Travel Photo Challenge Day 1

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I’ve been nominated by some fellow bloggers, Tony and Margie with Back Roads and Other Stories, to post one favorite travel picture a day for ten days without explanation, then to nominate someone else to participate.  That’s 10 days, 10 travel pictures, and 10 nominations.  It is my understanding that the idea behind the challenge is to expose audiences to new bloggers and vice versa.  I’m always up for helping fellow bloggers, so I have accepted the challenge. 

That said, my rule following self is going follow Tony and Margie’s lead and break a handful of them.  First, while a picture paints a 1,000 words, I’m incapable of posting a photo without some explanation.  Sometimes the story makes the image that much more special.  Second, though not specified, I think the intent is to post 10 days in a row.  I’ll be lucky if I post 10 weeks in a row.

VANgo in Durango

But without further adieu, my first travel photo is of VANgo with the owners of Wanderful Wheels standing in front of it.  Anyone who knows me, knows I’d hardly ever post a picture of van in a parking lot as a favorite travel photo.  It is far from my preferred nature shots. Additionally, in this instance, it is even a stretch to call it a travel photo.

This picture is from a recent day trip to Durango.  I drove to the Durango airport to drop off VANgo with Colleen and her husband for its conversion and flew back to Denver.  While I’d hardly qualify that as travel, it was the first time I’ve been on a plane since returning from Turkey in March of 2020.  I still have yet to leave the state!  Regardless, this image is a good way to start this travel photo series.

First, Tony and Margie, have a camper and write about their journeys across North America, so it is only fitting to honor them with such a post.  Little do they know when VANgo is ready, and the Canadian border is open, they’ll have a visitor.  I’m thinking the summer of 2022.

Hope

But more importantly, this photo of VANgo represents hope to me.  It’s the light at the end of a long 2020 tunnel.  At first, I handled being stuck at home very well.  I used the time to complete some home projects and to have a handful of surgeries.  Now that it is cold in Denver, however, I have met my mental match.  It is a struggle to be so cooped up.  I am counting the days to be able to travel freely.

While international travel still seems prohibitive due to the hassles of COVID, in three months, I’ll have VANgo, fully converted!  The prospect to travel the country as I did ten years ago in VANilla with my two dogs, gives me hope.  I cannot wait to go exploring again!

I plan to revisit many places for more extended periods.  Additionally, after ten years of learning experiences, I’ll be visiting the same places with a completely different perspective.  I’m so excited to hike in state parks and national forests with a young dog, so we can take longer trails than I did many years ago with my old mutts. 

Travel Photo Challenge Nominee

At the same time, I’ll likely have to forgo long stays in National Parks due to Annie having so much uncontained energy and not being allowed on most trails.  Fortunately, I have visited many of them more than once.  The thought of all these public lands, reminds me of the blogger, National Parks with T.

Each time I read this blog, I’m reminded of my trip across the USA as I have visited many of the places mentioned.  T likely doesn’t know I exist, despite submitting a photo of the grizzly bears from Katmai for her weekly National Park photo feature.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t submit just an image, so I provided a link and sometimes those submissions are automatically blocked by technology.

Regardless, for anyone who has a goal to visit all the national parks and monuments and other public lands in the USA, National Parks with T is a good read, and this is who I nominate for the travel photo challenge.  Of course, since she already features bloggers weekly, she has already met the challenge in spirit, and as a result, I’d take no offense if she doesn’t participate.  But if so, please link to me, so I know.

Personally, I just like T’s blog, so it is worth a mention here along with Back Roads and Other Stories who incorporate great humor into their camping adventures.  Until another travel photo inspires me…ETB

Shop

Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop.  Each card has a travel story associated with it.  20% of proceeds are donated to charity.

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