Prisoner of Hopes

Category: Nature

  • Stress free Stresa: Travel Goals

    It is a rare day that we both awaken at about the same time. In sync, we enjoy coffee. My husband decided to try Italian toasted bread. You buy it prepackaged and already toasted. It is hard as a rock. I took a hard pass. He is desperate because there is no toaster in the…

  • Skunked

    Friday started out normally. I had laundry running and was packing for an upcoming trip. As I moved from room to room, I caught whiffs of an unusual odor. I kept working. There was a heat wave, with temperatures reaching 100 and I wasn’t too keen on working outside in between my zoom calls and…

  • Give a Hoot: Travel Goals

    Encounters in nature are calming and peaceful. Sayings like ‘leave only footprints, take only pictures and kill nothing but time’, remind us that our wild spaces should be protected. Every outdoor enthusiast seems to understand the gift and works hard to protect and preserve natural spaces. Unfortunately, there are others that are not so in…

  • Can You Help?: Travel Goals

    When we signed up to be a campground host, I wasn’t fully aware that part of the job would be managing crisis. I should have expected it, but mostly I thought about cheerfully sharing camping stories and answering guest questions. I guess it is a good thing that I have decades of prior experience as…

  • Campground Host: Travel Goals

    This month, instead of a grand overseas adventure, we decided to see what it would be like to serve as a campground host in a Missouri State Park. I love to camp and I love the woods, but will I still be in love at the end of the month? My morning ritual is to…

  • Rural Road Trips: Camp fire coffee

    There is nothing quite like an early morning cup of coffee cooked over a camp fire. So hot it burns your tongue and full of smoky goodness, it is happiness in a cup. I get up early (5:30). It is peaceful and still. So far it’s just me and the birds and an occasional squirrel.…

  • Nature’s Cathedral: Travel Goals

    There is something magical about authentic encounters in nature. I am never more aware of God and moved to worship than when I am surrounded by the natural world. Walking in the early morning woods while the dew is still heavy on the leaves. Watching a deer silently follow me along the trail. Viewing the…

  • Travel Goals: Wildlife Adventures

    It started out as a simple hiking trip, just a few days with a friend to explore a highly rated woodland trail. Nature had other plans. Reviewing the forecast as we packed, we decided that two days on the the at temperatures well over 100 with high humidity was probably not smart. So we decided…

  • Summer Struggles

    I have a love/hate relationship with my yard. It is spacious with wonderful trees. I have small garden spaces and patios. I even have a large freestanding octagonal swing structure surrounding a fire pit. We also have delightful wildlife that, four months out of the year, turn into creatures of mass destruction. I love to…

  • Down by the Riverside: Travel Goals

    In the evening, the air is different. A breeze moves in and the sailboats head upriver. In the approaching sunset, a faint glow emanates from behind the clouds. The light shifts subtly, and a chill descends on the riverside. It is calm by the river. People laugh and talk. Lovers hold hands as they watch…