“Success comes to those who become success conscious.”
~ Napoleon Hill
According to Merriam-Webster, success is the degree or measure of succeeding and to succeed is to attain a desired object or end.
If you discovered something that was life changing and pretty much guaranteed to bring joy to other people wouldn’t you want to share that information?
Well … I have and I do …
What I’m going to share … is guaranteed … to change your life …
If you consistently do it …
I can’t give you the specifics on how it will improve your life because that will be different for everyone; but like I said, I guarantee your life will improve.
I’ve been blessed to spend the past few years traveling the country while searching for the “secrets” to life and success.
After all that searching I’ve realized there are no “secrets” because EVERYONE is talking about it AND there are as many ways to find success as there are ideas on what success is.
With that said, I’ve discovered there are a few ways you can help bring success along …
Four of the quickest and most effective ways are:
Without further ado, let me show you some of the “science” and proof behind this.
1.MAINTAIN A GOOD MINDSET
Your mindset is basically your mental attitude and it’s one of the most important factors in your success.
A good mindset will not only keep you going until you attain the success you desire, but it will help make the journey easier.
Good thoughts bring good things!
A few ways to get into a good mindset:
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You can also get in nature, sing, dance, listen to feel good music, play, give thanks, pray, and smile!
Any one of these things will get you into a good mindset and help you maintain that mindset, so find what works best for you and devote some time each day to doing it.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly success is drawn to you when you have a good mindset.
2. BE GRATEFUL
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” ~ Zig Ziglar
Now that you’re a pro at keeping yourself in a good mindset, you’ll want to give thanks for everything you have.
You see, right now isn’t the time to think about your future success; instead, it’s the time to think about everything you’ve already built, your current success!
The number of benefits you’ll experience from giving gratitude is unmeasurable!
Basically, gratitude has a positive influence on every aspect of your life.
HappierHuman.com has an excellent article on gratitude; some of the benefits they list are:
Best of all, gratitude produces what happierhuman.com calls a “positive feedback loop” and I’d say that’s one good loop to be in …
Now that you know the benefits, I imagine you’re ready to give thanks!
The quickest and easiest way to do that, take a few minutes each day and think about the things in your life you’re grateful for and list those things in a notebook or gratitude journal.
For helpful tips on “how to give gratitude” in the most effective “scientific method”, check out this article from Greater Good In Action.
If you’re looking for ideas on things to be grateful for, you could consider listing your family members, your friends, the water you drink, the food you eat, the car you drive, the home you live in, the community you’re a part of, the air you breathe, the sun, the moon, etc, etc, you get the point.
The more you practice gratitude the easier you’ll find it, and like Zig said, you’ll have even more to be grateful for.
3. USE YOUR IMAGINATION
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ” ~ Albert Einstein
While you’re maintaining your good mindset and giving thanks for all you have you’ll want to make sure you utilize one of the best tools you have … your imagination!
Your imagination is where all the fun begins!
Once you imagine something …
You open the door of possibility …
Think about it … every invention started in someone’s imagination!
The chair you sit on … the home you live in … the clothes you wear … the car you drive … your cell phone … your computer … EVERYTHING created by people …
And those people took the steps to bring that “thing” into their life and yours.
AFTER they imagined it …
If there’s something you’ve always dreamt of … even if it hasn’t been created yet … your imagination is where you can make that thing come to life!
Merriam-Webster defines imagination as "the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality."
I’m going to give you some names of a few people I’m sure every person on this planet’s heard of.
These men created something from nothing, all thanks to their imagination.
These people weren’t educated in the traditional sense, but the legacy they left is something we all benefit from today.
If you’re looking for more “proof” in the ability to make the impossible possible; look into these men, how they came to be, and what they created.
These men prove, that regardless of the level of success you were born into, you can create whatever success you can imagine.
And the three best things about imagination:
If you were amazed at how quickly success was drawn to you when you kept a good mindset, just wait and see what happens when you give gratitude and use your imagination.
It’ll be like a whole new world opened up to you …
If you’re looking for some ideas on how to expand your imagination …
The best way is …
Reading!
