Where's Wendy? Livin' in the Edge!

I’m sorry this is late to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, but sometimes there’s no reception in the desert! 🤷‍♀️ I hope you all had a great day!

I have so much to be appreciative of & thankful for, especially on this Thanksgiving Day 2021. 💝

One thing I know for sure, without any doubt, is that we’re fortunate to live in America, the beautiful. ❤

I’m grateful for my health. For the most part, I’m healthy. This has been a very strenuous, physical adventure & other than an occasional tired muscle…… 👍🏼

Maddie’s 14th birthday was on Tuesday, 11/23! I’m forever grateful for her & her continuing good health & enthusiasm for our roadtrip. 💝 Everyone we meet is shocked to learn her age! She has been the PERFECT companion for me, especially on this journey. 💝

I’m incredibly thankful for my family & friends & I’m so lucky to have an amazing support system. A lot of my friends have been in my life for 50+ years❣ Thank you…🤗

I’m thankful that I can enjoy the simple and free pleasures of life. These past few months have definitely re-emphasized the importance of enjoying & appreciating every little thing.

I will never again take clean water for granted. We’ve always had drinkable water & we don’t have to go hungry. Being lost in the desert for 4 days has made me truly appreciate our readily available access to food & clean water.

(As a side note, I had enough water & food with us to last another 10+ days! After being rescued, we spent another 10 days camping & we still had enough left to last longer.)

Another thank you to my amazing rescue from the desert local team! Before leaving the area, I dropped off snack gift bags & thank you notes to BLM Ranger Nic, volunteer Talitha & Keira, the 911 dispatcher. It was just a small token of my gratitude for their help in our rescue & a job very well done❣

I’ve made some wonderful, new friends along the way. 🤗 We met at campgrounds in Illinois, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin & New Mexico & they’re all keeping in touch with me❣ Maddie has been a fabulous companion, but she definitely appreciates it when I’ve had someone to talk to other than her! 🤓 I hope & believe our paths will cross again!

I was also thrilled & thankful to visit with friends that I met previously in Massachusetts! In both cases, I scheduled my destinations to visit with them & I’m so happy that it all worked out! 💕 One is from Massachusetts & is now a student in Minnesota & the other two are residents of Minnesota, with connections to Massachusetts.

I have so much more that I’m grateful for, but for now, I want to share with you where Maddie & I spent Thanksgiving this year!

On Thanksgiving eve, we FINALLY made it to our original destination, before I got us lost… 🥴

Devil’s Garden Campground!

After driving through the breathtakingly beautiful Arches National Park in Utah on Wednesday, I made it to the campground & we car camped in below freezing temperatures. 🥶 It was worth it to wake up to this view! I made us a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner for breakfast, still in below freezing temperatures. Yummy!

After breakfast, we moved on to the beautiful Canyonlands National Park for another COLD night of car camping. Again, it was worth it to wake up in this spectacular place.

I’d also like to thank everyone who’s been along with us on this journey, through this blog. Please leave a comment occasionally, so I know you’re “here”! I’ve almost reached 1000 views, so I know you’re “here”! I truly appreciate those of you who comment & I always look forward to your input! Thank you!

Thinking that MAYBE I was finally closer to reaching civilization, I was enjoying the scenery, right up until I hit another rock. 😡 The now familiar, but gutwrenching scraping & thud made my heart sink again. Those are not the sounds you want to hear from your beloved car while lost on Day #3 in the desert.

The next few photos are of my poor car, stuck in another ridiculously impossible situation.

I’d thought about setting up the tent again, but I remembered that rain was in the forecast. The last report I’d seen was now 3 days earlier, so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m glad we stayed in the car because it did rain overnight.

The next morning, Wednesday, we woke up to bright sunshine. When I got out of the car to reassess the situation, I was shocked to see that the right, front tire had sunk down several inches! 😳 I’ve since learned that it’s common in the desert. The powdery, sandy soil quickly absorbs the moisture from any rain & it compacts down. That tire’s hubcap was now half buried in heavy, compacted “cement”.

