After moving here, I saved the best Arizona to-do list for last—exploring the Sedona trails. I thought that the best place to start would be Devil’s Bridge (first two pictures), in case I didn’t survive it. I was brave enough to walk to its “keystone,” but not brave enough to be in a hairy situation with a lot of people around, which I consider a recipe for my being collateral damage of someone doing something stupid. So, I didn’t walk out. I can say that Serial Good Samaritan was in the right place at the right time, again. A woman took a nose dive on the trail right before I came upon her. I sat with her and treated her injuries.
I skated along the south rim of the Grand Canyon for my first time. It’s exhilarating to combine passions into one moment. In this case: traveling, photography, roller skating. I wore a life jacket just in case I skated off the edge and rolled all of the way to the Colorado River.

You’re lucky I love you. What lengths I go to in order to offer beautiful images.
Today I woke up at 3 a.m., drove 75 miles, then sat in traffic for two hours, exposed my fragile frame to 45 degrees F., and then weaved in between tens of thousands of people to attend the Albuquerque balloon festival.
It was a beautiful day with just the right breeze to paint the sky. All the usual characters were there, including the makers of every fried food you can imagine—all the makings for a carnival.
By the way, the solar eclipse was awesome. Now, I have to use a Braille keyboard.

It was so fun to finally be enveloped in the beauty that I had only seen in photographs. Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon on Navajo land in Page, Arizona. Only accessible by tour, my group of 11 people was guided by local Dylan A. Throughout the day there were hundreds of people going in and out of the canyon for their 1-hour tour, which was run by Ken’s Tours. I was impressed by how well-run and strict the operation was to preserve the Navajo treasure. Didn’t steal that  one, White Man. Suckas!

I have a printout of the seven modern wonders of the world, seven ancient wonders, and seven natural wonders. There’s also a list of five miscellaneous natural wonders of the world. I’m working on seeing all of them. As for the miscellany: 1) giant sequoia trees of California, 2) Rainbow Natural Bridge of Utah, 3) Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park, 4) Crater Lake and Wizard Island in Oregon, and 5) Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico. Having just visited Rainbow Bridge National Monument, I finished seeing the 5 miscellaneous natural wonders. I took a three-hour boat ride (tour) on Lake Powell in Page, Arizona, and then we passengers hiked a mile to the bridge. It was so beautiful. I felt so fortunate to be there. Of course I had to perform my signature pose.

Seven, no six more US national parks to see—out of 63. National Park Service, don’t add any more parks to the list before next year or else I’ll never finish seeing them all. I have five more national parks to see in Alaska (eight total there), and American Samoa is a national park. California has the most national parks—nine.
Yesterday I visited Voyageurs National Park, which is on the Minnesota-Canada border. It is about a third water with few hiking trails. I hiked, while nearly everyone else—locals and tourists—were on boats. It seems like everyone in Minnesota owns a boat, whereas in Alaska it seems like everyone owns a plane.

Another US national park visited; seven more to go. Another new adventure; countless to come. I visited Isle Royale National Park in Michigan’s Lake Superior. I went on my first sea plane ride to get to the park from Hancock in Michigan’s upper peninsula. I was so excited to experience the ride that I didn’t care about the destination. Isn’t that what life should be?! The ride, take-off, and landing were smooth—all feeling like floating. Pilot Billy of Isle Royale Sea Planes was skilled, professional, and personable. I highly recommend this adventure and company. What a fun way to get around! I am utterly smitten with sea planes, now. Isle Royale was one big, dense forest. I hiked and sat at the water’s edge. My favorite part of the island was the tap water, which was the best I’ve ever had—right up there with natural springs in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Moab, Utah. When I was putting on my life jacket to board the plane back to the mainland, a lady adjusted my life jacket. It turned out that she worked with special needs adults. That fits.