Ok, ok, I know it has been quite a while since my last blog posting, and many have emailed me with concerns of “where the heck am I?”
Well, let me begin.

(2019-plans)
A lot of my writing time is being shared with my participation in the 2019 Goodreads.com reading challenge where I have committed to reading 30-novels this year and so far I’m off to a great start with four novels finished with the fifth set to be completed before the end of this week.

(Winter destination plans)
My travel plans for the winter were for me and “White-Blaze,” pictured above to spend the winter in the sometimes windy quite solitude of the Southwestern deserts of Southern Arizona and California. However, Mother-Natures unseasonable cold temperatures in Quartzsite Arizona and Yuma Arizona was an unforeseen factor. But, I have wheels, and I can travel. 🙂

I should have taken heed of the unique visuals of snow falling in southern New Mexico and Arizona deserts as I went westward during the first week of January. Unbeknownst to me, this was an ominous forewarning indicator of the next two-three weeks of colder temperatures.

During my time in Yuma & Quartzsite AZ. I was quite fortunate with nighttime temperatures dropping into the mid to high forties, only to rise into the low sixties, during the day. I was warmer than fellow travelers who were north of Quartzsite Arizona in Parkersburg, Erenburg, and Lake Havasu Arizona at higher elevations where Mother-Nature lowered the ambient temperatures nighttime lows into the mid and low twenties, only to barely rise into the mid-fifties during the day.

As a full-time traveler, checking my weather application is a constant daily process to avoid those days and nights my body doesn’t want to experience.

Yes, I’m a fair weather traveler I admit, but after a lifetime of cold weather experiences, “White-Blaze,” and I made the decision, it was time to point White-Blaze Eastward, destination Souther Florida.

Along the I-10 corridor, I encountered several experienced travelers who made the same decision as I to escape the cold rains, with immediate U-turns.
One such couple was Peter M. Schloss a retired Attorney and his wife who I meet in a Pilot Flying J gas station in West-Texas. They are bloggers and fellow world travelers with a website, called, Feeding the Soul. We talked for about 15-min when his wife returned to the car and stated: “we have to turn around, rains’ a coming.”

Now, there is something about fellow travelers, that draws us together like the equipment we use leading to a discussion that can last for quite a while. I marvel at his fiberglass Casita being pulled by his Toyota Highlander and before long we had discussed or previous careers, past, and future travel along with the weather. In the end, a friendship was established I’m sure will last a lifetime as we both agreed on how full-time travelers seek the least resistant route to enjoy their travel experiences when the weather is involved.

So the early 2019 travel lesson my fellow readers is to seek warmer temperatures if cold is not your significant goal. 🙂

By Expedition Nomadic Adventurer

As a retiree travel blogger touring the US, voicing my wisdom, opinion, and thoughts about the retirement lifestyle and life in general. I'm an aspiring pre-published indie author of baby boomer romance and adventures with a whimsical comedic side. I photograph wildlife and landscapes, mountain, biking, kayaking, hiking, and backpacking. I travel the back roads and highways of America, Canada, and Mexico, documenting my adventures via print and photography.

9 thoughts on “It’s been a while. :-)”
  1. I signed up for 46 on the Goodreads challenge. What was I thinking?😂

    1. I attempted fifty last year and crawled to 30 barley. 🙂

      1. Within the Goodreads challenge there are others. I did the ‘clear the shelves’ challenge last year and while I was clearing out my prior to 2018 books, I accumulated a whole new shelf full to clear through in 2019. Plus I go to a monthly book club, so there’s another 12. So far, so good, but then my reading tapers off when the weather starts getting better. We shall see…

  2. Thanks for keeping us up to date! Always look forward to catching up when you pass through. Me? I’ve had enough of the heat here in SWFL this winter. I look forward to my jaunts to the NE & enjoy my tastes of winter!

  3. It’s okay when we don’t see you for awhile we know you’re out there gearing up another great adventure for us!!!

  4. BTW, my goodreads challenge is 52 this year, good luck on your challenge…

  5. Marty, among the greatest gifts of travel are the chance encounters that give us glimpses of life through the eyes of others. It was great to meet you on the road and I look forward to keeping up with your “thoughts”! Be well and safe travels. Pete and Christine

  6. You are welcome back

  7. Nice post. Enjoyed reading.

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