Friday, August 31, 2012

Road Trip Recollections

Hi everyone.  I hope you have something fun planned for this Labor Day Weekend.  We are planning to drive to Las Vegas on Saturday to see our friend who is in the hospital there.  We will do lunch at our favorite restaurant, Ventana's in Henderson.  On the way home we plan to stop in Laughlin for some shopping.  Make it a fun & safe weekend.
While we were in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho we took a drive over to the old town of Wallace, Idaho.  It was a mining town that is listed on the National Historic Register.  There are lots of cool old buildings, a bordelo museum, a train museum and lots of cool shops and restaurants.  We took a 40 minute trolley tour of the town and the surrounding area.  We got to see some mines that are still in use as well as some of the abandoned mines.  It is a great place to visit if you are into Photography.  Here is a link to some of the photos I posted on Facebook:
The next day we left for our next destination of Omak, Washington.  We drove through Spokane, Washington which looks like every other large city in America.  We drove through a lot of wheat fields.   We stopped at Coullee Dam and took some pictures.  We then drove North throught the Collville Indian Reservation.  Here is a link to some of the shots I took that day:
This is a list of unusual hotels compiled by Trip Advisor. 
Here is an article explaining Depth Of Field in Photography.  This really means how much of the shot you want in focus or blurred out.  I love to make the background blur out when I am shooting flowers and portraits.  There is no right or wrong with this.  It just depends on how you want your shot to look.
Here is today's Thought For The Day:
"Rejection doesn't mean you aren't good enough; it means the other person failed to notice what you have to offer." by Mark Amend on the Live Life Happy Website.
Thank you for reading my Blog!
Becky McGuire, CTC, MCC
Vacation Travel Specialist
612-490-0359
http://www.facebook.com/tvlgoddess
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Monday, August 27, 2012

Coeur d' Alene Idaho

We drove one hour South from Lake Pend Oreille to Coeur d' Alene Idaho.  We stayed a few days there and took in the sights. 
Coeur d' Alene is much more touristy and busy than Lake Pend Oreille and Sandpoint but still lots of fun.  We took a 90 minute boat cruse of Lake Coeur d' Alene instead of driving around the lake which was very relaxing.  The guide gave us a lot of history about the area and explained all the sights we were seeing.  There is a unique golf course on the lake that has a floating green that they move every day.  They have restored Chris Craft wooden boats that shuttle you over to the golf course from the Coeur d' Alene Resort and Marina.  There is a nice park and beach area in Coeur d' Alene next to the resort.  Here is a link to some of the pictures I took that day.
We stopped at a local park to see Post Falls.  The waterfalls are wide but not real high and there is dam which was not too pretty.  The park area is quite nice though.  The park is off I90 at exit 5.  Here is a link to some shots of the park.
We took a day and drove to Wallace Idaho which is an old mining town.  We took a trolly tour of the town and surrounding area.  We had lunch at BBQ restaurant which is in one of the old buildings.  It was a fun place to take pictures.  If you like history and or photography you will like this little town. Here is a link to some of my shots from our day in Wallace.
Here is an article listing why Photography Matters.  I think expressing yourself and leaving a legacy are the two most important things to me.
http://digital-photography-school.com/6-reasons-why-photography-matters
Today's Thought For The Day:
"Life offers it's wisdom generously, everything teaches. Not everyone learns." by Rachel Naomi Remen.  Thank you to Karen B for posting this one on Facebook.
Thank you for reading my Blog!
Becky McGuire, CTC, MCC
Vacation Travel Specialist
612-490-0359
http://www.facebook.com/tvlgoddess
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Hope Idaho & Lake Pend Oreille

Sorry I have not had a chance to write my Blog for such a long time.  We were so busy traveling that there was little time for writing but I did take notes and pictures along the way so I could share it with you all.  Reliable internet service was hard to find as well.
After the Red Ants Pants Music Festival we drove back to Canyon Ferry Lake, MT.  We spent the night at the Court Sheriff Campground which is on Canyon Ferry Lake.  It was so pretty being next to the lake.  The only drawback was we had to dry camp meaning no water or sewer hook up which is no big deal for one night. 
We spent one night back in Helena with our friends.   The next day we headed West to Lake Pend Oreille Idaho to meet some of our friends who are from Edmonton Alberta Cananda.   Lake Oreille is pronounced Penderay.   It is 43 miles long and 1,158 feet deep.  Because of it's depth there is a small US Naval base on the lake that does accoustical testing.  Our friends took us on boat ride around the lake.  It was a fun day.
We stayed at the Island View RV Resort which right on Lake Pend Oreille.  The park is a little cramped and you have to walk across the street to get to the lake.  The owners were very nice and tried very hard to make everyone happy.  Here is a link to some of my photos that I posted on Facebook.
There were a lot of deer in the area.  There were many large signs telling you not to feed the deer which was largely ignored.  The deer were very tame as a result.  You had to be very careful driving.  Someone hit a deer the week we were there.
 
