2016 Was Quite a Ride
2016 brought about a jump in continents, we sold our beloved RV, “Charlie” outside of Amsterdam, then bought a new car to travel North America from Alaska to New York and points in-between on this second year of our wandering lifestyle.
In 2016, we shifted our way of life to accommodate housesitting, supporting family and friends, and launched our own location independent business.
But best of all, in 2016 we were delighted to have Mali rejoin Aaron and I; the end of the year found the three of us hunkered down in lovely Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while Mali completed High School and applied for colleges and we shared fantastic meals, excellent music, midnight movies, and growth personally and as a family.
Enjoy this photo journey giving you a glimpse into our lives exploring Lands Remote.
Bringing in the New Year at a fantastic housesit in Scotland. Day trip to the Falkirk Wheel caught this frozen scene along the Forth & Clyde Canal.
Misty winter scene at the Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
Our final weeks living in Charlie were spent in the old town of Haarlem, about 15 minutes by train to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where our daily forays by bicycle were punctuated by cloudy drizzle.
Back in North America. Back to Evergreen, Colorado where family and this amazing sunset greeted us back to our home continent.
From Colorado back to Washington State where a visit the Methow Valley to visit family was delightful and we had the added bonus of building a fantastic business relationship for our brand new company.
Before committing ourselves to a car purchase, we flew to Alaska to visit family in both Homer (Kenai Fjords National Park in the distance) and Anchorage.
Lupine-lined Highway 1 view from near Pacific, California.
Vineyard in Sonoma County, California where we had a fantastic and delicious vacation with our dear friends.
Our need for trusty wheels in various terrain with carrying capacity and great gas mileage lead us to the purchase of a preowned 2016 Mazda CX5. We love it. As it was planned to drive from coast to coast, we dubbed our wee Mazda “Prairie Schooner” (Schooner for short) after my ancestors transportation devices in covered wagons across the Oregon Trail.
Desert globemallow ignites the Utah countryside near Moab, Utah.
Canyonlands National Park in Utah is massive and wondrous. Visit if you get a chance!
Canyonlands as the backdrop for the lovely Desert Plume.
Next stop, hiking at Arches National Park in Utah – Double Arch without the hordes of tourists!
Spring wildflowers abound at Arches National Park – fall tansy aster in the foreground
Arches National Park is a photographer’s fantasy world!
Southern, or Needles end of Canyonlands National Park with fields of desert globemallow in full orange bloom!
Looking from far above the floor of the White House Ruins at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in southeast Utah.
Spider Rock within Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Utah.
Headed south into Arizona to visit the Petrified Forest National Park and experience a forest millions of years old!
Cool reptile sighting! The colorful collared lizard is even more stunning than the painted petrified wood.
Looking north from the rim of the coolest meteor crater called, wait for it . . . Meteor Crater.
Fascinating variety of cacti at the Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, Arizona.
The green-lichened sentinels of Chiricahua National Monument on the southeastern border in Arizona.
Old forest fire burn doesn’t seem to rot very quickly in this dry alpine climate in Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona.
Cliff house left by Ancient Puebloans in Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in southwestern New Mexico.
Incredible adobe Pueblo architecture at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.
Taos Pueblo have been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years in beautiful northern New Mexico.
Gazing into an underground pool in the fabulous Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico.
Enjoying yet another awesome sunset in the Adirondacks State Park in upstate New York.
Closing our Adirondacks family camp was a first for us and bittersweet. New adventures starting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a family of three again for a short time has been blissful. 2017 is already looking mighty interesting with longer-term housesitting and business travel and visiting family and friends.
This year taught me yet another life lesson to be open to the possibilities and question assumptions. Both mindsets continue to ignite my curiosity about this wondrous world we live in and help me gain confidence in actualizing my dreams.
Peace out.
