Some of my favorite days for hiking are the sunny, warmish days we occasionally have during the winter. Although there isn’t typically a lot of color, I find the bare, neutral tone forest very relaxing. Plus it’s very quiet, other than maybe the sound of the breeze. One of our favorite places to hike nearby is Roaring River. We’ve been there a thousand times but I always enjoy it, especially now that the girls are old enough that I don’t have to...
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A few years ago I saw on the news where a bicycle tour was finishing in Joplin. It was a Biking Across Kansas tour, which to me sounded awesome. I tried for several years to find someone “enthusiastic” enough to participate in such an event but had little, actually no success. Until 2 years ago when I mentioned it to my cousin’s husband, who quickly jumped on board with the idea even though he didn’t own a road bike. So we planned for 2016 and he...
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I’m excited to announce that my photography will be featured at the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks 30th Anniversary Benefit Auction. It will be included along with several other works by various photographers to help raise funds for the groups efforts in protecting the water resources of the Ozarks. In the photo is the metal print of Grand Falls that will be up for auction. Holding the photo is Mike Kromrey, a friend of mine from college and now the executive...
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Saturday was a nice day, so I took the fam out for a day trip to hike a trail at one of our favorite nearby places, Roaring River State Park. This may be the first time I have ever visited the park and not walked around the fish hatchery and beautiful blue spring. It’s also the first time I’ve ever hike the Eagles Nest Trail. The Eagles Nest Trail is hidden down a short gravel road at the end of a campground in the south part of the park. The sign marked this...
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This weekend Grant and I kayaked the Mulberry River, a stream that has been on my to-do list for a long time. The Mulberry is a bit different than most of the streams I’m used to…water isn’t as clear as many of the teal blue streams in Missouri, but it was a lot more like a true mountain stream, with long stretches of whitewater and kind of a chalky green color. The scenery was also a bit different, the rocks were sandstone and there were a lot of Beech...
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It’s been several months since our visit to Colorado but I am still churning out Colorado themed artwork. Part of that is because it’s beautiful scenery. Part of that is because it’s pretty easy subject matter. Either way, I’ve had fun deviating from my typical Missouri. Here is a larger piece I’ve been working on for the last couple months. With it being 20″x27″, it’s by far the largest pastel piece I’ve completed. It...
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