- 3 days ago
"Photography insists that you see our world in a different way. The most simple thing can transform into a meaningful image." Vickie Ransbottom
My first camera was a Polaroid Swinger. It produced instant wallet sized photos. I can still smell the chemicals that you had to sponge onto the print. My two best friends (twins) and I, all three, got ones for Christmas. I have gone through many cameras since the 1970’s. I was first interested in photography when I realized that there were hardly any photographs of my family.
Once I graduated from school and started working, I bought my first Single Lens Reflex Camera (SLR). The ones with inter-changeable lenses that gave you the ability to control scenes. I took a local class and learned a few things. Then, HE came along and I married and had two children and my time and interests went in a different direction.
Fast forward to becoming an empty nester and I needed something to fill my time. I joined the world of digital photography and started taking a few classes, joined photography clubs, went on local and travel workshops and found a new engaging and creative hobby. Some of my favorite workshops are photographing horses on the beach in St. Augustine (above) and wild horses in Utah (below and on cover). Both satisfy my love of horses and fill the void of never having one of my own! In my next life I am planning on being a barrel rider!
A workshop in Wyoming gave me the opportunity to photograph the famous Grand Teton’s Grizzly Bear 399 and her four cubs. What a treat! Another Teton workshop found me snowed in at a Ranch during a historic storm with historic FAR below zero temperatures and some white knuckle driving. Yellowstone in the snow is beyond stunning!
Eight of us flew into Las Vegas for a Route 66 photography trip through Arizona. We were strangers to begin with and great friends still today. Being with like-minded people is very gratifying.
Another fun way to discover things to photograph is to do a Photo Walk. Walk your neighborhood, a park, a small town. You will be surprised what you find when you take the time to simply walk and look. Photography is something you can do alone, with friends or total strangers!
I’ve been fortunate to see all 50 of our beautiful states. There is something to love, appreciate and photograph in each one. Seeing all 50 was never a goal until I realized I was almost there and then I got serious about it! I’m pretty certain that pieces of my heart are scattered through our western states, particularly those with stunning red rocks.
I’m not even close to being a great Photographer, but I sure have a heck of a lot of fun. That works for me. I also craft…greeting cards, elaborate gift wrapping, etc. (I’ll save those for another day!)
My motto is: I like to know a little about a lot of things and not a lot about any one thing!
If you would like to view my photography, you can do so on the Flickr website using this link:
This past month, I traveled to Arizona with my favorite husband, Rice. We visited Sedona, Secret Antelope Canyon, and the Grand Canyon—all for the first time. Was the Grand Canyon everything we’d hoped? Yes, absolutely. Do I think it’s the greatest wonder of the world? How would I know? There are so many others I’ve yet to see.
Ever since Rice and I decided to dive into our own 50-State Project (around 2020 or so), we’ve begun the practice of deconstructing our trips together. Sometimes we do this while we’re still on the road. Other times, we wait until once we’re home. Either way, I pull out a handy-dandy steno pad and write frenetic notes as we rehash our memories of the trip. Not the stunning memories that a camera can capture. (Trust me, we treasure those as well.) What I’m talking about here is everyday moments, the minutia we experience together in a flash, and then we move on.
A recurring theme we see in our musings is this: We don’t always feel drawn to the same attractions. (Imagine that.) Take this recent trip, for instance. If we had it to do again, Rice would like to spend more time at the Grand Canyon itself. He isn’t so sure he’d make the drive to get from Sedona to Page to see the Secret Antelope Canyon. The car ride was long, I agree. But if we hadn’t driven to Page to tour the Secret Canyon, I wouldn’t have known the magic of hiking through a slot canyon as the sun’s angles change its wall’s colors with every step. I’d have missed out on seeing Horseshoe Bend, which was a true wonder in my book.
Over the years, we sure have enjoyed some beautiful journeys. The Highway 1 Scenic Route in California … Niagara Falls … Mount Rushmore … Alaska’s Hubbard Glacier … North Carolina’s Chimney Rock …
I could go on. We’ve truly been blessed to see so much of our country—and beyond. Sometimes when I’m weary of travel, I remind myself that we’re healthy and mobile. We still have many more marvels—and much minutia—to see and experience before our tickers give out. (I know, knock on wood.)
Maybe the greatest wonder is this: If we’re lucky enough to grow old, we humans become like a canyon, a witness to time’s steady flow. We all weather differently, depending on how our lives evolve. We become a testament of forces we may not know, not by dwelling on the indignities of aging but rather by clinging to our inner child’s sense of curiosity and awe.
That’s how I hope it’ll work out for me…if I ever manage to grow up.
