Watching the annular solar eclipse from a clifftop at Losee Canyon. (Photo credit: European vacationer)

What an extraordinary way to initiate our arrival in southern Utah–watching the annular solar eclipse from a clifftop near our “summer home” outside Bryce Canyon National Park!

The owners of the Stone Canyon Inn–Mike and Dixie Burbidge (second row on right)–planned an eclipse watching outing for members of their family, which includes us work campers helping out this summer.

We hiked up Arches Trail in Losee Canyon in Dixie National Forest  (about 20 miles northwest of the inn) and perched atop a cliff for the grand event. The owners brought eclipse shades to protect our eyes while staring at the sun, a picnic and ta-da!! Dixie’s memorable, homemade “moon pies.” Stuffed with marshmallow, these sweet cookies sported chocolate frosting ringed with orange icing, which is what the annular solar eclipse looked like through the shades.

I photographed this image of  the partial eclipse with the plastic lens of the eclipse shades held in front of my Sony cyber-shot camera lens , which accounts for the variation in shading.

Annular Solar Eclipse seen while the moon was moving toward the center of the sun. (Photo credit: Rose Muenker)

And I got this shot of the annular solar eclipse with a perfect ring of fire around it! Amazing what that little camera can do!

The “ring of fire” (the sun) surrounding the moon when it is centered over the sun during the annular solar eclipse. To see the ring, you may need to zoom in on the image. (Photo credit: Rose Muenker)

The event was fabulous! What a beautiful and fun way to spend time with the folks who will be our buddies all summer long!

Ravay Snow, portrait artist, with David, Rose and Sonha, at Denver’s Furry Scurry. (Photo credit Jon Renner)

Among the many dear friends we’re connected with during our stay in Denver is fine artist Ravay Snow, who had a booth at the Denver Dumb Friends League annual Furry Scurry.

Ravay is the talented artist who created the illustrations of Sonha in the David’s photos for our World Heritage Pointer children’s stories about UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Here’s the photo of our team – Ravay, David, Sonha and me – taken about 7 years ago for our website. It’s amazing how much and how little has changed!

The World Heritage Pointer team in 2005: Writer Rose Muenker, photographer David Muenker, illustrator Ravay Snow, and Superstar Sonha. (Photo credit: David Muenker)

Beavertail cactus blossoms along roadside in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

Spring is springing here in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The dazzling fushia blossoms of this beavertail cactus are as bright as beacons on the desert floor. Brilliant yellow flowers are beautifying the terrain, too.

Sonya and Rose at our boondock site in Pahrump, NV. Photo credit: David Muenker

After three pleasant winter months in Pahrump, Nevada, we’re gearing up to drive our motorhome to Utah where we’ll store it while we do a road trip to Phoenix, Tucson and Denver to visit friends and family and attend a conference before we settle just outside of Bryce Canyon National Park for the summer.

To retrain our road and dry camping muscles, we moved from our full hookup site (water, electric, sewer) to a boondock (dry camping site). We’re making sure all the systems are go and we’re relearning how to conserve water and energy before spending a week dry camping at Lake Mead. Why dry camping? It’s mostly a budget-saving decision with very little inconvenience.

We start our journey tomorrow, Wednesday.

Sonya grabs her dumb bell for her morning exercises. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

To make sure I remember to do my morning exercises, my dog Sonya pulls out her own dumb bell. Of course, she would much rather run after jack rabbits in open fields or chase balls in the RV park’s pet area.

Sonya's tongue becomes almost as long as her leg after chasing jackrabbits. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

At least for Sonya! Despite her “fast as a bullet” speed, the jackrabbits outdistancedher in no time. Their long ears shot skyward as they sprang  through desert brush into the mesquite groves. I scarcely manage to get a photo of Sonya, so I didn’t even bother trying to get a photo of a jackrabbit.

This field is near our RV park in Pahrump and a great place for Sonya to romp when David is with her. He can get her back by her side with some insistent shouts or whistles. With the occasional presence of coyotes, though, I wouldn’t take her there on my own because I don’t have her under voice command. (I know, you’d think in 11 years I would have learned that skill.)

But I do love it when they invite me along. Sonya expresses sheer joy when she does what she was born to do. Her joy is contagious and stays with me for hours. Love it!

Rose, Joeux, Marilyn-Adironnda, David and Sherryl in Las Vegas for the Great Wake Up Call evening with Adironnda and Company.

Last Sunday, we made our first trip into Las Vegas, specifically to connect with our friend Marilyn Harper, who we met at the Unity of the Hills church in Branson, Missouri.

People often ask us how we decide where to go next and where to “settle” for awhile. Our response has always been, “We go where the road calls us.” Sometimes the decision is driven by specific goals, such as our desire to get to Oregon, the only state that I hadn’t been to, and to spend a summer on the ocean. Other times, like our choice to go to Branson, necessity drives the decision. An RV park in Branson was willing to give us our first work camping opportunity.

But underneath those “reasons” is a deeper driving force. Some would call it fate or destiny. I call that force Spirit.

On reflection, it’s clear to David and me that we were in Branson to meet Marilyn and other beautiful people at the Unity of the Hills Church — its spiritual leader, Rev. Donna Majetic, talented artist Jack Wiens, compassionate Alex Edmonds, creator of the Live Your Life workshop, and many others. David revealed and developed one of his innate gifts and became a master Reiki practitioner  under Marilyn Harper’s tutelage.

Marilyn has also been a dynamic source of inspiration the past 20 months as we have watched her walk away from the comfort of a job to fully commit to her life calling. As the channeler for Adironnda  (a group of spirit beings), she has fully embraced her purpose to awaken others to conscious living. A year ago, we connected with her and her team member, Joeaux Stephanie Robey, outside of San Diego. This year, we enjoyed an evening in Las Vegas with Marilyn, Joeaux and their newest team member Sherryl Frauenglass -  truly a dynamic trio!

I know now that we stayed in southern California to support Marilyn in her work by arranging an event for her in Alpine. I was also there  to make a new friend, Elizabeth  (via a friend in Switzerland). She ended up helping me support a Denver friend, Cara Lopez Lee, by hosting a book signing in San Diego to promote her fun and bold memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands. Elizabeth and Cara are now fast friends, too.

If your head spins as you read this, no wonder! Mine does to. But it distills down to this: We’re here to tap into, reveal and share our unique talents and to support others in expressing theirs. It’s all so beautiful and amazing, isn’t it!

Granted, it is an award-winning book. (It got the Silver Award – Guidebook in a Society of American Travel Writers contest.) And it’s richly illustrated with outstanding photos by David Muenker.

But $116.17 for a new copy? Must be supply and demand — only 4 copies available via Amazon.com.

I guess we should consider raising the price of our original autographed copies above the $14.95 retail price on the book cover. H-m-m, $200 rings nicely in my ear.

Better get your copy from us before I become as wacky as Amazon!

(Hey you guys who already have copies. Don’t get all excited. Yours are used. Last time I checked, they’re only worth $37.91. They look so much better on your bookshelf!)

Swirling clouds glow golden red in Pahrump, Nevada. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

Every evening I check the sky to see what surprise awaits me. Last night was exceptional. Clouds swirled across Nevada’s big sky and literally glowed golden red! Mother’s Nature extraordinary palette always puts me in a state of awe.

Einstein and Miss Piggy sing Happy Birthday

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you Miss Piggy and Einstein!

What an exceptional birthday treat — the most brilliant man and most beautiful female singing Happy Birthday to me via Skype! Ah, the wonders of technology.

Yuk! What’s that on Miss Piggy’s snout?