Where in the World is Deb?

[Nicci]

We're in Johannesburg and leave tonight for Kenya. I'm excited. To prepare, I read One of Them, My Life Among the Maasai People by Eti Dayan. When I'm back home at my computer, I'll post the link in the November Reads area. I can't remember how to do it in the mobile app. It was good. I did write a review and shared my highlights.

[Barbara]

So exciting. Have a great time in Kenya Nicci. 🙂

[madrano]

Wonderful, Nicci! Enjoy and savor for those of us with you in spirit!

[Alias Reader]

Have a wonderful vacation, Nicci !

[madrano]

We are on our way back to the Dallas area, staying the next few months, we hope. This morning Portland bid us farewell with a steady rain. By the time we reached Pendleton, east on I94, snow greeted us. Fortunately it lasted only through the mountain passes but cars were crawling at 45 mph. Now we are in Boise, Idaho, where apparently there will be snow on the ground when we awaken.

And we are off!

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "We are on our way back to the Dallas area, staying the next few months, we hope. This morning Portland bid us farewell with a steady rain. By the time we reached Pendleton, east on I94, snow greete..."

Safe driving wishes headed your way.

[madrano]

Thank you.

[Barbara]

Safe trip madrano. Hopefully you won't encounter much more rain and snow.

[madrano]

Sadly, we ran into much more snow in the numerous passages. Ultimately we turned around to backtrack 15 miles when the ice got too thick. Did I mention we turned an uncool 300 degrees? Yup, we both thought we were going down a ravine but Dan’s steady hands move us away. Luckily, there were no vehicles behind us at that moment.

Tonight we are in Evanston, Wyoming. It’s possible we’ll stay another night, as 4-8 inches of snow is predicted overnight. Oh my.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "Sadly, we ran into much more snow in the numerous passages. Ultimately we turned around to backtrack 15 miles when the ice got too thick. Did I mention we turned an uncool 300 degrees? Yup, we both..."

Yikes ! I'm glad Dan had a steady hand on the wheel and didn't panic.

Maybe it's best to stay another day or so. Then the roads will be properly cleaned and salted.

[madrano]

Staying here an extra night is the plan. By the way, Wyoming does not salt its roads. Apparently it is a free range state and the salt along the road calls to animals, who are hit by cars. I’m surprised to learn this but it is quite responsible, imo. Just not great for drivers!

[Barbara]

Wyoming does seem to be responsible toward animals, though it inconveniences people. (I hate driving in snow and ice; so scary. It's good your hubby has good driving reflexes. 🙂)

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "he salt along the road calls to animals, who are hit by cars.

I didn't know that about salt.

My sister has an app that I guess drivers somehow contribute to. Anyway, besides giving driving instructions it also tells you things like, deer ahead 20 feet. We were all quite surprised and found it to be accurate. We used the app when we drove to Niagara Falls, NY.

[madrano]

Barbara, i’ll admit i said, “Goodbye, Dan” when i thought we were going over the edge. He just kept maneuvering. Hours later he said, “Goodbye, Dan? That’s it?!?” LOL!

Neat app, Alias. Thanks for that info.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "Barbara, i’ll admit i said, “Goodbye, Dan” when i thought we were going over the edge. He just kept maneuvering. Hours later he said, “Goodbye, Dan? That’s it?!?” LOL!


LOL

[madrano]

:-)

[Nicci]

Wow a lot is happening here. Deb, that was a harrowing winter drive. I'm so glad you are safe.

Kenya amazing. We had terrible luck with cancelled flights getting there and missed some of the safari but had a great time while we were there. Saw lots of lions, zebra, buffalo, hippos, and cheetahs as well as lots of other wild animals in their element. We had part of a herd of elephants walk between our jeeps, and the baby paused and looked at us. And there was a tame eland at the camp that climbed up on our tent's verandah and asked my husband to remove the brambles from her mane. He's an eland whisperer, apparently. We also met local people, which was wonderful. I learned a lot and took great pictures. Now I'm working on which ones to blow up and frame.

[Alias Reader]

Sounds like an amazing trip, Nicci !

[madrano]

Nicci, what great memories from your trip! Eland Whisperer, eh? Good talent to have and share. I'm happy for you & yours. Selecting what to frame is such a challenge--enjoy!

And welcome home!

[Bella (Kiki)]

Nicci wrote: "Wow a lot is happening here. Deb, that was a harrowing winter drive. I'm so glad you are safe.

Kenya amazing. We had terrible luck with cancelled flights getting there and missed some of the safa..."

Sounds like a great trip, not just a good one but a great one!

[madrano]

Yes!

[Barbara]

How fun to commune with the animals in Kenya Nicci. It's great that you had a wonderful trip....and wonderful photos as memories. 💚

[madrano]

I left things hanging with regards to my daughter's Peru trip. She left the day planned but went to a different part of the nation, where there has been no protests or deaths. Chachapoyas was her departure site for visiting the pre-Incan native ruins. It is set in what is called a cloud forest, meaning a forest in the hills where clouds are often wafting past.

The tribe is also called Chachapoyas and the sarcophagi at Karajia are what they are best known for. She sent us a number of photos. Inaccessible, the question is how locals managed to carve them in the 15th century. The photo below shows them. She said her guide pointed out the paintings of the genitalia, clearly seen on the three to the right of the shot. This was a burial area.



Her Christmas Eve was neat. First of all, the hostel where she was staying served residents a (free) holiday dinner, followed by a group outing to a nightclub for dancing the Eve away. She says it was quite crowded and appeared to be part of the small city's tradition.

She has sent us Instagrams of children in traditional regalia dancing in the town plaza, clouds flowing (photo from above) through the forest and people she met at the hostel, who also went hiking. Oddly, she met TWO other people who are named "Autumn", as well. One was a man from Israel.

Today she is in Trujillo, the last stop before she will arrive where
she begins her remote commuting. The bus ride there was 13 hours long. Mondays in Trujillo a soup called Shambar is eaten. Everywhere in the city, apparently. It's a wheatberries, pork, garbanzo soup which looks tasty. Interesting tradition. You cannot get Shambar on Tuesdays or any other day of the week, apparently. We've not run into that on our travels.



I just wanted to let you know that Peru is ON! ¡Olé!

[Alias Reader]

Wow ! Thanks so much for sharing. I'm not familiar with the sarcophagi. It sounds like she is having a trip of a lifetime.

[madrano]

I agree. It's been a joy to "hear" from her regularly, too. Once her work resumes, it will be much, much less. :-)

[Barbara]

What a wonderful opportunity for your daughter madrano. Best of luck to her.

Beautiful sarcophagi. And complete with private parts too. 😀

[Julie]

madrano wrote: "I left things hanging with regards to my daughter's Peru trip. She left the day planned but went to a different part of the nation, where there has been no protests or deaths. Chachapoyas was her d..."

What a great trip! My son-in-law and daughter were great travelers but with covid and two kids under five that has slowed down their travels.

[madrano]

Covid had played with travel quite a bit since it reared its ugly head. Places which are traditionally somewhat empty this time of year, are crowded because folks are (understandably) making up for lost time. Choosing offbeat places is still a good choice, imo.

Then there are the kids. I admire parents willing to travel with their young ones but one trip overseas with ours (who were 14 & 9) and our lesson was learned. It's challenging. In the end, we asked family to tend to our children in our home. We were fortunate that two of my siblings were unmarried & child free, so welcomed this opportunity.

[madrano]

We are on the road again after 5 months in Dallas & San Antonio. Today we are still in Texas—Amarillo, a city in the state panhandle. There is a site we’ll visit where long ago tribes came to harvest flint for making arrowheads, which we will visit.

From Texas we head to Utah for site seeing and my nephew’s wedding. Then to Oregon to visit our son. And on. Just glad to be moving again!

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "We are on the road again after 5 months in Dallas & San Antonio. Today we are still in Texas—Amarillo, a city in the state panhandle. There is a site we’ll visit where long ago tribes came to harve..."

Sounds wonderful, Deb ! Enjoy.

[Barbara]

madrano wrote: "We are on the road again after 5 months in Dallas & San Antonio. Today we are still in Texas—Amarillo, a city in the state panhandle. There is a site we’ll visit where long ago tribes came to harve..."

Sounds like a great plan. Have fun madrano. 🙂

[Julie]

madrano wrote: "We are on the road again after 5 months in Dallas & San Antonio. Today we are still in Texas—Amarillo, a city in the state panhandle. There is a site we’ll visit where long ago tribes came to harve..."

Have fun on your trip!

[madrano]

Thank you.

[John]

Very nice - great time of year for it!

[madrano]

True, John. And nice wind, not too gusty, although folks kept telling us it’s coming. By then we’ll be in Gallup.

[madrano]

While we’ve visited every state, we also realize there is much we missed in each one. I suppose this means we must return!

[madrano]

I agree on Florida but we won’t return there any time soon. Somehow we missed the entire west coast of the state.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "While we’ve visited every state, we also realize there is much we missed in each one. I suppose this means we must return!"

Wow ! I didn't realize you've been to every state. Lucky you !

[John]

I hadn't realized that either! (four more for me)

[Alias Reader]

John wrote: "I hadn't realized that either! (four more for me)"

Which 4, John ?

[John]

Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "I hadn't realized that either! (four more for me)"

Which 4, John ?"

Kentucky, Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota

[Alias Reader]

My guess was N. and S. Dakota. I got one right. :)

[madrano]

John wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "I hadn't realized that either! (four more for me)"

Which 4, John ?"

Kentucky, Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota"

Living in North and South Dakota gave us a good boost in our tally. The drive to see kinfolk in Texas helped with all the Plains States.

[madrano]

Just a note to say howdy! We are in Sydney, Nova Scotia, today, home of the world’s largest fiddle. Right on the pier, it is.

Greenland by the end of the week. I see there are many, many posts, i see, when we get home.

Meanwhile, Libby drawback—i cannot copy my notes without connecting to the internet. Waste of free time, so i’ll write them out instead.

Time to run. I think of my book buddies often.

Deborah

[Barbara]

Sound like you're having fun Deb. That giant fiddle must be a sight to see. 🙂

[Alias Reader]

I've never been to Nova Scotia. However, from online pics it looks amazing !

Happy cruising, deb !

[John]

I've never been to Nova Scotia either, although my grandmother's family was from there.

Eagerly expecting Greenland observations ....

[madrano]

Howdy, friends! I’ve been away from the board much longer than i thought i would be. First, there was our North Atlantic cruise, which was wonderful. Once we got ashore, we headed for Texas but our iPad and Surface computers began not working correctly, probably due to adjustments we tried during our cruise to send emails and such, generally failing, i hasten to add. Now we are in Texas, where it’s at least 105 every day, but we are still not settled in one place. However, our computers are performing better. In three days, i will have our desktop set up, at which time i’ll be able to post often, as well as replying to all the posts i missed while we were away.

This post is just to let you know all’s fine. As an aside, i must say memories of the icebergs are keeping me a tad cooler!

Meltingly,
Deborah

[Alias Reader]

I'm glad to hear your cruise was all you hoped for.

Sorry to hear about the TX heat, deb.
Since it's about 90 and crazy humid in NY, the sound of icebergs sounds wonderful to me too !

Welcome home !

[Barbara]

Welcome back madrano. Your cruise sounds amazing. 😀