Hunting Elk by Camera Behind Pikes Peak, Colorado

Elk and Deer are very elusive animals (especially during hunting season). Other times of the year, they will walk right up to you and smile for the camera!

I'm not a hunting enthusiast and NO, I'm not against hunting either. I understand the balance of Nature and the need for hunting. But, my preference has always been the "hunt" behind the camera.

Currently, I'm sitting here looking out the window at the snowfall accumulating from a major storm system moving through. Although I no longer live in the Mountains of Colorado, I still live in Colorado and we still have our share of snow on the flatlands. Isn't it amazing how something will suddenly spark a memory?

It was December 25, 1985. I had been living in Colorado since 1977 and every year, I would go home for Christmas. This would be the first year that I would not be going home! December 1, 1985, I moved into an old ranch house that I was leasing. The house was heated by a wood burning stove. Since I had to fire up the stove several time a day, I would not be able to go home for a week as I always did.

When I moved into that ranch house, I was starting a new adventure. I did not know where it would take me but I was excited at the prospects the future held for me. Being out of work and having no prospects for a job or even a career, is something to fear or to embrace. I chose to embrace it to see where I went from there.

One of my income prospects was to sell some of my photography in local gift shops on consignment. I had a very good meeting with one shop owner that wanted to see my photography (especially wildlife photography)! I went home with mixed emotions since I concentrated mainly on scenic photography. I decided I would not let this opportunity slip by.

Christmas eve, while stoking the fire in the wood stove, I decided to give myself Christmas gift. The next day, being Christmas, I decided to spend it in the wilderness with my camera and wildlife friends. With about 2 foot of snow on the ground, I decided the best place for me to find Elk at that time of the year would be west of Pikes Peak. I found a nice little place to start climbing and off I went. I soon located a herd on the slope I was climbing. I ducked into the woods and continued to climb until I had reached the area they were in. As I came back out of the woods. with camera ready, I walked ever so cautiously. I was right in the area that I had seen them from below. They weren't there! Their trail headed up the slope some more. So, back into the woods and start climbing again!

I came out just short of where I expected them to be. It didn't matter though. They knew my every move and they were the same distance up the slope again! Although they were too far to capture the photos I was after, I checked them out through my lens. They were looking right at me and unless I was mistaken, I would swear they were laughing.

I tried 2 more times to get within range but the result was the same: I would pop out of the woods, they would have moved up slope the same distance, and they would be standing there looking at me (and I swear laughing!)

Traveling in the Down Economy

For those of us that have put our travel plans on hold for whatever reason(s), there is always hope.

I talked with a gentleman the other day that is about to engage in a travel business. As far as travel is concerned, he really does not have much interest. He admits that it is a very lucrative business because many people unlike himself are very interested in Travel. His interests lies in the fact that not only is it lucrative for him to attain a fantastic income but he can also help people to afford a way to travel.

I was reading just a while ago about some people that do a lot of traveling and how the economy has effected their travel plans. Now you must understand these are seasoned travelers!

One of these people talked about how he changed his expectation of money and he is now happier than he has ever been before. He quit his job, sold everything and went on the road. Another person told about their travel plans being funded off their bank interest. The interest dropped and they changed their means of expenditures. They camped more, took the bus and traveled more in off seasons so they could get better prices. They also talked about eating less in restaurants and eating where the locals ate as opposed to where the tourist ate.

This reminded me of when I was a child. We were living in Germany at the time and we had family members from New York come over to tour Europe. The tour was nicknamed "the rat run". It had that name because it went everywhere and you would pull up to a site in a bus, stop and get out, take pictures, get back in the bus and off you went!

We rescued our relatives from "the rat run", pulled them off the bus and toured with them. When we were through, we put them back on the bus at one of their stops and bid them farewell. When we came back home to New York, they commented that they had fond memories of the time they spent with us and that was the only part of the trip they remembered. Further more, the other sight seers with them told them later that they hardly remembered any of the trip. To them, it was a big blur.

The people that I was reading about were spending 6 months, a year or more on the road. Maybe that's not for you. But wouldn't you like to know how to make it more affordable?

Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle

If you have visited Disney Land or Disney World, I'm sure you will remember your visual experience of the "Disney Castles". When you watch a movie that is produced by Disney, you see the animated fireworks around the castle.

The Castles at the Disney resorts were inspired from Neuschwanstein Castle in Southern Germany. For most people, visiting one of the Disney Resorts is one of the "big" family vacations they will plan for. Seeing the outside of the castle at one of the Disney Resorts is mildly comparable (visually speaking) to visiting the real Neuschwanstein Castle.

Although I will not be able to post in this blog everday, I hope you will learn to appreciate the value of this blog to encourage you to look at Vacation Travel with a new perspective. I hope you will see this as encouragement to dream then to turn those dreams into reality.

Getting back to Neuschwanstein Castle, I hope to inspire you to go and visit this castle (in Germany) just as Disney Land was inspired to bring it to us. The view of the castle from the outside is tremendous and inspiring although there are vast differences in appreciation for the "real" thing.

I have been fortunate enough to have visited Neuschwanstein Castle on several occasions. I wish the same for you as well even if it is to visit this magnificent castle just once! The last time I visited there was with my wife a year after we were married. This was in the summer of 1990. I want to share one memory with you that has little significance but something that really stuck in my mind. Here it is: the main bedroom had some very spectacular carved wood everywhere in this room. Four carpenters worked on all of the wood carvings which took them a total of 14 years to complete!


I couldn't pronounce Neuschwanstein Castle so I always referred to it as : King Ludwig II's Castle. Although I really have fond memories of visiting this castle, my favorite castle has always been Heidelberg Castle (also in Southern Germany)

Happy Vacations

When I was Swimming with the Fish

Several years ago, we took a short vacation and drove down to Arizona. It wasn't going to be anything special just an opportunity to get away for a week and relax in the sun.

There were a number of special memories about that vacation and as I dwell on it, I'm sure I could tell you more. On the way down from Colorado, we decided to drive at night and camp somewhere half way. That was going to be somewhere in Northern New Mexico. As we were leaving Colorado and heading south into New Mexico, we approached some very severe weather. This was the beginning of June and the thunderstorms were rolling. It was tough driving as we passed Santa Fe and through Albuquerque. Driving out of Albuquerque in a torrent of rain, we made the decision we were going to drive straight thru until we reached the Grand Canyon. Being tired, we decided it would be best if we stopped at the next rest stop. Fortunately, there was a truck stop so we could grab a cup of coffee.

As we were pulling of I-40 through all of the lightning and thunder, our son woke up. He looked around and said, "What was that noise?" We wer astounded that he slept through all the thunder as it was. We asked him, "What noise?" He responded, "THE NOISE I HEARD WHEN I WAS SWIMMING WITH THE FISH!"

Needless to say, we really needed to stop driving then because we were hysterical in laughter for the next ten minutes!

Life According to the Cruise

How many of us have travel dreams that are about to perish?

I met a lady and her daughter at a University football game once that gave creedence to enjoying Cruise Vacations. She stated that she loved going on Cruises and so far, she and her daughter had taken 32 cruises!

I promised my wife (years ago) that we would take that cruise to Alaska. I also promised myself before my wife and I met that I would take a Carribean Cruise.

How many dreams do we have put on hold? The kids are too young, the kids are too old, the kids have sports, wait until the last one is in college, the list goes on and on and on.

We have all kinds of excuses but what is the number 1 reason behind it all?
WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY AND THE TIME TO TAKE THAT VACATION!

Someone once told me. "If you stay focussed on the goal, the facts don't matter." I didn't understand this at first but the short version is this.
If you stay focussed on the desired outcome, all of the pieces will fall into place.

I titled this "Life according to the cruise" because of the ladies with 32 cruises under their belts. One of my sisters worked all her life for the airline industry and I never thought to ask her how many cruises she has been on. Other than people in the Travel Industry, most people do not take the opportunity to take so many cruises. These 2 ladies indeed stayed focussed on their dream.

Yes, these ladies stayed focussed on their dream, the question is can you? I have to admit, I have NOT but they certainly have inspired me to get back to that focus.

Come back and visit this Blog often and maybe, I will have something that catches your interest and reminds you to fulfill that dream that you almost let slip away!