Vail, AZ
1 Jan, 2022
My travel has been really limited in the last year!
And, I'm not too unhappy about that. Because of weather, the pandemic, and my relatively new home, I've been just as happy to stay at home and putter around the property.
There have been a few short camping trips to lakes in Arizona, and one 5 week to the PNW to visit friends and do an ocean kayaking class followed by a 3 day paddle into the San Juan Islands.
Local hikes provided a lot of variety - from magnificent saguaro, Native picto-glyphs and artifacts, to stunning views of Tucson from high in the Catalina mountains. I enjoyed socially-distanced, relatively safe hiking with a few friends.
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| Crested saguaro within 3 miles of my house! |
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| View of Tucson from a very steep hike up into the Catalina's |
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| Every couple of months, we went paddling at nearby lakes. |
For trips a little further away, we would camp for 3-4 days. So, my new van conversion got a little use!
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| Look! There's dirt on those tires!! |
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| Sunset at Apache Lake - north of Phoenix in the the Tonto NF |
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Thanksgiving in 20 and 21 was spent camping at Organ Pipe Cactus NM
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Glen Canyon Dam on my way up to the PNW to visit friends and paddle in the San Juan's. 4 of us traveled up separately and just met for the class (2 days of wet water rescue and navigation practice) and the 3 day paddle.
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| Dry suits and spray skirts are not attractive - but they get the job done. |
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| Sunset on the first day of our expedition |
What HAVE I been doing?
Sketching! Pen and Ink; watercolor, and mixed media. I've always enjoyed sketching, but never found much time for it while I was working. Then, while traveling, I managed a few on-location sketches, but found myself usually distracted by sights, people, the pets or just the routine of camping.
But, given the restrictions of the last 2 years for travel, and basically in lock-down and fairly isolated, I have finally found the time for an almost daily sketching practice. It .helped that I found a really rich art community on-line. I've taken several on-line classes and participated in a number of 'challenges' - like the "One Week, 100 people" challenge (I think I managed to sketch about 75 people that week).
So, in the last 2 years, I've completed 8 sketchbooks, over 30 stand-alone sketches, and have 4 or 5 sketchbooks in progress.
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| Completed Sketchbooks in 20-21 |
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| Sketchbook started in 2021 |
Winter is the best time for sunsets in Tucson - I try not to miss a single one!!
Why did you have to socially distance on a hike?
ReplyDelete6 feet, even outside - especially when passing strangers huffing and puffing on narrow trails. Too many people getting sick.
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