Windows to new friendships....

While we are following our "stay at home" order, we are looking back to our travels last year and all the wonderful people we have met. All the stories would fill a book and all the images would lead to a lengthy slideshow that might exceed your attention span. So, let's do the short version:

We feel blessed for:

• our visiting friends from Fernandina Beach and Yulee
• all the young and successful fishermen we have met at Dry Run Creek
• having met Pat, who was full with fishing stories
• for the invitation to an impromptu evening concert at the COE campground
• the great service we got from the wait staff at our favorite restaurant in the Ozarks
• the enjoyment we had at the micro brewery in Hot Springs
• meeting Merlot's 500th friend on Facebook
• our ranger partners that became friends
• the privilege to host a couple that took a hiking vacation with their eight adopted kids
• seeing the proud Junior Rangers that have just passed their test
• having conversation with an author of history books, who came to Big Bend with his two children
• all the hikers that asked and most of the time listened to our advice about the different hikes
• meeting a mom of two who was also a successful Ninja Warrior
• all our volunteer friends at Big Bend National Park
• the experience of being on a boat with the Dolphin Whisperer of South Padre Island
• getting to know an artist in Rockport that kindly invited us into her studio
• the invitation of a young couple to celebrate with them their babies first birthday
• the expertise of the manager of the truck repair shop that fixed our motor coach
• spending an evening with a couple from Alaska that shared many funny RV stories
• all the guests that took our offer for a freshly brewed latte and a conversation
• meeting many others such as Michael, a geologist and John, a gifted artist.

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During our time at Chisos Basin, we've met two young hikers, Katelyn and Heather. They stayed for a few days and every evening we talked about their hikes and experiences. The last evening we asked them over for dinner and talked long about nature, goals, values, health, and faith. A wonderful evening under a star studded nightly sky. The next morning Katelyn and Heather stopped by with a thank you present, the above drawing from their hike to Emory Peak and a wonderful poem: