Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: Nature

  • Canyons in Navajo Country: Rural Road Trip Arizona

    Canyons in Navajo Country: Rural Road Trip Arizona

    Sometimes a place calls to me with no rhyme or reason. Canyon de Chelly has jumped off the map for a number of years. It is off the main highways and requires a multi-hour detour through rugged landscape. Deep in Navajo country, the canyon has remained illusive. You have to mean to go there. It…

  • Zoos and Aquariums Always Make Me Smile: Rural Road Trips New Mexico

    Zoos and Aquariums Always Make Me Smile: Rural Road Trips New Mexico

    Few things beat a day at the zoo. Seriously. I love zoos. Animals and small children are too cute. The combination is irresistible. The Albuquerque combo ticket fee is a good value and includes the botanical garden, the zoo, and the aquarium. As a St. Louis girl I am used to the world class zoo…

  • Albuquerque Botanical: Rural Road Trips New Mexico

    Albuquerque Botanical: Rural Road Trips New Mexico

    The Albuquerque Botanical Garden is an unexpected delight. The grounds are immaculate. It is a shady oasis in a desert landscape. As we walk among the trees by a large lake, I am refreshed. It is nice to visit the desert, but I am a hillbilly girl who loves the forest. This will have to…

  • Birthday Special: Rural Road Trip Missouri

    Birthday Special: Rural Road Trip Missouri

    My mother in law (who is likely reading this) just had a birthday. This year she insisted on taking all of her children and spouses out for fried chicken. In her world (and mine) family is everything. On her ninetieth birthday, all she wanted was a trip to a beautiful nearby state park with her…

  • The Canyon Remembered: Rural Road Trip Texas

    The Canyon Remembered: Rural Road Trip Texas

    We are standing in Palo Duro Canyon. A roadrunner follows us around the parking lot. He assumes an assertive stance on the red dirt hill just off the sidewalk and challenges us to follow along the trail to the river. Of course I tag along. He is cute and I love to hike. It is…

  • Roses in Bloom: Travel Goals California

    Roses in Bloom: Travel Goals California

    This week, I am in beautiful San Jose, California. My lodging is in the rose garden district, so named because of a beautiful public rose garden. I get a warm, happy feeling when I encounter intentional, beautiful public gardens. It is a signal that the community I am visiting values quality of life for its…

  • Ceide Fields: Travel Goals Ireland

    Ceide Fields: Travel Goals Ireland

    Once in awhile, I find myself in a place that feels timeless. I could be anywhere at all. Time stands still between the Earth and sky. At Ceide Fields near Glenurla, County Mayo, it is easy to forget modernity in favor of a simpler life. It is cold and the wind coming off the Irish…

  • Hike On: Travel Goals Ireland

    Hike On: Travel Goals Ireland

    When the kids said they wanted to go to Ireland to hike, we gladly rented a farmhouse. I picked a part of the country known for iconic hikes. We went earlier and spent a few weeks exploring counties Donegal, Mayo, Leitrim, and Fermanagh. It is beautiful country with miles of walking and hiking trails. We…

  • Return to the Holy Waters: Travel Goals Ireland

    Return to the Holy Waters: Travel Goals Ireland

    It felt like returning to the scene of an accident. Earlier in our Irish adventure we visited St. Patrick’s well, but on the way there, we accidentally hit a curb and had a flat tire. We made it to the well and parked, but it took hours to get help. Budget rental car, from whom…

  • Stairway to Heaven: Travel Goals Ireland

    Stairway to Heaven: Travel Goals Ireland

    Today we take an iconic hike in Ireland. The “stairway to heaven” or cuilcagh boardwalk trail is in county Fermanagh. It is just over the border into Northern Ireland and about twenty minutes from our rented farmhouse. I have been waiting to do this hike the whole trip. I waited until our kids arrived because…