If you’d like to laugh over more adventures of Honey and Rice, look for One Wrong Turn at a Time: How We Navigated Fifty States, Forty-Five Years & One Marriage, coming your way on May 16th in eBook and paperback format.
In this sometimes laugh-out-loud memoir, a couple fumbles their way through wrong turns and unexpected detours, turning life’s potholes into a quirky, heartwarming roadmap of love, resilience, and connection.
Learn more about it by visiting https://www.janheidrichrice.com/books.
Spring gets me itching to get outside more . . . to plant flowers . . . to have a picnic with my grands. It also reminds me that it’s a great time for a road trip.
I credit (or blame) that on fond recollections of yearly beach trips we took when the kids were younger. Or even further back, to when I was a kid and my single mom took her five girls on cross-country adventures.
Sure, planes are faster, and cruises are cool. Still, a good ol’ road trip calls my name every now and again. Here are nine reasons I heed that call:
A delicious sense of freedom. Road trips come without the burden of flight schedules, luggage restrictions, or TSA lines. They offer a break from routine and time for unscheduled pit stops. Want to take the next exit to see the world’s largest penny in Wisconsin? On a road trip, you have that option.
The joy of anticipation. Road trips remind me of Christmas Eve as a kid. Not Christmas Day itself, but the childlike anticipation leading up to it. I’m never sure what to expect, but I’m quite sure that magical moments await.
The delight of local delicacies. I confess, certain things will never touch my lips, like pickled pigs feet, sold at country stores in more places than I’d have expected. I have sampled maple-flavored martinis in Vermont, muffulettas in New Orleans, and pasties in Michigan’s upper peninsula. (I’m talking Cornish meat pies here, not those fancy adhesive covers for nipples.)
Amazing views. Scenic overlooks do serve a purpose. I’d rather my driver gawk at the road rather than stare down the side of a canyon as he’s driving at the speed of light. That said, views from the passenger seat of a car in motion are kind of cool. Shorelines aglitter as dusk grows near. Colorful mazes of farmland pre-harvest. These views amaze me as much as a scenic overlook. Every time.
Open windows and loud music. The music we liked in high school supposedly brings on a sense of well-being and happiness. I believe it. Luckily, Rice is not that much older than I am. When we want to switch things up, we rotate who gets to pick the Sirius XM station during the next stretch of highway. (Psst. Don’t try this with teenagers. They may be the very reason that God created earbuds.)
Down time to think or nap, or perhaps to talk and bond. Road trips provide an opportunity to get unplugged. I always travel with my trusty steno pad, just in case the muse strikes. It’s also handy for notes on random topics Rice and I discuss, like things to buy for the garden, or how many of the United States we’ve seen as a couple.
Fun places to stay overnight. When we were younger, bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) were our go-to for when it came to lodging choices. We’ve stayed at Victorian houses—one in Annapolis on the historical register—a farmhouse in Santa Rosa wine country, and an old elementary school in Portland, Oregon, converted into an inn with a restaurant, a bar, and a movie theater, too. These days, a firm king-sized mattress tops the list of musts when we choose our lodging.
Random roadside attractions. Sites like TravelAdvisor are full of suggestions, and Pinterest comes in handy here, too. Pinterest convinced Rice and me to forego the quickest route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and follow the Turquoise Trail. We had some idea of what we’d discover along the way, and we weren’t disappointed. It led us through old mining towns now hopping with gift shops, saloons, arts-and-crafts spots, as well as fun places to eat. The view wasn’t too shabby either.
Wrong turns that bring delightful surprises. Okay, you may think wrong turns sound a lot like seeking out random roadside attractions. But they’re different. A roadside attraction is the destination itself. A wrong turn is the surprise of what happens along the journey, depending on which fork in the road we choose. For example, in Italy years ago, our airbnb host pulled out a map and circled half a dozen small villages nearby. We chose a road that led to Montalcino and arrived to a huge festival underway. Hundreds of villagers dressed in medieval garb waved colorful flags as they paraded through town. We watched as they re-enacted a centuries-old post-hunting celebration, complete with boisterous competitions. Oh, and we joined them in sampling some of the best wines of our trip. Maybe that's why sometimes—and definitely in this case—I think wrong turns are precisely the point. They get us to where we’re meant to be, even when we don’t know it.
What about you? What are your thoughts and feelings and memories when it comes to road trips? I’d love to hear your stories. (And you know you have some!)
P.S. If, like me, you enjoy reflecting on where the wrong turns in life can lead, check out my upcoming nonfiction humor book—One Wrong Turn at a Time: How We Navigated Fifty States, Forty-Five Years & One Marriage.
The e-book’s available for pre-order on Amazon now. The paperback version will be available on May 16th wherever you like to order your books.
