No One Writes Letters Anymore

I took this photograph on our Gypsy Tour of the West. These feather pens and ink wells were in the general store at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Our docent told us all about how they did things in the 1800's.

Seeing these feather pens and ink wells lined up on the shelf made me think of old fashioned letter writing. With computers, email, and Facebook, not many people send handwritten letters anymore. I try to send out cards for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions, but I couldn't tell you when the last time I sat down and hand wrote a simple letter.

I love receiving letters and notes. Who wouldn't. There is never anything really fun that comes in the mail. My favorite professional photographer magazine, but that's about it.

I use many of my art images on note cards. I have a special idea for this image. I'm going to start writing more letters!

Gypsy Tour of the West

It has been a busy few months. I'm so sorry for not being good about posting to my blog.

The day school got out my husband, two daughters and I headed out on a road trip. We call it our "Gypsy Tour of the West." Seven states in two weeks! Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

WOW! What a trip. We had so much fun. We saw some of our beautiful country, the Salt Flats, Fort Bridger, Grand Canyon, Petroglyph National Monument, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West and much more.

I chose one image from each state to share with you. Except California. I had to add a few more. You'll see why.

Nevada

Nevada was just beautiful. I couldn't believe there was still snow on the mountains. IN JUNE. It did make for a beautiful drive. Note: I took this while my husband was driving at 75 - 80 mph.

Utah

Another beautiful state. Actually, we didn't see an ugly state. We loved them all. Again, I took this while my husband was driving at 75 - 80 mph. Oh, and I did drive some of the time. I actually drove from Reno, NV to Salt Lake City, UT.

 Wyoming

 This was taken at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. I have never seen dandelions look so beautiful.

Colorado

My husband was the photographer for this image. This is at the Garden of the Gods. So beautiful!

New Mexico

I just had to take pictures of these beautiful cactus flowers. These happen to be at Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque.

Arizona

None other than the Grand Canyon. So absolutely beautiful!

California

Can you guess our last stop on our road trip?

Do you know where we went yet? One last image...

Disneyland! Did you guess correct?

We surprised our girls. It was their very first trip. It just about killed me to keep the secret, but I wanted them to enjoy the entire trip. We saw so much. It was worth it. My older daughter had tears of joy in her eyes when we asked them, "Do you want to go across the street and go to Disneyland?" We must be the only family who has walked into Disneyland crying.

Our road trip comes to an end. We didn't really want it to. Again, I took this while my husband was driving at 70 mph.

A trip of a lifetime. Spending time with family and friends. Showing our young daughters our beautiful country and teaching them about our history. We loved it all!

Look for more images from the "Gypsy Tour of the West" in future posts.