Hot Air Balloon over Albuquerque ©2008 Bo Mackison

There are many reasons to keep a blog. When I started this blog just over a year ago, my goals were straight-forward. I wanted to practice my photography, a brand new skill then, and commit to a daily practice of posting a photograph. Simple enough.

In a matter of a few weeks, the blogging grew into a habit I enjoyed. Not only did my photos improve, but after many months they began to attract some attention on their own. Some people asked to buy copies; a couple of non-profits asked permission to use a photo or two in their various organizations. The exposure also led to a writing gig for a Wisconsin Travel blog. And I developed a core of readers who visited regularly, left comments, and whom I visited in return. And so I thought that is what blogging accomplished and I was quite pleased with the results. Little did I realize there would be more.

Last spring, I discovered a writers’ blog, red Ravine, and submitted a couple of writing pieces to the site. They were published and I found I enjoyed that experience. I also enjoyed the red Ravine community and began reading the blog regularly and commenting. I exchanged a few e-mails with one of rR’s founders, ybonesy. Ybonesy often writes about place on her blog. In her case, place is New Mexico.

When I began making plans to travel in the Southwest, I dropped ybonesy a note, telling her I would be in her neighborhood, in person.  Was she interested in meeting for coffee or lunch?  She responded enthusiastically and so we began our planning.

Last week, I arrived on her doorstep with my spouse and camper in tow. We explored her awesome piece of land, I met the snake and the turkeys and the dogs she so often blogs about. Her husband Jim greeted us as well, and shared his enthusiasm for the wide open spaces in New Mexico.  Then we went to the perfect local restaurant, Perea’s Tijuana Bar, where we indulged in carne adovada and tamales. It was a truly delightful experience – great food plus face-to-face conversation with a “blogger friend”.  I’m a self-avowed introvert and this was a remarkable feat for me. I had a great visit and I felt like I had rediscovered a long-gone friend.

When we all blog together, we do get to know a lot about each other, but the connection isn’t quite complete. It is very nice to actually meet someone from the virtual world in the real world. Very nice, indeed.

I hope, ybonesy, if you or another frequent visitor at the Seeded Earth ever visit Wisconsin, you’ll drop me a note. I’d love to share my part of the country in the same manner you shared your part of the country with me.

Blogging has a lot of benefits. Exposure, a bit of profit, new gigs, virtual friendships all around the world. Now I can add another plus – new friends to meet in new places. Wow! This is pretty awesome stuff.

Thanks, ybonesy, for the wonderful visit. It was great meeting you after learning so much about you from your writing and art. This kind of connection really makes blogging come alive.