Monday, June 27, 2011

Fireflies At The Cabin

fireflies at the cabin artist journal drawing




















The night and day view outside the cabin's picture window. Day is nice but the fireflies are insane this year.

fireflies at the cabin artist journal drawing




















We had a bonfire and became god of the fireflies.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Retro Drive In Restaurant

retro drive in restaurant travel journal drawing

We stopped at a 50s style Drive In for BLTs and pop. Alethea ordered the sodas without ice and they charged us 20 cents a glass for no ice. The pop was warm so we ended up going to McDonald's for ice.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Crater Of Diamonds State Park

Crater Of Diamonds State Park Camp Site Drawing




















The camp sites at the park are nicely laid out and are quite posh. Most of the sites are for campers, not tents, and have electricity. I was impressed by the number of people that camp with satellite dishes attached to their campers.

I haven't camped in 15 years so it was a lot of fun but we weren't counting on the temperature being over 100 degrees. The State Park has a water park for diamond hunters to cool off in and we certainly appreciated it after setting up camp.

Restaurant Near Crater Of Diamonds State Park Travel Journal Drawing




















We went into town for dinner and I had a chicken fried steak served on a platter. The bowl of gravy was larger than the salad. I would love to know how they managed to make the french fries taste like hash browns. We also had french fries at the park the next day that were deep fried in chicken fried steak batter. I didn't know you could make french fries even more fattening but they certainly were tasty

The walls, blinds and every surface but the table tops were covered with patron's signatures. The front message board had a sign for carry concealed class.

Raccoon Visiting Crater Of Diamonds State Park Camp Site Drawing




















We went back to the tent and laid down directly on tent floor so that the the ground could draw off some of the oppressive heat.

We heard chittering as soon as it got dark and Alethea took the food off the hanging hook and placed it in the car trunk. An army of raccoons started investigating other peoples coolers; you could hear them being opened and dropped shut. The next day I got to clean up Tootsie Pop wrappers all around the tent, we didn't have any food but they picnicked by us anyway.

I don't know if it was from the Arizona fires but the moon was orange with a red rim, sort of like our eyes looked the next morning.

Woodpecker Crater Of Diamonds State Park Camp Site Drawing




















Alethea went to the diamond fields the next morning and I remained at camp drawing one of the woodpeckers that woke us up. They started their party after the raccoon rave broke up.

Mud at  Crater Of Diamonds State Park Camp Site Drawing




















Alethea went to the diamond fields and discovered that it had rained all the previous week and the area was a huge mud pit. Clay covered shoes can weigh 20 pounds and it sticks like glue. She lasted less than a half hour in the 105 degree heat, it was 8:00 in the morning. We hung around camp for awhile and packed up.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Armadillo Bones

ink drawing of ditch weeds
ink drawing of a young woman looking for armadillo bones
We stopped to take photos near a picturesque pond. Alethea wandered down a road while I sketched some flowers and she found sun bleached armadillo bones.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Ozark Highway Signs and Roads

Ozark Highway Signs and Roads




















The left side shows some of the signs we encountered while driving through the mountains. The path through the Ozarks is not for speedy commutes but the Arkansas Scenic Byway is worth the effort.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Art Journal Food Drawing Page

artist journal food diary ink drawing




















I make my own art journals and I have a lot of acid free paper that was purchased for a past business; I thought I'd put it to use. Some of the following pages will be out of order since our Arkansas trip was over on the 10th but I'm a little behind posting travel journal pages.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Ozarks

artist travel journal page Ozark mountains




















The last time I drove through the Ozarks it was pouring rain and very late at night, this was much better.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Hampton Inn Breakfast

artist travel journal drawing of breakfast




















I love waffles, fruit and a ridiculous amount of bacon for breakfast. The drawing was a little rushed but remember, I had a lot of bacon waiting for me.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Kansas City Steaks

artist travel journal page dinner at texas roadhouse




















We grabbed a room at the Hampton Inn and managed to find a late night steak dinner. Texas Roadhouse has good food at a very reasonable price.

While we enjoy staying at the Hampton Inn I was a little surprised finding a state tax, city tax, city fee and city fee tax added to the room bill. The taxes and fees were over 16%.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Hillside of Sheep

artist travel journal sheep on hillside




















We don't see a lot of sheep in Minnesota so it was fun to see a hillside dotted with them (which shows how easily amused we are.)

Friday, June 10, 2011

Iowa Wind Turbines

artist travel journal drawing of wind turbines being blown by north wind




















Iowa has fields of corn and wind turbines, it's pleasant to see so many people embrace wind power.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Iowa's Welcome Center

travel journal drawings of the iowa welcome center rest area




















Iowa has the most amazing Welcome Centers/Rest Areas. Some of them are beautifully landscaped and chock full of art.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

travel journal page
















McDonalds frozen strawberry lemonade is a good travel beverage and it would be an excellent mix with Vodka after reaching our destination.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Saturn Road Like It Was On Rails

travel journal page




















There was a rubber thing hanging under the car that sounded like we were riding on railroad tracks when we reached 70 mph. Fortunately it ground down fairly quickly.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Quirky Things Along The Road

artist travel jouranl page odd things seen along the road























We ran across:

A farm with a rocket in the yard
A tree growing inside a silo
Alethea saw her first armadillo in Nevada, MO.
Peculiar, MO
A casino sign on a farm water tower.
Mount Ida. A local pronounced it "mad at ya."
Cajun chicken gyros.
The sign for the last rest stop in Missouri, which was the only rest stop on the highway.
The temperature was 101 degrees at 6:00 AM in Murfresboro, 48 degrees Thursday at 6:00 AM in Coon Rapids, MN.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Gas Prices

travel journal page showing gas prices




















We were fortunate that gas prices dropped the further south we traveled. The range was $3.89–3.49.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Road Trip Food

drawing of road trip food




















There is an art to road trip food; you need to cover the salty, crunchy and sweet categories.

My daughter and I are off to Arkansas, she wants to search for diamonds.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Dog Treats From McDonalds

artist journal page with an ice cream cone




















My dogs recognize McDonald's golden arches as much as any child. They particularly like their ice cream cones but the hamburgers are also welcome.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Stoop Sitter

drawing of a young man
I was waiting for my husband to finish up a work so we could go to the Guthrie Theater (a friend had given me 2 tickets) and this young man was sitting on the steps at the Running Room. I drew him and he watched me; I think he was too tired to care.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Blue Hawaiian

artist journal page showing Hawaii and a liquor label
I bought this bottle of Blue Curacao after my first trip to Maui over 10 years ago and it seemed like it was time to let it go.

We almost never drink but the bottle reminded me of drinking a blue Hawaiian on the beach so I soaked the label off, kept the memory and recycled the bottle. It's the consumer circle of life.