The daytime weather was perfect to be lost in the desert. 🙄 It was sunny & mid-60’s. After a good breakfast for both of us, I loaded a backpack with about 25+ pounds of water & snacks & a phone charger, etc. Maddie & I have been walking at least 2 miles every day on our journey, weather permitting & now we were going on a hike to find some reception! I also took my little tripod stool. I wanted to be able to sit right down & make calls, if I got any reception. It worked! Almost. Near the 1 mile point, my phone suddenly started receiving text messages! I immediately tried to make a phone call to 911 & send out a text. NOTHING. 🥺 I moved around, hoping to capture another signal. NOTHING. I finally gave up & we walked back to the car. I was now feeling discouraged. I wasn’t sure what else to try. I knew we had enough water & food for another week or so, but I was starting to be concerned about how much gas the car had left. I’d already used almost 3/4 of a tank of gas, going nowhere. Other than the obvious reason, without gas, I couldn’t run the car to charge my phone or warm us up, as needed.

I tried to do some additional digging that afternoon, but my back was starting to bother me & I’d felt a slight twinge around my ribcage. Enough hard labor for now! Before dark, I set up the tent again. Sometime before sunrise, Maddie woke me up to go out. I’ve always kept her on a 6′ leash, even in the tent, to avoid us getting separated. She went out & a few minutes later returned, dragging something in with her! I couldn’t see what it was & it was freaking me out! When I turned the flashlight on to look, it was a tumbleweed! I was half asleep & had to detach it’s SHARP spines from the leash! 😳

Thursday Morning

By Day #4, I’d had more than enough “fun” on this particular adventure! We were lost & nobody was going to randomly find us a second time. I needed to rev up my MacGyver skills & save us myself!

I’d been aware of a few commercial planes & an occasional small plane flying overhead, but they were too high up to notice us. I hoped that a small plane might fly over & be low enough to see us. To increase our odds of being found, I tried 2 things. I have a sheet of silver insulation in the car. I’d used some of the roll to make privacy window coverings & then saved the rest. I put it on the hood, hoping the reflection might catch an air traveler’s attention. My next idea was pretty clever, if I do say so myself! 😁

I have a black protective sheet covering for Maddie’s seat. It’s a dog product, so it’s canvas on one side & vinyl on the other. I needed to make a sign for the top of my car. I had black tape, but obviously, that wouldn’t work. I pulled out one of the many boxes of band-aids I have & voilà, I made a sign!

After breakfast, I made a note for the car window. It said that I’d been lost for 4 days, with my 14 year young dog. It was 11am on Thursday & I made an arrow pointing in the direction we were walking. I also added my friend D’s phone # to call, if they had any reception. I grabbed the backpack & stool & Maddie & I went off for our walk, determined to secure our rescue!

As we reached the top edge of this mini mountain, I still wasn’t getting any reception. We were both doing ok, so I kept walking. When we reached the highest point, I couldn’t see ANY civilization, in any direction. 😥 It was time to go back to the car.

I was starting to feel panicky for the first time in 4 days. I could walk much further to look for help, but I wouldn’t push Maddie any further than the 2 miles we’d been doing. She’d have followed me, but I’d NEVER forgive myself, if… I also wouldn’t leave her in the car, in case something happened to me…

Negative thoughts were starting to creep in, when my phone began receiving texts again! I immediately called 911. The call wouldn’t go through. I tried several times. Nothing. I sent a pre-written text to all 3 of my emergency contacts (my sister, my niece & my wonderful friend, D), sharing as many details as I knew of our location & situation. To my surprise, they all went through! I didn’t want to waste time waiting for responses, so I called D. He answered & could hear me! He’d just read my text & was already formulating a plan to help! A few minutes later, he texted me. He’d contacted the local county sheriff’s office 911 number here & they were waiting for my call! It took several more attempts, but I finally got through to 911. D had spoken with Keira & she also answered my call. After sharing a few more details with her, she located us on their emergency system! She promised to send help out immediately. I could barely thank her through my tears. We were going to be ok. 💕

I was able to speak with D again & miraculously, the reception held on long enough to have a lengthy conversation with my very worried sister. I reassured her that we would now be rescued & safe.