The World Literacy Foundation writes:
“Reading helps us practice imagination by letting the words describe a certain image while the reader manipulates the picture in the mind. This practice strengthens the mind as it acts like a muscle.”
Just like any muscle, the more you use it the more powerful it grows.
And the more powerful it grows …
The more your imagination will flow.
When your imagination is flowing …
You become more creative …
Creativity promotes invention …
And invention promotes a better quality of life!
Is there someone out there living a life you’d like to experience?
Let them be your inspiration …
Let them give you the confidence to know …
If it’s possible for them …
IT IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU!
If you’re currently renting your house and you want to own a house … start dreaming about it!
If you want a new car … start dreaming about it!
If you want a perfect relationship with the most important people in your life … DREAM ABOUT IT!
DREAM BIG!!!
Take whatever dream you have and multiply it by two …
See what you can accomplish!
The possibilities are endless, AND
You already have all the tools you need!
Use them … Use them for good!
Imagine the best …
Anything is possible when you have the vision to see it!
4. TAKE ACTION
“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true. ” ~ Greg Reid
Now that you’ve got the proper mindset and imagined what you desire most, you’ll want to plan out how you’ll get it.
It’s time to start setting some goals!
When setting your goals, the S.M.A.R.T. method is going to be your best friend!
It’ll work for any goal, personal or business.
Indeed.com has a great in-depth article on setting SMART Goals.
The two most important parts about goal setting …
WRITE IT DOWN and GET AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE!
If you want more money; how much, how will you get it and whose assistance will you require along the way?
If you want better relationships; what kind of relationships are you looking for and how will it feel when you’ve attained it?
Merriam-Webster Action: The accomplishment of a thing usually over a period of time, in stages, or with the possibility of repetition.
This means working towards your goals everyday and completing at least one task a day.
Every day make a “Today” list of the things you must get done that day.
Once you complete your “Today” list, you can either move on to other projects OR …
You can take the rest of the day to enjoy your accomplishments!
If you consistently keep a good mindset, give gratitude, use your imagination for good and accomplish at least one task that brings you closer to your idea of success every day, success will come to you …
It’s the Law of Nature.
It may come in ways you didn’t initially consider, but whatever way it comes to you, it will bring you the success you seek so keep your eyes open as the opportunities present themselves.
You have one thing going for you always and forever, you are you and there is no other you out there.
You can be AND do anything you set your heart to … So dream big and start creating your dream life TODAY!
I feel it’s important to note that I didn’t come up with this stuff.
I’m simply putting what I’ve read into my own words.
If you want to do some more research on “how to live a better life”, check out the following books;
The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
Some of those links will bring you to audio books but I recommend the actual book so you can highlight and mark up the best parts.
P.S. If you found this post helpful or entertaining, I’d love it if you would share it with your friends and family.
You see, my goal is to improve as many lives as possible and I know this information can do that.
Thanks in advance!
“The statue symbolizes freedom and the light around the world”
~ Olivier Faron
I’m not sure if you guys know this or not but France is sending us a SECOND Statue of Liberty!
It’s a smaller version, 1/16 the size of the original Lady Liberty, but she’ll be on display in New York, on Ellis Island, from July 1-5!
After her time in New York she’ll be transported to the French Ambassadors home in Washington, DC, where she’ll stay for the next 10 years!
To read the full article, and see a photo of the second Lady Liberty, go to www.abc6.com.
Disclosure: The pictures above are NOT of The Statue of Liberty 1 or 2.
I don’t have pictures of either so I made due with the pics I have.
✌️
“Travel brings power and love back into your life.”
~ Rumi Jalalud-Din
You read that title right, live anywhere ON AirBnb!
Up until now, you’ve been able to live anywhere WITH AirBnb but now … AirBnb wants to pay your lodgings expenses!!
If you want to travel for the next 12 months while having someone else pay your lodging fees, you’ll definitely want to check out AirBnb’s “Live Anywhere on AirBnb” program.
Basically, AirBnb is looking to sponsor people to travel for the next 12 months and share their experience, while staying in different AirBnb rentals for FREE!
I don’t know about you but that sounds like a great deal to me!!
