For Anyone Dropping in - Part 1

A revisitation of my plans and methods.  (Partially to stay motivated in this difficult year.)

One of the things I am currently doing is retiring my other Geology blog, which I began three years ago.  It was to be primarily dedicated to travel-related Geology (mainly based upon my past experiences and future travel hopes within the continental U.S.).  [I plan to move most, if not all, of the posts to this blog.]  

As I hope to someday traverse much of U.S. 66 in a systematic way - while looking at the local geology - there will be a plethora of U.S. 66 videos. [Over the years, I have traveled sporadically on parts of "old" U.S. 66 from California to Tulsa, Oklahoma on vacations and various road trips, without giving the highway the respect it deserved.]  Ditto with SW Colorado videos, as that is the corner of that state I am most familiar with.

I am trying to inspire people to keep a road log or travel diary, even as periodic blog posts.  I greatly regret not keeping notes on my 1974 Road Trip, which helped inspire me to move to El Paso two and a half years later, for grad school.

I boldly planned to post daily on both blogs, with the intention of becoming consistent enough to "monetize" one or both.  What I didn't recognize was that posting daily on even one of the blogs, with any sort of accompanying text, links, and references was "a lot of time and work".  

For several reasons, my employment situation has declined in the last three years to a status of "unwilling" semi-retirement.  Especially with the 2020 Pandemic screwing my two remaining employments (one worse than the other, but the "other" job has been scaled-back and seems facing uncertainty in the next few months).  

These things being the case, it would seem that I would have more time for blogging, addressing my writing projects, and other plans (perhaps a few of those "Bucket List" items, as well).  

I have managed to "check off" a few minor Bucket List items in the last couple of years, e.g., seeing and photographing "the Georgia Guidestones" 2 and 1/2 years ago and eating at a Newnan, Georgia branch of Duff's Famous Wings early this year (which soon after closed permanently due to the Pandemic).  Both of my adult children had eaten at the Buffalo, NY (reputed "original") location during church-related mission trips to Buffalo a few years ago and as I didn't foresee being in Buffalo anytime soon, thankfully I made the Georgia location before its regrettable closing.

Having "more time" would seem to be favorable to getting more outdoor projects done, but as life has its "twists and turns", in the household that includes me, my second wife, my 90-year-old mother-in-law, my wife's twin sister (who is still employed and lives in a furnished basement apartment), and four spoiled dogs, we have our own changing responsibilities and un-planned occurrences.  

A year ago, my second wife was injured in a car accident (not her fault, she was rear-ended - for the eighth time in the last 40 years along with a time she broadsided a car that ran a stop sign).  With this most recent accident, there appears to be a legal settlement coming that covers the medical expenses and a little more, but that doesn't fix the cumulative effect of this and the other accidents.  Those cumulative effects sometimes don't crop up until years later.  

The accident's aftermath, e.g., her recuperation from the neck and back injuries and a knee-replacement (maybe indirectly-related to the wreck, but couldn't be proven) interrupted the "writing mojo" for my slowly-progressing three nonfiction writing projects.  I just find trouble in "getting the proper mood" to isolate myself and write, even though I now have an office/study in a repurposed spare bedroom.     

As yard work projects are awaiting (before tomorrow's expected rain), I plan to write "Part 2" tomorrow.