If you love being in or near the water like me than this book will appeal to you.  It lists all kinds of cool places to photograph bodies of water.  I cannot wait to read it!
Today's Thought For The Day is from the Positively Positive website:
"I wonder how many things we miss because we feel we have seen it before or simply because we are looking at the wrong things to wake us up?" Jennifer Pastiloff

Thank you for reading my Blog!
Becky McGuire, CTC, MCC
Vacation Travel Specialist
612-490-0359
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Monday, August 6, 2012

Red Ants Pants Music Festival

We had a great time at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs, Montana.  It ran for three days and had a lot of great bands.  Red Ants Pants is a brand of heavy duty work wear for women.  The owner of the company uses the proceeds of the concert to provide grants to women business owners and women's organizations which is really cool.  There were a lot of people who put up tents to get out of the sun which was supposed to be against the rules but they did not enforce it.  On their defense, it was very hot, they need to have more shaded areas.  The stage was not high enough so only the people in the front could see the bands.  It would have been better if they had some large screens so the people in the back could see. They had quite a few craft & food vendors.  Our favorite was Montana Barbeque which had yummy food.  I enjoyed tasting some of Montana's wines at the event.  Here is a link to some of the shots I took at the festival.
We really enjoyed White Sulphur Springs.  It was a quaint, old west type of town.  There were tons of great things to shoot in town and the surrounding country side.   Here is a link to some of shots of the
White Sulphur Springs area that I posted on Facebook.
We stayed at the Conestoga Campground which is right in White Sulphur Springs.  It had great views of the mountains.  Like everything else in town the theme was western.  There was no pool but they did have a small playground for the kids.  The owners were very nice and there was a large, clean laundry.  It worked fine for us but it might not be the best for families.

Here is a discussion about the qualities of light on Joe Baraban,s Blog.  Understanding the different types of light will help  you improve your photos.  This is one of the most important things to understand to improve your photography.
http://joebaraban.com/blog/feed/
Here is The Thought For The Day:
"It is difficult to bring people to goodness with lessons, but it is easy to do so by example." Senac, The Happiness Project.
Thank you for reading my Blog!
Becky McGuire, CTC, MCC
Vacation Travel Specialist
612-490-0359
http://www.facebook.com/tvlgoddess
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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Edmonton With Friends

We had a great time visiting our friends Mike & Monica in Edmonton Alberta Canada.  We spent 3 days there and they showed us a great time.  We went to the Farmer's Market in Seba  Beach which was really fun.
We stayed at Pine Ridge Golf & RV Resort.  Mike & Monica own a space there where they keep their motorhome.  The part they are in is quite new so the roads are not paved yet.  The golf course is beautiful and the food is very good at their club house.  They are adding one more phase after this one.  The plan is to add a swimming pool.  They have full hook ups for motorhomes with 50 amp electic.
We spent on day on their boat on Wabamun Lake with is about 45 minutes East of Edmonton.  Here is a link to some of the pictures I took that day.
There was one rainy day so we took a drive around Edmonton to see the sights.  We stopped in at their business, Alberta Motorsports which was very cool.  They showed us where they lived and the new house they are building which looks like it will be beautiful.
We went to the West Edmonton Mall which seems larger than the Mall Of America but it was hard to tell because it was so spread out.   It has a huge Pirate ship in one part, there is a water park with a wave pool, a casino, ice skating rink,  movie theatres, a seal show and of course lots of stores.  They have an entertainment section called Bourbon Street which has lots of bars, restaurants and a comedy club.  Here is a link so some of the pictures I took there.
After Edmonton we drove to Shelby Montana and stayed one night on our way to White Sulphur Springs Montana.  We drove through Alberta's Black Hills on our way South.  It looks like a smaller version of the Black Hills in South Dakota.  We say several wind farms and oil wells along the way.  There were m
any beautiful yellow Canola fields.  Here is a link to some of the shots I took along the way.
Here is the Thought For The Day:
"We are so busy watchig out for what's ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are."
Calvin & Hobbs
 Thank you for reading my Blog!
Becky McGuire, CTC, MCC
Vacation Travel Specialist
612-490-0359
http://www.facebook.com/tvlgoddess
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