If you’re interested check out the link below and apply before June 30th!
https://www.airbnb.com/d/liveanywhere
“People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
~ Albert Einstein
According to the dictionary; time travel is a thing of science fiction and its the action of traveling through time into the past or the future.
I’ve always wanted to be a time traveler because the books and movies made it seem like so much fun!
Well, I’ve spent the past few years thinking about all my beliefs and all that other jazz and let me tell you, the dictionary is wrong!
Time travel isn’t a thing of science fiction, it’s real, and I imagine every single person on this planet does it at least once in their life.
You see, every time someone travels to another location and passes that “imaginary line” that brings them to another “time zone” they are moving into the past or future by at least one hour (according to the clocks), soooooo they are time travelers 🤷♀️
Anyway, now that you know time travel is real, it isn’t as complicated as it was made out to be and time zones are imaginary, maybe you’ll start questioning some of your other beliefs.
✌️
“Water is life, and clean water means health.”
~ Audrey Hepburn
Off Route 66 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico is a bell-shaped lake of crystal-clear water that’s 81 feet deep AND has underground tunnels!!
Those tunnels are filled with water, meet up with six other lakes in the area, and go to neighboring states …
Santa Rosa is known as the “City of Natural Lakes” because of these seven lakes.
When we pulled up it was still early, about 8 am, and the water was cold!
I’m not a huge fan of swimming in cold water but jumping in was kind of a bucket list item, so I figured it would be best to hang out for a bit and let it warm up.
While we were waiting, we checked the place out and it was beautiful!!
As far as I could tell there wasn’t much to do aside from the blue hole but according to the Santa Rosa website there are a ton of fun things to do in the area.
FUN FACTS:
For all you divers out there, this is apparently a great place to dive.
Because Santa Rosa has an elevation of 4,600 feet above sea level, diving to the bottom of this lake is like going to a depth of 100 feet in the ocean and I’m not a diver but that sounds impressive.
Also, the Blue Hole Dive Center offers training; from basic training in open water to more advanced Dive Master training for anyone looking.
This is a beautiful destination and I recommend everyone check it out but the area needs to be respected and safety needs to be a priority.
Until next time
P.S. Before you leave be sure to check out my post on Clayton Lake State Park, another beautiful New Mexico location.
“Diamonds, that’ll shut her up.”
~ Ron White
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but personally, I’ve never really cared that much about them.
That is … until I got to dig for them!!
That’s right, you read that correctly, I dug for diamonds!!
The most surprising part (if you ask me) … I didn’t even leave the US to do it!
There's a 37-acre field in Arkansas that sits on an ancient volcanic vent called the Prairie Creek Pipe. This pipe was created from a volcanic explosion more than 100 million years ago and thanks to that explosion, diamonds were brought up from deep within the earth and they are now, at this very moment, waiting to be discovered!
Just outside Murfreesboro, Arkansas is the 8th largest diamond reserve in the world …
This diamond mine is like no other …
It’s open to the public …
AND … It’s the ONLY mine in the WORLD that follows the finders keepers rule!!
Yep, you read that correctly, any gem you find is yours to keep!!
So, let’s say you’re there on that special day and you find a 16.37 carat diamond like W. W. Johnson did in 1975, well it’s all yours!
Or, let’s say you stumble across the most perfect diamond ever evaluated by the laboratory of the American Gem Society like Shirley Strawn did in 1990, well that diamond is all yours.
Orrrr, let’s say you found a 7.44 carat diamond like Kalel Langford did in 2017, again, all yours!!
The ancient Greek and Romans believed diamonds were the fallen tears of the Gods.
In 1906 John Huddleston discovered diamonds on a portion of the land he owned.
That land sat on top of what was later discovered to be the Prairie Creek Pipe.
Not long after his discovery, prospectors and treasure hunters rushed to the area.
Within a few years the land was owned by two mining companies and in 1952 they formed a partnership.
That partnership created The Crater of Diamonds tourist attraction, opened the land up to the public, and it was a success!
Visitors were able to pay a small fee to search for diamonds and keep anything they found.
Three notable diamonds were discovered during that time, the 15.33 carat Star of Arkansas found in 1956, the 6.42 carat Gary Moore diamond discovered in 1960 and the 34.25 carat Star of Murfreesboro discovered in 1964.
