning for me this week. Well, I soon realized that theme was for waaayyyy back in February! Oh well, I’m posting it anyway! :o) But I’ll also include my Six Sentence Story for this week’s theme: MINUTE. Here goes!
RANK:
This coming Monday, 30 June 2025, will be my Retirement Day! Instead of researching the families of unaccounted-for service members from WWII with ranks such as PVT, SSGT, SGT, 1LT, 2LT, CPT, etc., I will be leaving those duties to others. I wish them much success in their research, because it is such important work. It has been an honor, and I will always cherish the phone calls I had with family members who exclaimed, “Thank you for the work you are doing – our loved ones will never be forgotten!”. I will miss explaining to those family members how their mitochondrial DNA or their y-DNA or their SNP could possibly help identify their relative. Thank you, soldiers (of all ranks), and your families, for your service!
(The image above was AI generated)
Now on to this week’s theme!
MINUTE
My one and only grandchild turns one year old today! The minute she opens her eyes, she will see the hard work of her parents…the gifts, the decorations etc. The minute she tastes cake for the first time will be a joy to see. The minute she rips the colorful paper off her gifts will be so fun for her! How did all the minutes, hours and days go by so quickly? One year old today, sweet precious girl!
Have a wonderful weekend. I hope you learn or do something NEW!
We crossed another national park off our bucket list last weekend. We visited Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona. You may think the photo above is of a big, big log. Well, it used to be, but now it’s solid rock! This giant log was named Old Faithful by the wife of a park superintendent. She said the log was to Petrified Forest what the Old Faithful geyser is to Yellowstone National Park, and the name stuck. The amount of petrified wood in the area was incredible!
Millions of years ago, the area had a climate similar to Costa Rica has today. There was a large river. Trees fell into the river and there was a log jam in a bend where these trees got stuck and were buried by sediment over time. Millions of years later, we have rocks that look like logs! So cool!
We saw petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock.
On the way to Arizona, we passed through Monument Valley and just HAD to take a photo from iconic Forrest Gump Point:
And on the way home, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend:
Here’s the updated list as of 4/12/2025. 27 down, 36 to go!
LIST OF US NATIONAL PARKS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER (63 total)
Acadia National Park {done}
Arches National Park {done}
Badlands National Park
Big Bend National Park
Biscayne National Park {done}
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park {done}
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 {done}
Denali National Park and Preserve
Dry Tortugas National Park
Everglades National Park {done}
Gates of the Arctic National Park
Gateway Arch National Park
Glacier National Park {done}
Glacier Bay National Park
Grand Canyon National Park {done}
Grand Teton National Park {done}
Great Basin National Park {done}
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 {done}
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 {done}
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 {done}
Pinnacles National Park
Redwood National Park {done}
Rocky Mountain National Park {done}
Saguaro National Park {done}
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 and I hope you get to do or learn something NEW today!
Last week’s post was entirely dedicated to photos of Iguazu Falls, but we were blessed to experience more than just the falls. Here’s a few more NEW photos from our South America trip:
Above is the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse in the Beagle Channel near Ushuaia, Argentina. I’ll have to add it to my list of lighthouses. (Does it count if we didn’t go into the lighthouse?…or even step foot on the island? As you see, the island was pretty crowded with cormorants and sea lions! Yep, I’m totally counting it!)
The photo above is Amalia Glacier and the photos below are glaciers that I don’t know the names of. We traveled through Glacier Alley to see these.
Here is a colony of Magellanic penguins. We watched the documentary March of the Penguins the night before this excursion (even though we knew we wouldn’t be seeing Emperor penguins). We learned so much. Penguins are amazing!
South America’s climate is so varied! We went from seeing glaciers with temps in the 30s to tropical forests with temps in the 90s with high humidity! On our way to the falls, our tour guide encouraged us to look for toucans but told us they were pretty rare and it’s like winning the lottery if we see one. Well, we saw three! Two in one tree and another in a different area. (Maybe the guide was exaggerating?? :o)
I gotta get me a better camera lens that can get me closer!!!
You know I love me a good list! I have a waterfall list, a national parks list, and a lighthouse list. Maybe I’d better start a bird watching list! Here’s a plush crested jay I could add to that list.
That’s about enough NEW photos for today. We’re busy planning our next NEW adventures. I hope you have a great day and are able to do or learn something NEW to you, today!
My bucket list dream of visiting Iguazu Falls has been successfully checked off! Woot Woot!
Therefore, I’m updating my 100 Waterfalls Bucket Lists. We recently flew to Santiago, Chile and boarded a cruise ship in San Antonio, Chile. The itinerary was Puerto Montt, scenic cruising near Amalia Glacier, Punta Arenas, Chile, Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, scenic cruising around Cape Horn, Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was an awesome trip! Here are some NEW photos:
We saw more than just Iguazu Falls, so I’ll try to post again very soon.
Have a great day and I hope you learn or do something NEW today!
Explore Newness 