Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: parks

  • The Canyon Remembered: Rural Road Trip

    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…

  • On The Road Again: Rural Road Trips

    As we head out on another adventure, I am oddly ambivalent. I don’t feel ill, but I also am not myself. Usually I am giddy with excitement. Today, I could just as easily go back inside and hide under a blanket. But grand adventures aren’t for the timid. So we load up, hook up the…

  • The Great Lake: Rural Road Trip

    Sandwiched between a visit with our kids in Chicago and a work trip in Milwaukee, we squeezed in a day of enjoying rural Lake Michigan. After walking the granddogs to the local bakery for breakfast and a leisurely walk, we loaded up the car and headed North. The day was sunny, warm and beautiful. After…

  • State Park Adventure: Rural Road Trip

    There is something very relaxing about a camping trip. I sound hypocritical to my own ears when I say that the trick is a minimalist mindset (we own a class A motorhome). I know people who won’t camp that talk about the work involved. Less is truly more. (And I still think a backpack is…

  • Some Days Are Just Beautiful: Travel Goals

    Some days are just beautiful. The sky is unbearably blue. The air is cool but the warmth of the sun kisses your cheeks. A slight breeze teases your skin and all seems well with the world. It is an impulse stop. I am on my way to a work related training. We are headed north…

  • Rural Road Trip: Out for a Walk

    When the mind races, I take a walk. If I am overwhelmed, I walk. If I have time to kill, I walk. Walking is good for my body and mind. I don’t really need an excuse to take a walk. Today I found myself with an extra hour between appointments and decided to take advantage…

  • Final Impressions: Travel Goals

    Last days in a place are always a little bitter sweet. I spend a little time either trying to figure out if there are places we need to see before we go or places we need to revisit. Today feels random. I want to return to Frogner park to get a picture of the “angry…

  • Ekenberg Park: Travel Goals

    I love the great outdoors. Find me a forest and l am one happy girl. So when I read that Eckenberg Park has sculptures in a forest, I am intrigued. It is a beautiful sunny day in Oslo and it is unusually warm for the season ……so it seems like a great way to spend…

  • Books, Crockery, and Sunshine: Travel Goals

    I love libraries. Maybe because I am a woman of a certain age who devoured every book I could get my hands on over the last half century. Libraries are places of mystery and opportunity. The national library of Norway is a bibliophile’s dream. It has a coffee shop and restaurant. There are reading rooms…

  • Forest Bathing: Travel Goals

    Nothing seems as good for my soul as a long walk in the woods. The sun is shining on the frozen lake. The water is warming and thawing slowly. But the forest calls me to its shadows. Buds are appearing on the branches. Crocus and bluebells make their colorful entry to the forest floor. The…