Seeking Beauty on Roads Less Traveled

Mom and I in front of Wawel Castle First photo of ETC in Krakow Smoked cheese ...artistically created Florian Gate - one of the entrances to Old Town Krakow Mom and Ziggy....Our guide, our friend and our guardian angel here in Krakow ETC at the Tyriec Monastery...with cake :) The Santa Marta cake only found at the Benedictine Tyriec Monastery The soup is always yummy in Krakow...and the lattes, divine :) The truth of the matter is Mom and I have planned to visit Poland many times over the past few years.  Even up until 10 days prior to our planned vacation LAST year, we thought we were going to Poland.  But somehow, something else always distracts us, being a great deal on a not-to-be-missed cruise or autumn foliage adventures or having to do loads of laundry (guess which comment is not true :) ). The other factor that is the most honest but hardest to describe reason for not visiting Poland before is that w...

....amongst elk herds in Wyoming? Most of our mother/daughter travel adventures start off that simply.  I wish I could tell you that there was some sort of grand planning strategy but it usually just starts with a question. Mom says, "Yes" and off we go. Here's the thing.  I was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming a few weeks ago.  I could have taken the sleigh ride.  It's a one hour ride.  But I knew (because I just KNOW) if I came home and said to my Mom, "Look at these terrific pictures I took during my cool (literally, as the temperatures are hovering around 20 degrees in Jackson Hole this time of year) sleigh ride" that perhaps that would be the last time Mom would cook a meal for me or she would disown me at my tender age of 55 (56 years of age now as I wrote this back in March and have seen a birthday come and go since). The National Elk Refuge is yet another spectacular national treasure.  It is part of the migratory path for about 9,000+ elk.  They...