We walked back down that scary hill again to the car. I didn’t know how long it would take for someone to arrive, so I just started throwing everything back in the car! I’d taken a lot out the day before, attempting to lighten it up to use the jack again. I was still working on it, when a white pick-up truck appeared in front of us. It was BLM Officer Nick & a volunteer named Talitha. They are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met! They were kind & caring & didn’t make me feel like a foolish tourist. 🙄 Talitha knows a lot about the nature in the area & patiently answered all of my questions, while we waited for the tow truck. Officer Nick had originally offered to try towing me out, but decided against it, after seeing the severity of the situation. He & Talitha promised to stay with us until we were towed to safety & they kept their promise. 💝

The tow truck arrived about 2 hours later. They had followed my tracks in & expected to find a totalled vehicle to tow out. They were shocked to see that the car had suffered cosmetic damage, but no noticeable mechanical problems.

The tow truck driver/owner told me that I’m an excellent driver. I’d driven the car through some extremely rugged terrain & he couldn’t see any obvious mechanical issues. He even checked under the hood & found nothing of concern.

They were very skilled & efficient at towing the car out. After checking it over, the owner (John?) said he wanted me to drive it out! 😳 He repeated that I’m an excellent driver & he thought I’d know more quickly if anything felt wrong while driving it. I reluctantly agreed.

After securing Maddie in the BLM truck, we started to drive. The BLM truck was in the lead, followed by the tow truck & then me. If I had any problems, one of the tow truck guys would take over for me.

I made it most of the way up the same hill that had scared me just walking up it earlier that day. Unfortunately, near the top, the car started to slide & roll back. 🥺 As promised, the guys jumped into action! One took over driving, while the other towed my car up to level ground. Maddie & I rode together in the BLM truck. Once we reached a safe area, I thanked the tow guys, paid for their excellent service & they left. AAA doesn’t cover off-road towing, so it’s on me. 🤷‍♀️

Officer Nick & Talitha continued to be supportive of me. They offered to guide me to a hotel (30 miles away) or help me with another choice. I asked them to direct me to a camping area close by, near civilization, with reception.

Welcome to our newest Home Away from Home! Officer Nick did a great job picking this location for us. We’re still on free BLM land, at an intersection of 2 roads, less than 2 miles from the highway! I can hear TRAFFIC aka CIVILIZATION!!! The reception has been great here!

We’ll be staying here for another day or so. I want to see a few of the landmarks I came here to visit, before the weather gets too cold & prevents more exploring. I’m still going to have a safety assessment done on the car & then we’re heading to Arizona! I drove 25 miles round-trip to a 7-11 gas station last Frriday & the car is running fine. The tires all have the correct pressure, the car isn’t pulling & there are no fluids leaking out on the ground.

To close out this misadventure, a few more things…

I know that I’m extremely lucky that Maddie & I are now safe. My MacGyver skills came in handy to keep us safe, but ultimately, I’m forever grateful to the OUTSTANDING team of people that came to our rescue.

Thank you D, for facilitating our rescue. When I asked him to be on my support team for this journey, I had no doubt that he’d be available, anytime I needed his help. I didn’t expect it to be quite this dramatic, but THANK YOU!!! 🤗

Thank you to my sister & my niece for your love & support for this journey. ❤ They’ve been monitoring our travels & knew something was wrong when we went off the radar. It’s comforting to know that you’ve got my back. 💕

Another thank you to the 911 dispatcher, Keira, for her kindness & quick action on our behalf. 😘

Thank you again to my tow truck guys! Their efficiency & professionalism was very much appreciated! 👍🏼

Another huge thank you to Officer Nick & Talitha! Their kindness & compassion was truly a blessing. Officer Nick said “It’s our job”, when I thanked him for his help. Yes, it’s your job, but thank you for being exceptional at doing it.

