My idea of a perfect day is hiking in the Rocky Mountains listening to John Denver music!

 

Larry and I love the great outdoors. We try to walk at least two miles every day and we hike whenever we get a chance. Normally, the only animals we encounter are dogs, cats, deer, and squirrels, however I once had a close encounter with a black bear in the Smoky Mountains.

 

Larry and I enjoy hiking everywhere we travel. In the summer of 1998 we spent a few days in the deserts of southern California and a week in the mountains near Aspen. The picture on the left was taken after a rainstorm in the mountatins. We found some shelter under a set of evergreen trees. The photo on the right shows our hike to a mountain lake.

 

During a 1997 trip to Yosemite, we photographed wildflowers, animals, insects, and waterfalls. We believe in the saying, "take only pictures, leave only footprints." We've visited over 120 National Parks. We have over 250 yet to explore and we haven't even started on the World Heritage Parks!

 

As you can tell, we love to travel. I've visited every state, but Alaska. Like many other US citizens, I've been to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean islands. I've also been to Japan and the Philippines.

 

On our honeymoon, Larry and I went to Australia and New Zealand. We're looking forward to going back someday soon.

 

In 1999, we left our university positions for a life "on the road." We spent the summer of 1999 traveling around Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Oregon. We spent 2000 in the desert southwest, Asheville, NC, and Branson, Missouri. Check out the Mobile Mavericks site for lots of pictures.

I've always been a sports fan. As a child, I played lots of softball, basketball, and football. Just a couple years ago, my sister and I beat my uncle and cousins at basketball during a Thanksgiving get-together. Labor Day 1998, the Johnsons had a basketball challenge shown on the right.

 

In the 1980s, I spent a lot of winters downhill skiing with family and friends in Minnesota, Michigan, and Colorado.

 

I've always been a mini golf fan. I particularly like unique courses. The Gatlinburg, TN Hillybilly mini golf course has a farm equipment theme and claims to be the steepest mini golf course in the world!

I've always loved to canoe and white water raft. We've canoed the Buffalo and Current rivers in recent years.

In the 80s I was a big Indy car fan. We attended lots of races and even owned a Solo I autocross race car and competed at the national level.

I've always enjoyed hiking and nature. When we took our first vacation to Colorado in the early 1970s, I remember listening to John Denver tapes and hiking at every road side stop.

I particularly like rock climbing. However with short arms and legs, I have a tendency to climb beyond my skills. Larry enjoys taking pictures of me when I'm stuck in strange position like the one on the left.

Whether I'm sitting in a comfy chair, waiting for a plane, or lounging on a sunny rock, I love to read. I like popular fiction, science fiction, mysteries, historical fiction, biographies, and all kinds of science and history books. Okay, I read everything including the TV Guide and USA Today.

All the members of my family also enjoy music. I took piano lessons as a child. In school, I played the trumpet in concert, marching, and jazz band. We all enjoy sitting around the piano singing songs. I'm one of those people who can listen to Christmas music and showtunes, year-round.

I also like movies, television, crafting, gardening, computing, and lots of other leisure activities.

Everyone probably has at least one "odd" hobby. Mine is coloring. When I'm stressed out, I love a relaxing evening with my coloring books. In the picture below, Kelsey the Cat was helping me color.

Along with crayons, I also enjoy sketching, color pencil drawing, nature journaling, and rock painting.

Check out the Lamb Update page for more insights!