RV-Able: Quartzsite

March 5, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

“I want to spend a night in the middle of the desert under a blanket of stars.” My husband’s request unnerves me. I am ok with living in the RV, hooked up to all amenities, but the idea of spending a night off the grid, in the middle of who knows where does not appeal […]

Thriving Under Pressure: TEDx Talk

March 4, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

One of my favourite bloggers is Dr. Andrea Dinardo whose posts offer straightforward, and sometimes tough advice for how deal with stress and develop resilience. Especially poignant for students, her message is now available through TEDx video. Dr. Dinardo’s blog, Thriving Under Pressure is available here.

RV-Able: Packing Up

March 2, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Today’s a day of putting away and making sure that all lose things are secured – we head out tomorrow, all 61′ of us. As usual, I am having mixed feelings. For most of my life I dreamed of getting out of the mid-sized Ontario town where I grew up. I wanted to see the […]

Writing Lessons #2: Sparrows

March 1, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

(The prompt for this week is surroundings and we were encouraged to focus on one aspect of nature as it relates to the story. I chose sparrows.) Out the back gate, across the farmer’s field and into the woods I go in search of the child, knowing that she comes here frequently, alone, despite the […]

RV-Able: Boyce Thompson Arboretum

February 27, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

I envy the people who dedicate their lives to nature and spend their days immersed in the beauty of places such as Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Located on Hwy 60, next to the old mining town of Superior, AZ, this is a lovely way to spend the day. Naturally, we came to see the birds. Ric, […]

RV-Able: Magic of Sedona

February 23, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

For some reason, I associate Sedona with healing, although I cannot bring to mind any particular legend. Driving through the town, there are numerous crystal, psychic, and other New Age shops, which suggests my suspicions are true. “There are four vortexes…” our Pink Jeep tour guide starts to tell me. “…vortices,” Ric corrects. “The plural […]

RV-Able: The Pink Jeep

February 22, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

“The one thing you have to do, if you go to Sedona, is take a Pink Jeep tour,” a friend told us, so I looked it up. “I don’t know,” I told Ric. “This looks pretty intimidating.” “Well, it’s up to you.” The Broken Arrow tour, Pink Adventure’s most popular excursion looked out of the […]

RV-Able: First Glance, Sedona

February 21, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Driving into Sedona, it is impossible not to get excited – the red of the mountains and the earth are startling. We stop at the first available parking area, cameras snapping. “We’re going up there, tomorrow!” Ric indicates one of the mountains. From a distance the mountains appear so formidable, impenetrable; I have a hard […]

What Was Lurking In the Bathroom

February 18, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Well, okay, maybe lurking is too sinister a word, but truly the situation was both exciting and disconcerting. I’d heard rumours as we passed others on the trail; it was all the talk of Water Ranch the day we there. Something was in the women’s washroom. Now the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, […]

RV-Able: Water Ranch

February 17, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

I promised myself that this time I wouldn’t just take pictures of birds. The Water Ranch at Gilbert is so beautifully laid out with seven ponds surrounded by walkways and lush foliage, that I thought the groundskeepers should be honoured too, but when we arrived, having parked in the library lot at the side of […]