Before leaving this area & moving on, I’m planning to make up & deliver little gift snack baskets with a thank you note to each member of my rescue team here. 💝

And finally, I want everyone reading this to know that I’m not feeling invincible because we survived this ordeal. I’m well aware that we were in danger & I’ll proceed with the same or increased level of caution I’ve taken to this point. I’m excited to continue this journey & will always travel as safely as possible.

Hugs from Utah! 🐾🤗🐾

We’ve made it to Utah!!!

After continuously checking longterm weather forecasts for our route & speaking with a few people who had recently visited Utah, I made the decision to make a run for it. I’m not willing to take any unnecessary risks with the weather, so I won’t get to visit all of the traditional points of interest, but we’re here!

Utah was my original destination goal for this journey, but I revised the “plan”, when the weather became unfavorable for travel a few weeks ago. I’d decided to make the trip in the Spring instead. After some careful consideration, I opted to see what we can see SAFELY now. I’m taking my own advice of doing it now because sometimes someday becomes never...

After a fabulous 14 days at Cochiti Lake Campground in New Mexico, we left on Saturday afternoon, November 6th & I drove to Durango, Colorado. I’ll backtrack to the preceeding few weeks as soon as possible. We stayed in a (overpriced) hotel for the night to rest up for our adventures in Utah! Durango is less than a 3 hour drive to Moab, Utah, so it was a good stopover point.

We arrived in Moab on Sunday afternoon. I confirmed my directions to the campground with 2 people in town & they both gave me the same information that I’d received from my GPS.

Great! Here we go!

Wrong… 🥺

(PSA: This is a VERY LONG story, even by my usual standards. You might want to make a cup of tea or coffee & grab a snack, before continuing. ☕)

(This has become Part 1 of 2)

It has a Happy Ending! We’re fine!

🐾😊🐾

I’m still not sure where I went wrong, but I soon realized that I was lost, just as the sun was beginning to set. The roads had been extremely bumpy & I almost hit a cow standing in the road. 🤷‍♀️ It was time to hunker down for the night & stay safe.

I found a wide open, flat area to settle in for the night. As I watched the sky seemingly burst into a sparkling confetti of stars, I also saw several shooting stars. It was a spectacular sight to witness.

As soon as it was bright enough to drive the next morning, I took off in the direction of our destination, Devil’s Garden Campground. I thought we were very close. I thought wrong. 🙄

The “roads” were horrendous. They were full of deep ruts & large stones. This is land managed by the Bureau of Land Management aka BLM land. I’d heard that some of the roads were “rugged”, but I knew I was in trouble. Unfortunately, there was no place to safely turn around, so I continued on.

Due to the poor driving conditions, I got out of my car often & walked ahead to assess the route. I’d lost all reception capability the night before, so GPS was non-existent. I have 3 brand new road atlases with me, so I pulled them out, hoping to find an alternative path. I didn’t have any idea where we were, so the maps were useless. 🤷‍♀️

As I approached this area, I got out to check the terrain ahead. It was this steep hill, covered with loose rocks (yellow arrow) & ruts. There was no way I was going to attempt this descent, so I tried to back up. This photo doesn’t really show how narrow the ledge was, but I only had about 2-3 feet to my right, before it dropped off the side into a dry riverbed. When I carefully put the car into reverse, we slid on the rocks & became lodged in place.

Six hours later…….

The left photo is from after we made it down the hill… 😬 The large rock (red arrow) is the one we were sitting on under my driver’s seat, but the initial problem was the rock directly underneath us (right photo, blue arrow). The “fabric” (black arrow) in the dry creek below was some of my bedding that I sacrificed to level off the deep dip in my path. It actually worked & other than a small tear here & there, everything survived!

Tuesday Morning

I was sore from all of the lifting, twisting, shoveling & stress of the previous day. When I walked back to THE HILL to see if there was any way up, I determined that we were going nowhere, without help … 🥺 I had been watching for signs of previous travelers through the area. There was one set of heavy duty tire tracks, but they looked old. This was not a well-traveled area.

I went back to the tent to lay down, rest & consider our options. I gave Maddie her breakfast & I had a granola bar. I’ve been careful to keep us both hydrated, but I wasn’t hungry.

