Flowers and more flowers!

Hi all - My friend Anna helped teach me how to put links into my blog and to show the websites/blogs I like - yay!  Thanks Anna!  


So of course I had to put this link in my blog since my friend Laurie and her husband Kevin team up to take the most incredible pictures!  Look at their other pictures of birds, flowers, scenery, etc. on their website - Enjoy!


I know - I'm off on another bunny trail but that's blogging, right? I love to take pics of flowers and birds as well and after downloading the pictures from our trip I realized that many of them were of flowers!  Taking macros is something I'm always working on - getting up close and personal can be daunting but it's such a great challenge!  No shaking allowed!  :-)


Here are just a few from Jackson, WY and the parks in Utah:

 
 


 

I always seem to do this late and night so I'm signing off for now.  Will try to get one more post in before quarterly reporting takes me away for a few weeks - aaaaagh!  :-)  Have a great day tomorrow!


Cheers and smiles, VG


Ephesians 1:13
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation."

Back to the beginning (well, not quite...)

As I sat with my friend Marieeeee a few days ago (she was kind enough to meet me at Le Reve for breakfast - see previous post!) she encouraged me to start at the (sort of) beginning (aka: when we started this cross-country car trip.).  I figured why not?
I have been reading the magazine Artful Blogging for several years and always enjoy the stories and beautiful pictures presented by creative artists. Since my husband and I decided to be on the road for over 3 weeks I thought it might be fun to set up a blog.  I'm just not great at Facebook and I wanted to be able to share my feelings about art and connect with other artists.  Even though my interests are literally scattered across the map, I feel a stronger connection with the creative side of my brain right now...so much to explore!

So...to begin at the beginning:

We started in Florida where my husband insisted that I see Cirque du Soleil in Orlando.  WOW!!  I smiled from ear to ear the entire show - they are incredible!!  I haven't had a reason to go to Las Vegas but I have one now!  :-) 

The next day we were off across the country to make it to Jackson Hole, WY.  (Why is it called Jackson Hole?  It came from the fur trappers in the "wild west".  This excerpt from the Jackson Chamber of Commerce website sums it up:  "For the mountain men, a "hole" indicated a high valley that was surrounded by mountains, and William Sublette, who was (David) Jackson's partner in an early fur company, referred to the mountain valley along the Snake River as Jackson's Hole."  Please refer to http://www.jacksonholechamber.com/jackson_hole_wyoming/jacksons-history.php). 

We settled at the Parkway Inn in Jackson (nice little inn with a great breakfast!).  The next day we drove to the Grand Tetons for a hike to Taggert Lake.  Though we were told we couldn't go further than the one mile mark (too much snow, need our waders, etc.) I went on anyway.  As I walked along I heard a loud chirping noise.  It sounded similar to a chipmunk but louder.  When I reached the lake (see below) I asked the ranger what the animals were (I had taken some pictures).  She was excited to tell me that they were yellow-bellied marmots (first ones of the season!).  The one was chirping to his mate across the way - sooo cute!  She finally came over and joined him:

I kept walking (yes, through the snow but it was passable) and here is what I came to after another half mile - beautiful Taggert Lake!

We drove to the same park area the next day because we were told the bike ride to the Amish barns was beautiful (about 3 miles round trip - just right for our knees!).  The pictures I got were so naturally "Wyoming" I had to post a few...

A lone outhouse against a big backdrop... :-)

We moved on the next day to the Amangani resort - more on that tomorrow as it deserves its own post! 

Happy Day!  Cheers and smiles, VG

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

It's picture time!

Hey there - I finally took the time to download some of the pictures from our trip.  Lots to go through so here are just a few of my favorites so far:

Sunrise hike, Bryce Canyon, UT

At the end of Sunrise hike, Bryce - love it!

A view on the way down from Angels Landing,
Zion Nat'l Park, UT

Wall Street, Bryce Canyon, UT

Flower shop, Cedarburg, WI

Time for bed - have a beautiful tomorrow!

Cheers and smiles, VG 

Romans 8:38-39
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

On the road...

OK - this is my first post and I have a lot to learn - but what fun!  

Just a quick background about why I'm doing this:  I like EVERYTHING and I think there might be others out in internet-world who feel the same!  The list is endless (see below); thus, my nickname (my husband says I can have variety in everything but my faith and husbands - I'm OK with that!)

Seeing as how we have been on the road for 2 weeks I figured it's a good time to start a blog - why not?  This has been an adventure.  Grand Tetons, Yellowstone (the bison herd in the middle of the road made me smile), Bryce Canyon, Zion Nat'l Park, Grand Canyon, Sedona, a wedding in Phoenix.  Hiking, biking, photographing, eating (yay!) - it's been great so far.  The picture below is one of my favorites - the Grand Tetons reflected in Jackson Lake - awesome at 7 a.m.!

Anyone interested in the following, I'd love to hear from you!  God, photography, dogs, painting, dance (hip hop, swing, latin), book-making (art in general) kayaking, hiking, working out, X-Games (any and all!), flowers, birds, butterflies, food, writing (lyrics), music, reading, travel, vintage anything, interior design, color, interesting doorways, shabby chic, BLING of any kind!, shoes!, handbags, fashion...whew!  You get the idea....

Thanks for visiting - let me know what you think!

Cheers and smiles, VG 

1Th 5:16-18

Be joyful always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances for that is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.