In 1972 the state of Arkansas purchased 911 acres of land which included The Crater of Diamonds tourist attraction and turned it into the beautiful state park it is today!
FUN FACTS:
What else does the park have to offer?
We walked the trails, mined for diamonds and stayed overnight at the campground and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the place!!
I found some cool rocks and had a blast being a treasure hunter!
If there’s even the slightest bit of treasure hunter in you, this place is a must!!
I’ve done scavenger hunts in the past and those are fun, but this was exciting!!
Anyway, I highly recommend paying this place a visit!
Note: For the specifics on pricing, camping, water park and café openings it’s best to contact the Crater of Diamonds State Park directly.
Sources:
“He does exist!”
“They do exist!”
~ M&M’s and Santa Clause
There are seals off the California Coast that have an “elephant trunk” looking snout?!?
Ya, I didn’t either until I traveled to San Simeon!
I’m a big fan of most things’ nature but my absolute favorite part is the ocean.
I’m pretty sure every time I go there, something amazing happens.
I’ll come across a beautiful seashell, a fully intact sand dollar, a starfish; or better yet, I’ll get to hang with the seals and sea lions or watch the whales!!
There are so many amazing things to be found in the ocean and on its beaches and San Simeon, specifically the Piedras Blancas area, is no exception.
According to The Tribune, a San Luis Obispo news source, Piedras Blancas is the largest mainland elephant seal rookery on the planet! And, it’s home to more than 20,000 elephant seals!
For those of you asking what the heck a rookery is, it’s a colony of breeding animals, so ya, Piedras Blancas is basically one big mating ground.
Anyway, when I first traveled through the area, I had no idea what wonderful things were in store for me.
I found a copper dime AND I got to hang out with the elephant seals, hundreds of them!!
Before San Simeon, I didn’t know either existed!
This is good news for you too!
Now you’ll know exactly where to go if you want to see some elephant seals, and in just a little bit, I’m going to tell you when you should go, but before I do that … let me drop some elephant seal knowledge on you.
Fun Facts about the Elephant Seal:
On one of my visits I was able to spend the whole day watching the females on the beaches with their pups and it was lovely!
Well that’s about it, I’ve covered a lot of information in a short time and I don’t want to keep you too much longer, so I’ll break down the time frames when you can expect to see these amazing creatures and what they’ll be doing when you see them.
Winter – The Birthing and Breeding Season
December
January
February & March
Spring & Summer – The Catastrophic Molting Season
April – August
Fall – The Haul-Out
September – November
There you have it, that’s everything I’ve learned about these amazing creatures so far.
Don’t you think it’s time to start planning your next trip to go see them?
Until next time, Peace!
Sources: National Geographic, National Parks Service, Marine Mammal Center
“Faith Can Build a Bridge”
~ Author Unknown
That quote is on a plaque inside the Drift Creek Covered Bridge in Otis, Oregon.
The bridge was originally constructed in 1914 making it the oldest Covered Bridge in Oregon.
I’m not sure if it was Laura Mitchell Sweitz or Kerry Sweitz that said it (they own the land where the bridge currently sits) or if it was someone else but I think it’s a beautiful quote.
This bridge was on my “list of places to go” and while I was out looking at land, I drove right past it! Sooo, I had to turn around and pay it a visit!
I took a few pictures, grabbed a copy of the flyer, relaxed admiring the bridge and views and then got back on the road for the next destination.
I didn’t read the flyer while I was at the bridge and if I had I think I would have appreciated it that much more because it wasn’t just a beautiful bridge but it was someones dream come to life.
According to the flyer, in 1997 the bridge was eight miles down the road and scheduled for demolition.
After the Sweitz’s found out about this they decided something had to be done and worked with the county on a solution to preserve the bridge.
The county gave them permission to have the bridge. The Sweitz felt a miracle happened and they were off and running to resurrect the historical structure!
They began rebuilding the structure. What they didn’t know, was it would take them almost four years to complete and they would try to give up but small miracles wouldn’t let them …
I don’t know the Sweitz’s; I haven’t had the privilege of meeting or speaking with them so I’m not going to tell you their story. Instead, I’m going to show you the pictures of the story they left for the people who come to visit.