Within about 20 minutes, I heard voices! Great! No wait… Now I’m hallucinating! 🤔 I crawled out of the tent & saw 6 hikers coming our way! There were 4 men & 2 women, about my age. I asked if I was hallucinating & one of the men said he’s been called worse. 😁 They were from a town in nearby Colorado & it was a last minute, random choice to hike in this area. None of them had ever been here before! Mom had sent me 6 of her Guardian Angels… 😇😇😇😇😇😇

They all immediately set down their backpacks & offered to build a rock ramp for me! It was ready in a few minutes! While they surrounded my car to guide me & offer encouragement, I was able to get back up The Hill! The poor car took some more whacks underneath, but we were finally on “level” ground again. I thanked them profusely, introduced them to Maddie & they gave me directions to freedom. Then they were off on their hike!

When I started off again, I stopped at the same area we’d stayed in the first night. I’d had to carry the tent & gear back up The Hill to the car, so I took a few minutes to reorganize things & catch my breath. I was feeling much better & more hopeful.

I continued in what I thought was the correct direction…

Nope! 😥 I’d missed something somewhere & we were lost again. I knew going back was pointless, so I drove on. By that point, I was really missing the way we give directions in Massachusetts. “Go down 2 blocks & take a right at the blue house, with the white picket fence.”

To be continued… It gets worse… 🥴

I never knew there was a Las Vegas, New Mexico until we arrived there! I located a nice state park to camp in for several days, but again, Mother Nature had other ideas.

The campground at Storrie Lake State Park had already transitioned to first come/first serve status for the season, so I drove around to find my favorite spot. I had hoped to get one with an electrical hook-up, but they were all taken. At that point, I opted for the best view!

As I was setting up the campsite, the wind picked up & it quickly became apparent that it was going to be an issue again. I decided to set up inside the shelter & it fit perfectly!

Our first night was fine & I was happy with my choice. After coffee & breakfast the next morning, I drove to the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge nearby. Sadly, once again, the wildlife was hiding from us. 🙄 We did have flocks of Sandhill Cranes & Canada geese constantly flying overhead at the campsite, so that was nice.

Later in the day, the wind gusts got quite strong & I was worried about the tent. Instead of doing any more exploring in the area, we stayed at the campsite to protect it. The wind was whipping through the shelter, so I lowered the tent to keep it from being battered. I’m pretty sure that Maddie thought I’d lost my mind, but it worked! Later that night, the wind subsided & I raised it back up to full height.

When I checked the weather reports, the wind was going to be even stronger for the next few days, so I made the decision to leave the next morning. That proved to be another challenging event battling the wind, but I finally managed to pack up & we were off to our next destination.

My original goal for this journey was to visit several locations in Utah & then head south to avoid the cold weather of a New England winter. Apparently, Mother Nature had other plans for me… 🙄

Our last night at Theodore Roosevelt National Park was bittersweet. We had truly enjoyed our visit to this special place, but the cold weather had quickly caught up to us. It was time to move on! The temperature dropped almost 60° in one day, from 90° to 30°! It was also very WINDY & challenging to pack up the next morning. Trying to fold up the tent & tarps in a strong wind was quite an Olympic workout, but I was motivated to move as quickly as possible. The forecast was for even stronger winds & I definitely didn’t want to drive down the mountain in the worsening weather!

With Utah already having some early winter weather, I had to make the sensible decision that visiting there is temporarily on hold. Temporarily!!!

We’ll get there!

In revising our route, I chose to move through South Dakota as quickly as possible & head south through Nebraska. It was a LONG day of traveling! 🥴

It was rainy, foggy, sleeting & miserable driving conditions all day. I had to drive with my hazard lights on because drivers kept coming up behind me in the fog, driving at 70+ mph! The speed limit was 75mph. Even if I was familiar with the roads, I wouldn’t have been driving that fast in those weather conditions!

