Lots of Amazing Places

I would never have expected a public health epidemic to have the power to change so much about everyday life, but that is what has happened around the world as well as in the USA.  Even for me, and I am one of the fortunate few who has been able to weather this storm relatively well.  I've been able to stay safe, remain relatively healthy and happy, and keep active.  Very thankful for all of that.  I hope the same for you.   After a springtime of staying inside my house practically 24-7, this summer was a season of staying close to home and gradually getting outside more.  I put my indoor pursuits of painting and language learning mostly on "pause" as I began to go out for more hikes, bike rides, and kayak trips.  Although I've been doing more outdoor activities, I've pretty much restricted them to places in my home state that were likely to be uncrowded and still beautiful.  About half of the time, I'd do things on my own; the other half of ...

As the month of March was ending, the seriousness of the covid pandemic was becoming more clear, and "Stay at Home" orders were being issued.  So home I went, and I spent the next few months learning to live in my house again, getting some spring cleaning and decluttering done, and getting involved in some pretty interesting projects, like building this blog site, participating in a virtual choir, painting pictures of some of my favorite places, and taking a few online courses, including one in conversational Spanish! I built a little online gallery to post and share some of the artsy stuff I've been doing during this time.  I've long said that when I can't travel, I'd like to paint some of the amazing places I've been able to visit.  I'm making no claims to great art here, but I've been having fun mostly using watercolor to "paint" black and white images of some of my favorite places.  After they are done, if I think they are reasonably ...

by John Guetter A few highlights from an amazing year that took me from Canada's Northwest Territories to South Florida, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, with friends old and new, in stunningly beautiful places.  An amazing year!  I was away from home for about nine months, traveling from southern Florida and southern Arizona to very near to the Arctic Circle in Canada's Yukon Territory, as far west as Eastern Alaska, and all the way across Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland.   Virginia Falls, South Nahanni River, Northwest Territories My big trip this year was organized around two weeks of canoe camping along the stunning South Nahanni River in Canada's Northwest Territories.  It was everything I'd hoped for in terms of raw and wild scenic splendor!  However, because of lots of fun filled opportunities along the way, it took me more than two months to get there and more than two months to get back, so all together the two week can...

by John Guetter Well, as we wrap up this year, I hope this note finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying the last few days of 2018.  Despite troubling times nationally and internationally, it has been another amazing, wonderful year for me, with opportunities to see and do fun stuff in fabulous places with fantastic friends!  Of the 5,000+ pictures that I took, I selected about a couple dozen of my very favorites to share with you.    A very quick recap:  The year began with an amazing outpouring of support from friends (meals, companionship, transportation, medical care, you name it; they provided it) at home in Lancaster as I was recovering from surgery on my broken leg.  Even before I was fully recovered, friends from Seattle insisted that I stick with our plan to rent a sailboat and cruise in the British Virgin Islands, despite my still hobbling around in a cast, with crutches.  What a great way to recover!   After I regained my mob...