I think it’s a beautiful story proving miracles happen all the time.
I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed theirs, and I sincerely hope you pay this beautiful place a visit.
Until next time ✌️
“You can have all the money in the world, but there’s one thing you will never have, a dinosaur.”
~ Homer Simpson
I’m always on the lookout for new places. Some I come across by coincidence and some I find with Google Maps, thanks to a keyword search.
This place was a combination of both. I was searching for ruins, but dinosaurs came up instead, so I was like “I better look into that!”
I’ve been “tricked” by Google Maps a few times; meaning an amazing place pops up, I set my coordinates and when I get there the place doesn’t really exist or it’s not accessible because it’s on private land. This can get a tad frustrating when I drive hundreds of miles to see something, so now I confirm the place exists before I leave. But that doesn’t ensure a smooth adventure either and this trip was a perfect example of that.
When the first mention of dinosaur came up, it was on an “Official Scenic Historic Marker” sign at the Clayton, New Mexico Visitor Center. According to the sign, it’s “One of the best dinosaur track sites in the world …” and “More than 500 fossilized footprints, made by at least eight kinds of dinosaurs, are visible …”. What?!? Say no more I’m in!!
I mean, 500 real dinosaur tracks!! I had yet to see one left in the exact spot it was made, so the thought of seeing up to 500, well I was sold!! I didn’t need to look into it anymore, I set my GPS for the visitor center and we were off!!
We were in Orlando, Kansas and the GPS said it would take about 6 hours to get there so we would arrive around eleven am. This left plenty of time to stop along the way, while leaving enough time (and sunlight) to see the tracks.
Soooo we stopped … and stopped … and stopped … and finally we arrived!!
Note: The video to the right is a mix of pictures from our drive.
I’m not sure what the exact time was when we arrived but it was sometime around 3:30 because I took my first picture at 3:33 pm. Side note, I think the time of that pic is funny because 3 is kinda my number. Anyway, I was stoked we would have enough time to see everything. The only problem was I couldn’t see tracks or any signs for the tracks.
You see, here is where the hiccup came in, I was at the wrong place! I mean the simple fact that I was in the middle of town should have been a dead giveaway, but I followed the GPS. Turns out the GPS wasn’t the problem, it was me. I assumed (we know what that means) the tracks were at the visitor center because that’s where the sign was.
Don’t get me wrong, the visitor center was cool and everything, but it isn’t why I came. I’m not kidding when I say I frantically started searching for something that could tell me where the tracks were because I was losing daylight fast and I wanted to see them. I especially wanted to see them now that there was a possibility I was going to miss out!!
After about two seconds I saw it! Right there; in plain English and the very first sentence, “…can be viewed at Clayton Lake State Park.” Crap, not sure how I missed that the first time but no worries I still have a little sunlight.
I popped in the location, it was only thirteen miles away, but it would take me twenty-two minutes to get there. I had to leave immediately and drive fast if I was going to make it in time.
See video to left for a portion of the drive there, but please don’t attempt my speeds!! I’m a professional 🙂
After what felt like a very long drive, I finally made it to the park and it was beautiful!! It was pretty much deserted, but it was open. I still had a little sunlight and the tracks were about half a mile away. I was sooo excited!!
We got to where the GPS said the tracks were, but again, there were no tracks. Just a parking lot, with a sign telling me the tracks were a ¼ mile hike. Well shoot, I didn’t even think about this! Normally, I love hiking, but the light was almost gone, and a hike meant it would take me that much longer to get there, but I had no choice, I wanted to see those tracks!
Please excuse the “F” bomb in the video, I was frustrated.