The drive was absolutely miserable. When it started getting dark, I wanted to find somewhere safe to hunker down for the night. That turned out be extremely difficult impossible. There was NO place to pull over, much less a safe place. There was no moonlight & it was really dark, but I had to keep going. At one point, my GPS announced “Take the next left & drive for 39 miles.” 😞There was NOTHING & NOBODY for that next 39 miles! Unfortunately, there was a lot of road construction along the way. It was mostly a 2 way/single lane road, with no lane markers! It went on & on & on. When I reached the 39 mile marker to turn, my GPS then informed me to stay on this road for another 49 miles! I wanted to cry, but I had to keep moving. I ended up driving 125 miles longer that night than I had wanted. 🙄

We finally reached Sturgis, SD & my GPS signal quit! I knew there were several hotels in the area, but without GPS, I was seriously stressing out. 🥺 I took an exit off the highway to collect my thoughts & ended up in another very dark & foggy area. I crossed a railroad track & arrived at a large, open gate. Backing up there wasn’t a good option, so I drove through the gate to turn around. As my eyes focused in the darkness, I was stunned to realize our location.

I had driven through the never locked gates of the Black Hills National Cemetery! Because of the thick fog, it was difficult to see, but my headlights caught some of the many thousands of pure white gravestones. It was an eerie feeling & I felt like an intruder. I turned around quickly & left quietly.

I decided to return the next morning to pay my respect to our fallen military members. There were multiple funeral services taking place, so I only stayed for a few minutes. The gloomy weather reflected the mood of this sacred place. The sight of 30,000+ glistening white gravestones was simultaneously hauntingly beautiful, mesmerizing & heartbreaking. 💔

Never forget… 🇺🇲

Never forget… 🇺🇲

I’m probably the only tourist to travel through South Dakota & not see Mount Rushmore or the Crazy Horse Memorial https://g.co/kgs/g7wUh4 or any of the other famous landmarks. To be honest, there was a good possibility that I wasn’t going to make the drive to Mount Rushmore anyway. Between the drive UP (my fear of heights 😳) & the crowds, I was trying to decide what to do, when Mother Nature interceded on my behalf. It started to get foggy, rainy & slushy with sleet. Decision made! We’re outta here!

Moving on…

305 miles/5 hours later, we made it to Ogallala, Nebraska! 😁
That day’s weather menu included: sleet as we left Sturgis, S.D., followed later by pea soup THICK fog for an hour, entering Nebraska. Add in intermittent heavy rain & sunshine & occasionally both together along the way, but no rainbow. 😫 Also included was HEAVY winds & HEAVY rain, with hydroplaning. I drove most of the day with my flashers on again because people were still flying up behind me in the fog, doing 70+ MPH. 🙄
Luckily, I had the car radio on a local station in Nebraska because they announced a severe thunderstorm & tornado watch! It was so windy, I didn’t even want to open my car door for a Maddie pit stop because I was afraid she’d blow away! 😳
Did I mention the VW bug sized TUMBLEWEED that flew across in front of me??? The next morning, a nice, young cowboy 😍 offered to remove my souvenir for me!

We ended up staying in a hotel for 2 nights in Ogallala. The rain cleared up overnight, but the WIND was VERY STRONG the next day. Tractor trailers were warned to stay off the highways that day because of the 60+ mph sustained winds. The hotel was very basic & I definitely appreciated that they discounted my second night. 😊

We FINALLY made it safely to

Las Vegas…

New Mexico❣

October 3-11, 2021

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I highly recommend it❣https://www.treehugger.com/theodore-roosevelt-national-park-facts-5193595

According to the preceeding article, “In addition to bison, the park is home to elk, wild horses, mule and white-tailed deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, badgers, porcupines and prairie dogs.” Apparently, everything except the bison, prairie dogs (https://www.nps.gov/articles/prairie-dogs.htm) & 2 deer were hiding from me & I heard coyotes howling every night. Despite my daily excursions to search for the wild horses, I never saw one. 🤷‍♀️ I heard one whinny at an overlook point one morning, but I didn’t see it. There was a man nearby, using a tripod & fancy camera. Before I got a chance to ask if he was photographing wild horses, he took 2 steps from his vehicle & literally disappeared down the ledge! I suspect the horses were right below the overlook, but my fear of heights prevented me from taking a peek. 🥺 It’s a very debilitating problem for me, but it’s very real. Even “wild horses couldn’t drag me away”…to the edge to see them… 😥

Despite my lack of wildlife sitings, I still LOVED our visit to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 💕 I’m also grateful to have met Janet at the park. She’s the wonderful lady from Iowa & she very generously gave me her annual yearbook of the wild horses in the park. I never saw any horses in real life, but I’m truly enjoying this beautiful book. 💝

As the song says: April in Paris!

