Sunday, August 24, 2008

Solo Gig


Playing acoustic music is a hobby of mine. Bluegrass in particular, but I grew up listening to rock so when its just me, I play old rock and some folk, too. I'm a fiddler in a hobby bluegrass band and we've played our local county fair for the last five or six years. However, this year my band mates couldn't make it and I decided to do a solo gig. About 15 years ago I did it two years for the Stafford County fair in their food tent as background music. It's nerve racking to do! Nobody to help you out when you falter, and the pace and song selection are all up to you. And this time I did some of my own songs that have never been heard by others. It's a push, but it's rewarding. There's something about performing that keeps me doing it . . . until they start throwing tomatoes.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Trip, Finale


This is the last post for this vacation. It took a month to finish, but that's OK. Plenty of things to compete with journaling time so I'm just glad I could finish it and it didn't become an uncompleted goal. A year ago I knew we were going to Glacier and I knew I wanted to journal it, even though I hadn't learned to journal yet, much less have an on-line blog. So this post is a dream come true for me. I did it!

We're on the train here, coming home. Settling in for another 30-hour ride.


Here's a list of how we fill 30-hours. The first hours go well, but by the time we're approaching Chicago, we're ready to have it over. Then we drive a few hundred miles to get home. Kinda have a tense time getting out of Chicago, but the rest go fine. Then time to adjust to regular life again. Goes by fast and I'm ready to go again. If you like the ourdoors, Glacier National Park is a great place to visit.


Since I haven't done this before I decided to do a spread that covers what I carried and how I approached sketching for this trip. The old memory bank doesn't work as well as it used to. Next trip I'll read this to refresh my memory. If anyone has comments or suggestions on how THEY approach travel journaling, I would be interested in reading your responses.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Trip, Part 5


On to Many Glaciers Lodge, on Swiftcurrent Lake. East side of the park. Had to decide what to do on our last full day in the park. I kept the agenda open so we could decide when we got there. Had no idea how we'd feel after climbing up to Sperry Chalet and back.

The last night in the park we're at Glacier Park Lodge in the southeast. Time to close down the vacation (blaaa). We'll catch the train at the East Glacier Amtrak depot.


Monday, August 4, 2008

Trip, Part 4


Well, this was my favorite day! I loved the whole park but this day tops the list. Admittedly Wilma was not as happy about the hike, but was game to try it. We've hiked many trails together over the years and she know's what it will involve. Once there, we were able to relax and enjoy life. The staff at Sperry Chalet are good at making that happen.



Time passes quickly. We could have used more time at all our lodgings, but this one seemed especially short.