RRBC Blog Tour Page

Welcome to my second blog of this blog tour event. This is Let Life Begin by Jo Ann Wentzel! I hope you’re enjoying this RRBC Book and Blog Party. I have been delighted to meet so many of you by visiting your blogs or being visited on my own blog. We are so happy to be part of this event. I say we because my husband Dan, is my photograher for this blog. He does my website, helps with publicity and household chores so I have time to write. Sorry, for the brag but, he is vital to this enterprise. RRBC is a great book club and everyone should consider joining for author support and book exposure. Check for the rest of this month’s blog lineup here.

Just comment below to be entered for prizes. There will be three winners- $10 Amazon gift card, an autographed copy of It Begins and Ends with Family and an autographed copy of Ultimate Betrayal.

This blog today comes to you from our little old motor home parked in Sumner Lake State Park in New Mexico. I highly recommend this state park if you love wildlife.Since here, we have seen deer, rabbits, coyotes, coyote pups and we believe three young raccoons. The deer were a group of three does and they tried to look in the door while my husband was having his coffee.We also have a pair of Hawks and one loves to fish. We have enjoyed several varieties of birds including Hummingbirds and a huge array of dragonflies in a multitude of colors.

This blog is dedicated to the new lifestyle we embraced when we retired to live in a little old RV on a full-time basis. Will explain a bit more about our decision and the great experiment in progress but first, a brief peak at my books.

                  

 

Last blog post was all about me and my books so I will not bore you with much repetition. You certainly are welcome to revisit all that info here. After fostering and working with kids for decades I finally published a book about our experiences. The title is It Begins and Ends with Family.  This book was first designed as a training tool for foster parents. It was put onto a CD-ROM and used as a way to get basic as well as some rather unique info to those doing this job. It has been published as an e-book and paperback. Read about it here and purchase your copy here.

The second book is my first novel and this book was a way of bringing to light the prevalence of child sex abuse. It is called Ultimate Betrayal. I felt compelled to write this as I saw too many broken kids. Though a disgusting topic, hope is given as good people fight evil. I used an ‘end time’ scenario and the feel is Sci-Fi and Dystopia but, told from a Christian point of view. This means I was careful in my examination using less graphic writing than some would believe possible. I hope I succeeded as in the old English mysteries where the violence is subtler and there is still time for the murderers to straighten the doilies before tea. Read about it here and purchase your copy here

                                                                  Hey it’s me again

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Let Life Begin

When we decided to retire we did it out of basic necessity. Though I had been working from home most of the past few years, my husband had still been involved in the daily grind. It was time. Most previous jobs we held were not high paying especially those working with at risk families. There was little opportunity for big savings accounts or retirement funds. With our age and health issues, we decided we could retire if we opted for a very simple, inexpensive lifestyle. We found a very economical way to live if which works well if you can enjoy pleasures of an uncomplicated daily existence.

Since we never had time to travel before, now was the time but, more slowly in small sips rather than large gulps. We wanted to travel. We also wished for those peaceful times to meditate and take stock of our lives and who we are at this moment in time. We enjoyed supplementing our education with opportunities to learn. We longed to increase time for spirituality and grow our faith. Most of all we were excited to experience total freedom.

April 1^st of 2015 we made the move. There was a lot to learn and this is not like an endless vacation. After 17 months, we still love the lifestyle if not the speedily aging motor home. We hope to squeeze a little more time out of The Duck and then update to a newer old one and a larger small one. We travel with Jessie, a rescue dog of an Australian Cattle and probably Dachshund mix heritage.

Full time RV-ING gives me time to write and Dan time to take photographs which he does for my blogs now. It gives us both time to learn about technology which amazes us when we are not calling it bad names. So for this blog here is a small selection of photos  to show you what we’re up to and what we have seen.

Enjoy a brief sampling! All photos are by Dan Wentzel

 

Wildlife: One of our biggest sources of enjoyment comes from observing wildlife. It is a daily learning experience.

Ring tailed  cat on top of lava bed in Valley of Fire, NM.

Watching the Skies– We spend a great deal of time in New Mexico since that became our domicile state. One of the many things they have to offer are big beautiful skies, bluer than blue in the day and the blackest of blacks at night.

Two thirds eclipse

Attractions- We look for many free or inexpensive attractions. Funds are carefully regulated for an occasional splurge but, many enjoyable things are free or inexpensive. With the America the Beautiful pass and seeking out the local color and free entertainment, you can fill many hours for little money. Many museums and art galleries ask for a small donation. Towns offer free movies, concerts, bingo and celebrations that are more about having heart than large budgets.

Wonderful display at the Roswell UFO museum. The space craft actually appears to be getting ready for take off.

Zoos- We find it hard to pass up a zoo with our passion for animals and thirst for knowledge.

Our passion for animals is never-ending and Giraffes are among our favorites.

Art and museums -another of our favorite pass times is viewing great art and museum displays.It is one of those things that feeds the soul and is a great bargain, lots of bang for your buck.

Loved this and it just stood out to me here. Not sure why, but it spoke to me.

Local Celebrations – We love small towns. Even the struggling ones do great celebrations from three vehicle parades to everyone in town serving free cookies. It is the spirit of the people and the joy of a community that matters.

One of my favorite photos of a July 4th event.

Campgrounds -We focus on state parks. Price is a factor, being close to nature, solitude and being free are bonuses. Here in New Mexico you can live for almost nothing if you buy an annual camping pass. There are many different types of places to camp including mountains, lakes and desserts each with their own special reason to stop there.

We like to hike but, our fitness level is not improved enough for some jaunts so we like these trails with many steps and things to see and plenty of places to relax along the way

Memorials- Dan and I love to honor our veterans and current military in any way we can. We often make a point of visiting some memorial. We have several past and present military in our own family.

At a Veteran’s Memorial in Truth or Consequences, NM these plagues line the star shaped walkways and give the sobering facts about losses in each of our wars.

Local Color- Take in examples of local color such as these murals and how people beautify everything when they really care.

Old buildings get a face lift and revitalize towns while telling their own history. They often use locals faces.

 Beautiful Scenery- Probably most of his photos contain the sights of this gorgeous country that we are blessed to be traveling. God created a beautiful world and we try to appreciate it every day. Too many to include.

We love Bottomless Lake in Roswell ,NM.

 

To get a better idea of the experiment and the places it takes us and the sights we get to see Dan, has created a page of photos for you to enjoy.