How about Utah in April?

Apparently Mother Nature didn’t approve of my plans for going to Utah. 🤷‍♀️ Wyoming & Utah are already in severe winter weather alert status. Soooo… Now I’m trying to maneuver us from here to somewhere south, as quickly & safely as possible, without passing thru blizzard conditions. We’ll still get to Utah, at some point down the road!🤞🏼

Day #161

In the meantime, I decided to stay here at TRNP for one more spectacular weather day & we’ve moved across the road to my dream site! 💕 This morning, as I was trying to decide what to do before the noontime deadline on the campsite, the RV across the way left! Tada!!! I’ve rarely ever moved as quickly as I did this morning to jump into the spot! It was way too hot for this campsite 7 days ago, but now it’s much cooler & it’s perfect! I also broke my own rule about not setting up the tent for 1 night… 😁

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota: Part 2

When I thought more about revising the blog, I realized that I don’t always have to add to or edit the previous posts.

Duh…🙄 Welcome to Part 2! 😁

I wrote the following last night (Saturday), before my rapid change of plans this morning!

It was forecast to start raining at midnight last night, but it started at 2pm instead. I’m thrilled for the park because it’s desperately dry here & the rain will help to slightly lower the extreme fire risk. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get the tent taken down before the rain started. 🥴 Maddie & I slept in the car last night because of the anticipated rain & cold temperature, but now the tent is soggy. No problem! I’ve extended our reservation an extra day! Instead of leaving tomorrow morning (Sunday) with a damp tent & gear, we’ll leave Monday. Tomorrow’s sunshine will dry everything up!

Today (Saturday), I met Janet, another solo traveler with a tent. She’s from Iowa & unfortunately, we met because she was out searching for her elderly cat. 🥺She’d packed up quickly before the rain started & Jasper must have jumped out of her car, unnoticed. She spent a long time looking for him, but he’s nowhere to be found. We had a nice chat about a lot of topics & I have her phone #, so I can contact her WHEN Jasper reappears. 🤞🏼A Park Ranger stopped me on our walk this morning (Sunday) to ask if I’d seen Jasper. It’s nice to know they’re still watching for him. 🤞🏼

Back to Sunday Night – 10/10/21

As a diehard Red Sox fan all my life, I’ve been sitting in the tent tonight, “watching” the 3rd game of the American League Division Series on my phone! I seem to have much better reception in this campsite, so I’m even happier! I couldn’t watch the game live, but I watched it, very slightly delayed, on MLB play-by-play animation. I also had a lot of fun texting back & forth with a great friend back in Massachusetts! Thank you… 🤗

As we settle in for the night, I’m listening to a Sandhill Crane nearby! I’ve been hearing Canada geese & cranes flying overhead in the dark tonight, but I think at least 1 crane is resting in the prairie grass close by. Shhh… 🤫 Goodnight!

Wow! Maddie & I are already into month #6 of our amazing journey! This has been the fastest 5 months of my life! The most challenging thing so far has definitely been the lack of reception & internet access. I expected it to be intermittent, but I’ve had much longer stretches than I ever anticipated. I didn’t realize how much I depend on the internet, until it becomes unavailable! Text messages get through better than anything else & several people have reached out to me, concerned because the blog has gone silent. Thank you for checking in with me! 💕

Today, we’re sitting in the middle of nowhere, at a prairie dog village in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota & I have decent reception! 🤔 Weird…