I decided to leave Elwood in the van; there were deer everywhere so he would slow me down and I had to move fast if I wanted to see anything. I started jogging down the trail and then it hit me; if I hike this AND see the tracks, I’m walking back in pitch dark. That did not sound like a good idea. Never mind the fact I had no idea what kind of animals lived in the area, but I didn’t know if the park was deserted and if it wasn’t who was there and where. Add in the stress of no cell service and a twenty-two-minute drive back to town if anything happened and yep, I talked myself out of going. I was a total scaredy cat and I chickened out, got back in the van and drove 120 miles to Trinidad, Colorado …
I bet you’re wondering how I can possibly tell you about the park and the tracks if I drove to Colorado right? Well, obviously I drove back silly 😊
When we got to Colorado, the rest stops had no overnight parking notices and that didn’t feel like much of a welcome. The road signs said a winter storm was coming and I’m trying to avoid extreme cold and snow so that didn’t sound fun either. I was tired though, we stayed at the ‘no-overnight parking’ rest stop and as soon as we woke up, we were on our way back to the tracks!!
After one hundred and twenty miles, plus another twenty because I took a wrong turn somewhere, we were back!! It was even more beautiful then the night before and I knew it was going to be well worth the drive.
The landscape was amazing and looking out at the lake from above was breathtakingly beautiful. I have to say this is the most beautiful spot I’ve been in New Mexico and it’s definitely in my favorites list for the country.
When you come to the park, before you go through the gates, there is a small parking area to the left to take in the view of the lake and I highly recommend you do this. After that you’ll travel down a windy road which will bring you to the camp sites and tracks parking lot. From what I could tell, there were plenty of places to see and enjoy but we spent the whole day at the tracks because I couldn’t tear myself away, so we didn’t “experience” the rest of the park.
There’s a small fee for the park, a day pass is $5 per vehicle (totally worth it!!) and an annual pass is $40. They have a ton of campsites with prices ranging from $8-14 depending on the style (primitive, developed and developed with electric). For the camping/hiking/fishing/nature loving enthusiasts they offer an annual camping permit, $180 for New Mexico residents and $225 for out-of-state residents.
Full Disclosure: Looks like there may be additional add ons, depending on your situation, so I recommend you check out the pricing before you go.
If you ask me these prices are more then fair considering what the park has to offer. And, if you’re anything like me this place will get your imagination going!! The entire time I was there all I could do was imagine a different space and time with dinosaurs roaming around, drinking the water and eating the leaves. Can you imagine it? Oh wait, you probably can’t because I haven’t shown you any pics yet, see below.
Now that I’ve gotten all my jokes out of the way, I bet you’re finally ready to hear about what the park has to offer and see some pics right? Here goes …
What can you do?
Now that I’ve shared a few tidbits on the park let me drop a little knowledge, I learned from the sites:
If you did, you might be a genius!!
Over a million years ago the ocean ran through the US and it was called the Western Interior Seaway!! I’m not sure why, but I had to look that up to determine it meant the ocean.
Anyway, the seaway (ocean) extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic and when the dinosaurs walked along the shoreline they would step in the soft sand and that’s how their tracks were left. I think it’s amazing how they were preserved and discovered 💕
Fun Dinosaur Facts:
I’m going to wrap this up shortly but before I do I want to touch on one last thing specific to the park and my heart.
The grasslands around Clayton Lake used to be home to huge bison (buffalo) herds that roamed the Great Plains. I’m not sure why they left or if any efforts are being made to bring them back but I seriously hope so!
I mean this place is huge!! It’s my understanding there is significant difficulty getting the herds back to their pre-slaughter numbers due to available land to roam. Each bison needs about 3 acres to survive properly. Seems to me there is space here to make conservation an option so again I hope they are looking into it.
Note: There are cattle in the pastures that surround the park so you can’t have dinosaurs and you can’t have bison, but you can watch some pretty cattle.
Hopefully I’ve kept your attention until now and if not you aren’t reading this anyway!!
Told you I’m hilarious!!
Anyway, to wrap up my really long post, we spent almost two days here; the first day we missed the tracks because of sunlight issues and the next day we drove back because there was no way I was missing out on the experience. I’m so glad we went back, and I highly recommend you check this place out!! Especially if you’re into nature, history, dinosaurs, camping or fishing.
P.S. I’m totally a person that likes to know how I’m doing so if you like this post, please like it. If you have some constructive criticism to give, please give it. I’m open to any feedback that will help me improve my stories 😉
P.P.S. I really enjoy sharing my stories, pictures and travels with you so I hope you enjoy them as well.
