Trucks and Trains Across the Plains

New Mexico, Trucks, and Trains

Trucks and Trains ©2012 Bo Mackison

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

When I travel and I am the passenger, not the driver, I jot down a log of the trip. Filled with facts and figures, sure, so I can tabulate the trip costs but also filled with mumblings and questions and observations, and, in capital letters for emphasis, I note the places I would like to explore further.

Then, in an amazing feat of organizational skills typically not found at my level of expertise, I actually return to these notes when I plan another trip. Since there are only a few trusted routes from my Midwestern home to my Tucson home – at least when winter weather can ruin travel plans – we seem to travel some of the same roads.

A few of the highlights, thus far:

Left Illinois at 4:04 am, crossed the Mississippi at 4:08. Wonder what the people who have always lived in the arid west, those who have never seen large rivers but only banks that run dry (except when filled with Monsoon seasonal rains) would think of a wide river like the Mississippi. Always tumbling over itself in order to get to the Gulf of Mexico as fast as it can.

Missouri. First stop: Ayers for coffee. 4:10 am. Didn’t need gas but regular is $3.35.

4:15 am. “I am going on a trip to Arizona and I’m going to pack my ATTITUDE!” My good attitude – that’s half the key to good travel. Maybe more.

Palmyra, MO: Flashing signs on four lane highway. WATCH FOR FARM VEHICLES. HARVEST SEASON. Gas is $3.23.

Orion’s lights are brightly shining, lighting the sky. Rural house/barn lights are flickering on – early morning on the farm.

Monroe City, MO: Birthplace of Mark Twain. I didn’t know that! I’ve been to his boyhood home and all the other Twain sites in Hannibal a dozen times, but never knew his birthplace was another 20 miles away.

South River
North River
Salt River
Mussel Fork
Turkey Creek
Muddy Creek
Locust Creek
Higgin’s Ditch

5:05 am Clouds moving eastward. Stars are disappearing. Windy – the flags, and there are many, are standing straight out (at attention!)

Bevier, MO  Driving past we see that regular gas is $3.14
Ethel, MO No place open for breakfast.
Lingo, MO No place open for breakfast.

Exit to General Pershing’s Boyhood home Hmm.

Exit to Locust Creek Covered Bridge. Too bad it’s still dark.

Hickory Creek
Parsons Creek
Muddy Creek
Medicine Creek
Leeper Creek
Blackwell Creek

billboard: KO THE FAT. What the heck? Oh, Sherpa explains it means “Knock out” the fat. Of course.

In Chillicothe, MO. We try 3 different coffee shops — all either closed or they have disappeared. Get gas and bananas. Gas is $3.10. It is the HOME OF SLICED BREAD. Must Google later. Chillicothe looks like a nice town. There are quite a few murals on buildings of the main streets — still too dark for photos. Sigh!

Raccoon Creek
Grand River
Brushy Creek
Shoal Creek

6:45 am. Dawn and now there is light so we can see. And there’s a place for breakfast just ahead . . . to be continued sometime after breakfast..

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She loves travel logs.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Give Us This Day

Give Us This Day ©2009 Bo Mackison

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. ~ Henry Van Dyke

No matter the circumstances, there is always much for which to be thankful:

For the new dawn breaking in the eastern skies;

For the trees standing in silhouette, its stark beauty of a tree readied for the winter as it follows nature’s rhythm’s in preparation for new life;

For the earth in readiness for winter;

For my body in health, with the ability to stand and walk, to speak and sing, to think and write, to see and hear, to create, to take me where I need to go, to provide not only me, but for my family, my friends;

For those that love me and those that do not, I am thankful for the connections, the support, the lessons that I learn;

For all that I need and for much that I want.

I am thankful.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo also gives thanks for the Brownie Holiday Camera she received when she was 8 years old, a gift that was the genesis of a lifelong passion.


To Photograph a Leaf

Leaf and Light ©2012 Bo Mackison

It is no accident that a photographer becomes a photographer any more than a lion tamer becomes a lion tamer. ~ Dorothea Lange

I love how the sun light on the backs of these layers of leaves, subtracts the light and adds the shadows. I feels like one big leafy puzzle to me. These are the kinds of photographs – ones that delight and surprise – that make me happy I have fallen so passionately involved with photography. When I saw this leaf, I just had to take its portrait!

There’s hardly a day that passes without me taking a walk with camera in tow or me pulling over to the side of the road when a photo opportunity catches my eye. So thankful am I for my camera that rides shot-gun whenever I run errands to a store, drive to the other side of town, or take a cross-country trip.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is looking forward to her next cross country trip – planning, packing, and counting down the hours until it’s time to go!

The Gifts of Generosity – Sunday Series

Threshing ©2012 Bo Mackison

Generosity in working together to provide food.

Whitewashing the Fence ©2012 Bo Mackison

Generosity in working together to provide beauty and fun, memories in the making.

Gathering © 2012 Bo Mackison

Generosity in working together to make clothing and quilts for comfort and warmth.

Gardening at Koepsell’s Heirloom Farm © 2012 Bo Mackison

Generosity in working, growing food for the community.

Generosity — sharing talents for the betterment of self and community.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Photographs are from Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor museum of history. Eagle Wisconsin.

Starry Earth Garden

Olbrich in Autumn

A Starry Earth Garden ©2012 Bo Mackison

So plant your garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. ~ Anon

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo appreciates these smallest of starry green wonders in the midst of November gray.