I’ve decided to reboot the blog from here & catch up again in the future! I was trying to post updates after we moved on to a new location, but it hasn’t been working. I’m hoping this will work.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m rarely at a loss for words. 🤓 Theodore Roosevelt National Park leaves me speechless. It’s absolutely, positively, breathtakingly beautiful! The colors & lighting change continously & are often so vivid that I have to edit & soften the glow in my photos. The air feels fresh & clear. Today’s temperature is 75°, with very low humidity. Perfection❣ We’ve been here since Sunday. The high temperatures have been in the low 90’s, which is near record breaking for this time of year, but it’s been quite chilly some nights. One night it dropped to 35°. ☃️ We slept in the car last night & we’ll probably do that until we leave here in a few days. The daytime temperatures are dropping closer to normal & the nighttime lows are following along. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow night. North Dakota definitely needs the rain. I’m just praying it doesn’t snow! 🤞🏼

I’m going to post a lot of photos here, so I hope you enjoy them!

I’m going to close this post for now. We’re here for another few days, but this will be a good test for me to try out my new approach. I’ll also learn how to edit & add on, I hope!

Go Red Sox❣⚾️❣⚾️❣

Hugs from North Dakota, Wendy & Maddie 🤗

Summer 2021 was absolutely, unquestionably the best summer of my life! This was the summer I will ALWAYS remember as the summer of possibilities, dreams coming true & enjoying adventures that I never expected!

I’m sorry I’m so far behind on my blog updates! Between taking lots (too many? 🤔) photos & having intermittent & zero phone reception, writing this has become quite challenging, at times. I still loving writing it & I promise to catch up soon… I hope you still enjoy reading it, too!

I’m not sure if you know that I take all of my photos on my phone. I have a camera with me, but I’m no good at sightseeing, holding on to Maddie & using a camera, too! 🥴This phone takes fabulous photos, but afterwards, I have to review & edit all of them on the little phone screen. Some days, I’ve taken 200-300 photos! 😳 The majority of them are duplicates & are instantly deleted, but it still takes a lot of time. Obviously, I’m only posting a few of my favorite photos on the blog, but I have hundreds more!

Today, I want to share some more encouragement to take chances, step out of your comfort zone & LIVE YOUR LIFE!

I’ve been collecting meaningful quotes along the way.

These are some of my favorites. 💝

Hugs from Minnesota! 🤗

Wendy & Maddie 💕

Day #142!

Greetings from Wisconsin!

I know I’m way behind on posting about our travel adventures, but I’ve been experiencing long periods of intermittent & poor reception. 🥴 I have several posts in varying degrees of readiness. As soon as I have enough reception, you’ll be the first to know! 😁 I started this post awhile ago, so I’d have it ready on time. Now I hope it catches an internet wave! 🤞🏼

I never thought I could love another dog as much as I loved Shadow, but I was wrong. Shadow will ALWAYS hold a very special place in my heart & memories & she’s definitely the reason that Maddie is in my life. 💕

Today’s post is to honor both Shadow, who crossed Rainbow 🌈 Bridge on September 13, 2006 & Maddie, who(whom?) I adopted on September 12, 2009. The dates are purely coincidental…or not… 😇

I fell in love with “Maggie”, now Maddie, on the PEIHS website in March of 2009. I finally inquired about her by email on June 16th & she was still available & waiting for the right family. 😊 And then she was adopted on June 20th. 🥴 And then she was returned the first weekend in September. 😳 I believe she was adopted for Father’s Day & returned when school started up again. 🙄 I was originally very upset & angry with that family, but it’s been the best thing that could have happened for both Maddie & me❣ The timing for her return to the shelter & me adopting her, coincided exactly with Shadow’s Rainbow 🌈 Bridge crossing date. This was definitely NOT a coincidence & I will always believe that Shadow connected us. I’m so lucky & immensely grateful for both of these dogs to have found their way to me. 💝

To celebrate Maddie’s 12th Adoptoversary, I bought her this reflective harness & neon orange vest. We’re heading into THAT time of year, so I bought these for her & also a neon orange vest & the hat for myself. She looks much better in my hat than I do & we’ll both be safer & very stylish in our new duds! 😁

Hugs from Wisconsin 🤗 Wendy & Maddie 💕