Monument Valley Sunset - July 2015

Aspen - 2015

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The next morning I was off [very] early for a try at a memorable Maroon Bells shot. The early light was not promising... no starlight, the smell of overnight rain hanging heavy in the air. I arrived at the location I'd scouted, saw about 6 other crazies like myself, and then hiked over to the tripod location I'd hoped to use. With luck, no one else was even close to the location. So, equipment arranged, you just wait for light... and hope for a break in that dark wall of clouds east. Obviously, luck was with me.

Maroon Bells Sunrise - July 2015

Monument Valley Rainbow - July 2015

On our way back to Phoenix, we stayed at the View again... and again had a rare treat for Light in Monument Valley - a late morning shower -- with rainbow! Impossible! We left shortly after lunch, and in those long summer days, we made it home before dark. All three of us hit the pool, and spent some sweet time remembering what a good trip we'd had north -- to break the heat.

Europe - 2018

Jardins du Trocadéro - April 2018

Eiffel Tower and River Seine - May 2018

This trip started innocently enough... just a musing moment, as Lucky and I considered the 'we're not getting any younger' reality. And that led to 'bucket listing' ideas: Greek island! Athens! Amalfi Coast! Umbria! Paris!; then the OMG 'what's this going to co$t' ... air fare numbers, VRBO rents... and then suddenly - it's mid-April and time to go.

Best laid plans... airlines go on strike - unexpectedly. Delay a day. Rebooking the ticket to MX City costs more - one way, than the original R/T ticket?... that 'wonderful' VRBO place on the Amalfi coast was [for me] uninhabitable [mold, mildew]... and etc., etc.

But we recovered nicely - a week on the Amalfi coast became a week in Florence [not bad!], we only lost one day to the airline strike, and, all said and done, we had a wonderful trip.

The trip ended up with Greece for a week, Italy for two, and Paris for 5 days. The photos to the left and below have links to that section of the trip, and those pages present our experiences VERY visually. Coming back, we were delighted, exhausted, expectant [we missed little Magic terrifically] and - excited. We know there will be another trip - when you go so far, you have a moment of grasping, 'there's so much more to see.'