Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Colorado 2009 - Pagosa Springs Area

On August the 24th of that year, while we had arrived in Colorado and already spent some time driving around and seeing some of the sights, we hadn’t made it back into Pagosa Springs. Since there were some things we needed, we headed off to town.

On the day we had arrived at Sportsman’s Campground, they had extended an invitation to us to be a part of their upcoming potluck supper. Since we had brought absolutely nothing in our store of supplies that could be cooked up or baked for a large group, we definitely had to find something in Pagosa Springs for our contribution.

Jo wasn’t sure of what we could get to fix up, so we elected to get a dessert and take it back. Since I’m not likely to write about this on the day of the potluck supper because it is still coming up in this review of our vacation, suffice it to say that we were embarrassed with our selection. Every one of the other participants had cooked/baked up something by hand. Ours was the only thing that was “store bought.”

Since we were getting little things needed for our new experience of “camping out” with the full hookups, there were also a few things needed in the way of RV accessories.

There was also a photographer in the Pagosa Springs area that I had conversed with online because I had seen a photo of a waterfall he had done. Nowhere else was I able to find information as to where that waterfall was located. In our exchange of e-mails, he had given me both directions and maps of that area. He was very helpful, even though we never made it to that waterfall.

In the exchange of messages, I had told him of our plans for that two weeks and he had told me that he was having a gallery showing at a local Pagosa Springs art gallery. Needless to say, we went by to see more of what subjects he had photographed and meet him face to face.

The photographer’s name is Guy Schmickle, and he lived somewhere in Colorado, although he is now in the Sedona, Arizona area. If you want to see some of his photos, check out the following links:

http://www.pbase.com/gschmickle

http://www.explorethelightphotography.com/

I probably shouldn’t have posted that link because some of his photos are enough for me to feel jealous, partly because he lives in Colorado and can catch the state in all seasons, while I have to limit myself to our vacations. However, while his photos are beautiful, I do think he has worked with them in imaging software. That is one thing that I very seldom ever do. I prefer my images to be “mirrors” of God’s own handiwork.

While we spent a lot of time in Pagosa Springs, it was probably a good day to do it as it was very overcast and photos would have been less than great. We did get some photos of low-hanging clouds over some of the mountains fringing the valley in which Sportsman’s Campground is located.

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Other than the cloud pictures, the only other things I photographed that day was hummingbirds. Nothing spectacular in the way of photographs, but I really enjoy them more for their antics. Perhaps a few of these will be an example of their actions.  Note that in a few of them, particularly the first one, you can see a hummer through the clear part of the feeder.  The one with him looking at me makes me think he was checking me out.

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It has been quite some time since I’ve done much writing on the blog, and even longer since I’ve done any writing on my book. Today’s blog entry has been anything but good, and even the pictures aren’t anything to write home about. I must apologize for such a lack of commitment in my postings. Please forgive me for being lazy.

Hopefully, I can get back into some kind of “swing” with my writing. I think I really need to take a trip somewhere and take a bunch of photographs. Maybe that would help.

2 comments:

  1. welcome back Terry. It has been a dry spell. My daughter commented the other day how much she enjoyed reading our blog. I am not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. She started a blog about the same time I did. In fact, I think she got me going. Anyway, the point is, she also had a long dry spell. She said she struggled with the blog because she wanted it to be perfect. I told her - write from the heart. Tell others your story from your heart. Write it as if you were having a conversation with someone. That is what she has started doing.
    For our family blogging is a way of staying in touch. Before we hit the road and while our youngest daughter and grandsons was living with us. We conversed around the dinner table, Often times it started with my daughter or grandson asking, "What did you do today?. That is what I answer in our blog. Hopefully for some it is interesting, for others it may not be. That is OK.
    The heading of your blog is one of the major keys that lead me to retirement and full-time RVing. It is that pioneer spirit. Thanks for starting this blog.
    Sorry this is so long, but I felt the need to say what was on my heart this morning, Ignore the barking dogs - those things that get in the way of saying what's on your heart. Write on my friend.

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  2. Thanks, Jerry. However, you've now given me reason to pause if what I wrote was an influence on your decision to retire. In actuality, it was more than the blogging as I went a long dry spell without reading any of the blogs as well. I need to get back to doing both.

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