Until next time, PEACE!!
“And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings”
~ Author Unknown
I don’t know about you but my 2019 was filled with too many struggles and I’m seriously hoping 2020 has a lot less.
Anyway, Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had an amazing New Year’s Eve and brought 2020 in with a bang!
I know it’s been a while since I last posted, partially thanks to those struggles I mentioned earlier, but A LOT’s happened so let me get you up to speed.
I sold my house, yippee!! All my clients are squared away in one way or another, double yippee!! And … wait for it … we’re back on the road, triple YIPPEE!!!
We’ve been on the road for 46 days and strangely enough we got on the road on the exact same date in 2019 as we did in 2018 and I had absolutely no control over it. If I believed in coincidences, I would say that’s one hell of a coincidence!
Since we left Minnesota we’ve been all over! We spent time in Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nevada and now we’re in sunny California!
We’ve traveled the Great River Road, Trail of Tears, Route 66 and seen so many other historical landmarks I’ve lost count. We walked with the dinosaurs, mined for diamonds, spent time up close and personal with bison, vultures and elephant sea lions. Let me tell you, the adventures have been plenty!
Have I told you I LOVE bison?
Unfortunately, I fell back into the social media ‘ease’ and I’ve been posting to social media instead of this site. In my defense, not excusing my behavior but explaining it, I have such a difficult time with this website and getting good service that I get so frustrated and go back to social media because I totally have that down and a hotspot isn’t necessary. So ya, my New Year resolution (corny but oh well) is to push through my frustrations and find a way to make posting on a regular basis happen.
And I LOVE butterflies … better yet let’s just say I LOVE LOVE LOVE nature 💕
I’m in the process of creating some posts on some of the cool places we’ve been so I hope you’ll stay tuned for them. Until then you can watch the somewhat long video I created of some of the places we’ve been since we got back on the road.
Note: If you wanna follow along you can sign up on the top right to be notified when I make future posts 😉
“You don’t have to be rich to travel well”
~ Eugene Fodor
This is my absolute favorite park in Minnesota and it has it all!!
I found this place while searching for waterfalls and although the waterfalls are amazing the bison are what made me fall in love!
The park is separated into two locations and each location is a must see if you ask me. Off Highway 69 is where the picnic spaces, bathrooms and waterfalls are located. Off Highway 68 is where you can hang with the bison, camp, see wildflowers and view/read about the Seppmann Mill. Both locations have trails for you to walk or hike. Access to the park requires a small fee, $7 daily or $35 annually, but it is well worth every penny!
There are two waterfalls to enjoy, the upper and lower falls. The upper falls are a short distance from the parking lot and the lower falls you can see from above or you can take a short hike to get up close and personal. Below are a few more shots of the falls, hike and a video of Elwood enjoying the water (you have to click the link to watch the video).
Most commonly called buffalo, the technical term for these magnificent animals is bison bison bison, or bison for short. Both names are considered accurate but if you want to get technical (I’m a technical person) you will find bison in North America and buffalo in Africa and Asia. Bison are the largest mammals in North America and they are magnificent to see in their natural habitat.
Below is a link to a video I took of the 20+ bison that paid us a visit. Elwood was extremely excited to see them and he couldn’t contain his excitement so you’ll hear him calling to them almost the entire video.
The bison have 331 acres to roam so they may be difficult to see at times but we were extremely blessed and they were right outside our window. It’s important to note that bison are extremely fast so please watch them from the safety of your vehicle.
The picture on the left is the Wildlife Petting Chart from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and it should explain everything perfectly 😉
Note: Dogs aren’t really allowed at Theodore Roosevelt National Park so that is likely the only pic I will ever post from that location but it seemed like a really cool place so you may want to check it out.
Minneopa State Park is special; not only is it the third oldest state park in Minnesota but it is also one of three locations dedicated to the conservation of high quality genetics of the American plains bison through a formal agreement between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Zoo.
I could go on and on about bison and Minneopa State Park but I’m going to stop for now. If you haven’t been here I highly recommend it and if you want to learn more about Minneopa State Park and/or the bison check out the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00235#homepage
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